Concert Review: Braxton Cook
April 18, 2023
On Friday, April 18th, Braxton Cook (saxophone, vocals, keyboard) played in front of packed room at Philadelphia’s MilkBoy music venue as a part of his Black Nostalgia Tour. Following the show, which is in support of his latest album, Who Are You When No One’s Watching?, Kevin and I talked about Braxton Cook’s performance, his impressively-expanding discography, and a bunch more! You can read our conversation below:
Stanley: I missed Black Buttafly’s opening set, but I’m curious to know what you thought about her performance?
Kevin: Black Buttafly’s opening set had great energy. She had the home court advantage lol as she had a super fans/family in the crowd supporting her through every song. But to the songs, I felt J Dilla presence in the room. The influence/inspiration he has on her music was evident. I would be interested in hearing more to see the range of sound but for an opening set, the job was done - she gave us enough to be intrigued for sure.
Stanley: Transitioning to Braxton Cook’s set, what are some of your overall thoughts on his performance?
Kevin: I thought that Braxton and the band (especially the bass player, Joshua Crumbly!) smoked it. As soon as they walked on stage, the sound filled the room in a way that made you take note. They were tight and sounded great. I thought Braxton stuck to his guns, too.
I noticed that he played a lot of his songs that featured him as a saxophonist first and I thought it was great. I did wonder if sprinkling in some singing earlier would’ve kept folks more engaged throughout - not saying the people there don’t know Braxton or need vocals to be entertained - but a big picture takeaway was I wish he played more of his bigger vocal tracks sooner (e.g., 90s which features Masego). Maybe just a sequencing thing.
That is somewhat of a nitpick since I really did think the set was thoughtful and showed off his full array of skills (sax, singing, keyboard, etc.).
…what I really heard was Braxton’s aim to keep this music alive. Alive, not just remembered. Alive in a way where the music still is played and has an impact on us today. — Kevin
Stanley: I thought it was a great show overall! The band was incredibly tight. I loved the way they complimented, listened and responded to each other. I especially enjoyed the chemistry between him and bandmate/guitarist Andrew Renfroe - you can tell they've been playing together for a while - and drummer Curtis Nowosad’s timing was both impeccable and flexible depending on where a tune was going.
It's funny that you brought up the set list, too. I'm thinking about the moment when he was introducing Never Thought, which was the first song in the set that featured him as a vocalist, and he told the story of how his wife basically said something like, 'why don't you write a song with a chorus?' Which I thought was both self-aware and very funny lol. But yeah, it feels like this project features him singing more than his previous projects, too. I like him as a singer, he has a good tone and I like his approach. I should also note that I’m a fan of songs without a chorus lol (also The Same's had me in a chokehold since last June).
Braxton Cook didn’t talk much throughout the night, but when he did, I felt like he helped contextualize the music in important ways. I especially loved when he cited Philly as a “deep spiritual space” and referenced Coltrane’s influence on him and his bandmates. Not a question in here necessarily lol, but wondering if you noticed this comment too, and if so what did you think about him saying that?
Kevin: Oh, I noticed and I was cheesing in the crowd lol. But I’ve seen Braxton a few times now and he loves mentioning Philly’s musical history and I love listening to it. I noticed the drummer had a Coltrane t-shirt on too.
I think the reason why I appreciated hearing him say that isn’t just because Philadelphians love when you pander to us (which we do!), but what I really heard was Braxton’s aim to keep this music alive. Alive, not just remembered. Alive in a way where the music still is played and has an impact on us today.
In a city/country that doesn’t always acknowledge the contributions of Black folk (Coltrane’s house is not even thought enough of to save/preserve) - I appreciate Braxton’s respect for the art, tradition, and history.
Stanley: Not to put the cart too far ahead of the horse, but to echo what you've said, I loved when he performed FJYD (Fuck Juilliard), and talked about how [white] institutions will position themselves as gatekeepers of a tradition they have no material (or spiritual) connection to.
Back on audience watch. The audience was notably Black (this isn’t always the case, as you know). But I’m curious to know what you thought about the energy in the room?
Kevin: My favorite part of any concert - audience watch! But you're right, it was notably Black and young! I would have loved to do a poll/survey of the folks in the room about the other type of music they listen to. I wonder if Braxton is tapping into a base that also listens to this type of music or is he a one-off situation for the folks in the room when it comes to the music Braxton is making. I thought the crowd was super engaged early and lost a little steam towards the end as it got late and hot in that room! People started to leave as it got later and I felt the room thin out some but I do think that the crowd was with Braxton and the band.
I was thinking, Braxton makes references to his influences around making music and how important it is to speak up about policing and racism. He doesn't hide his influences and thought processes around gatekeeping - like on the track FJYD. Hard to determine, but it feels like Black people are particularly in tune and ripe to become fans of his work.
I don't know if any of that made sense to you? Lol
Stanley: It's funny, I feel like people have been doing the 'how do we get kids to like Jazz' thing for like 50 years now lol. But, I think this sort of relates to your earlier comments about the setlist. He's a few projects in now, and has a good deal of material that's pretty wide-reaching stylistically in a way that still feels 'true' to him. I think his music is inviting to folks, and I think that was shown in the room.
A song like Millennial Music is a great example of bridging that age divide, as well as what it means to be rooted in a tradition, not blindly wedded to it, and working to continue it.
I also think about his performance of 90s as an example. It started with this sort of New Jack Swing (NJS) Shuffle, then morphed into Trap, then back to NJS, and there's all this space for improvisation along the way.
To your other point, I loved the way he contextualized his music as Black music, and, though he didn't say this exactly, you can clearly see his takes his role as artist and storyteller seriously. I'm particularly thinking about his comments leading up to his performance of MB (for Ma'Khia Bryant). Some artists might shy away from this sort of message, but I love that he didn't.
We saw Braxton Cook back in 2019 when he was opening for Moonchild. If you can remember, how does this compare to that set?
Kevin: You trying to get me to dig deep for a pre-pandemic memory lol. Let's see - I remember that opening set he did at the Moonchild show was very concise and, overall, similar in vibe. He did the one track that he dedicates to Trayvon, Hymn (For Trayvon Martin) which is an excellent track that I'm not sure he did at this past show. Overall though, I think that he is much more polished and has a deeper catalog now so this past set was exponentially better. He sang a little during that Moonchild opener but has leaned more into his vocals, which I think is a good move.
What do you remember about that set? Also, any other song(s) you wish he did. I wish he performed more tracks from that Fire Sign EP. I really like The Rise and Aries from that jawn but still all in all, a very good show!
Stanley: Yeah, the Fire Sign EP is great! I thought he shined bright as a vocalist/songwriter on that project. That said, it would've been cool to hear a song like All That I Want. And it's ironic you brought up the Fire Sign project because it came out in 2020 and is sort of in that long list of projects that came out during peak COVID that never got the full, live show treatment.
I like that he still has tunes like Millennial Music, No Doubt, and When You Hold Me in his sets, those are some of my favorite tunes from him! But I think anytime we start to get into the 'I wish X artist would've done Y song' it just shows how expansive their discography is.
