Rachelle Ferrell

October 1-4 at 8:00 & 10:00 pm

Blues Alley
1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 202.337.4141

Here’s Steve Murray’s review of Rachelle’s 2014 show in San Francisco:

An evening with Rachelle Ferrell is good for the soul. Opening with an improvised riff on motherhood (it was, after all, Mother’s Day), Ferrell then opened the space for the explorations of the spirit and an honoring the audience’s presence.  Her band watched her intently, following her lead and supporting her gently. She’s subdued, paving the way for the vocal pyrotechnics to come. Her second piece was 2000’s “Satisfied,” a real chance for her to show off her multi-octave, off-the-charts vocals. An amalgam of funk, R&B and jazz, one can only watch in wonder as Ferrell rides the ebb and flow of the rhythms and tempos.

A medley of ’90s hits harkens back to her R&B/pop beginnings. “Till You Come Back to Me,” “With Open Arms” and “Sentimental” which began as smoothly crafted studio gems, now took on the earthy, organic vocals Ferrell now embodies. Porgy and Bess’s “Summertime,” a classic standard, is anything but in Rachelle’s hands. Her take is a cross between Ella Fitzgerald and Janis Joplin, Ferrell uses her vocals as a fifth instrument, urging the finest solos from Brandon Coleman on piano, Billy Odum on guitar, Darrell Freeman on bass, and Ricardo Jordan on drums.

Four extended journeys into the heart of the higher power were satisfying. An encore of a selection off her soon-to-be-released CD is another tour de force of vocal power and the acknowledgement of inner and outer love. If “Love Is All Around” is like the rest of the new material, Ferrell is looking at another big hit.