Concert Review: Jeffrey Osborne is doing much more than "Holding On"

Share this article

    A voice that is like a fine, aged Scotch that gets even better as the evening progresses?  Check.  A band so tight that it makes even the artist occasionally smile and shake his head in disbelief?  Check.  A back catalog of hits that most soul artists would envy?  Check.  A physique such that, now in his sixties, the ladies still call out for him to remove his tie and suit coat?  Check. Welcome to an evening with the great Jeffrey Osborne.  

    A voice that is like a fine, aged Scotch that gets even better as the evening progresses?  Check.  A band so tight that it makes even the artist occasionally smile and shake his head in disbelief?  Check.  A back catalog of hits that most soul artists would envy?  Check.  A physique such that, now in his sixties, the ladies still call out for him to remove his tie and suit coat?  Check. Welcome to an evening with the great Jeffrey Osborne.  

    On January 23rd, Jeffrey stormed the stage at B.B. Kings in New York City like a revivalist preacher with a still-vital message to deliver.  And deliver he did, to a house packed with the faithful who sang along and reveled in his warm glory for nearly 2 hours.   A consummate entertainer, Jeffrey treats his fans like old friends, sharing not just his hits -- from LTD, his solo career, and from his latest album, A Time For Love, which debuted on Billboard as #1 on the contemporary jazz charts -- but also stories from his personal life.  My favorite involved his father, a jazz trumpet player who played with Duke Ellington, coming home in the Sixties to find young Jeffrey spinning Motown records and telling him to "turn that sh$t off, son."  

    Jeffrey is among the last of his generation of soul artists who can deliver his early hits just as well as he did in the 70s, and he gives a performance that stays with you long after he leaves.  He is on tour throughout the Winter and early Spring (see his tour dates here).  Don't miss an opportunity to see him still at his peak.  

    By Robb Patryk

    Below is a classic Jeffrey Osborne music video: