It's a sultry Sunday evening in downtown Escondido ---84 degrees on the curb; much warmer on stage in front of the footlights. We're at the Metaphor Cafe to catch one of our favorite jazz combos in action. We've been tracking this band for the past several years; they just keep getting better.We're here in the heat to listen to "A Rae" --- their blend of jazz, fusion, Brazilian samba and Caribbean influences continues to amaze and inspire us. At the band's center is composer and guitarist Sam Hawkins, a gifted arranger who can draw from a classic hymn or a Sara Groves standard and somehow give the song wings.
Speaking of wings, the band is fronted by the voice of angel. Analicia Hawkins, daughter of the group's founder, sings like a blend of Corinne Bailey Rae and a young Norah Jones. Without pride or ostentation, Analicia steps to the microphone and lets the music live/breathe/express itself through her vocal chords.
This is a pure, uplifting, musical experience. Tonight the combo has added a father-and-son team that brings drums and sax to the mix. Woven into Sam Hawkin's tightly scripted arrangements, the sax adds a wonderful counterpoint: keep it coming. Meanwhile the drummer hits the rhythms exactly, carrying the pace with confidence.
Sometimes you're almost afraid to attend a concert, worried that a band you love may let you down, may have an off night, may not be up to the standards you expect. We've been following "A Rae" for several years now --- at coffee houses, jazz venues and even occasionally a church --- and this band simply doesn't disappoint.
For a few hours on a warm Sunday evening, we are carried away. From "Redemption" to "Great is Thy Faithfulness" we are blessed, inspired, encouraged, renewed.
