The 'Sex Machine' gets on up in Jakarta

The 'Sex Machine' gets on up in Jakarta

Rich Simmons, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"Everybody's got soul! Everybody doesn't have the same culture to
draw from, but everybody's got soul." -- James Brown

The 13-piece band was wicked tight, the dancers were even tighter
and the Godfather of Soul was shakin' his moneymaker deep into
Saturday morning at the Jakarta Convention Center in a
performance befitting of one of his many monikers, the "Hardest
Working Man in Show Biz".

James Brown, the septuagenarian superstar -- some say he was
born in 1928, others say 1933, but most agree he was born a
financially impoverished child in the U.S.' Deep South -- has
been making hit records since 1955's Please, Please, Please, when
he was with a group called the Famous Flames.

Here is a man who redefined Soul, Gospel and traditional Deep
South black music into a brand new Rhythm and Blues style --
Funk. And as the good people at the Montreux Jazz Festival define
it: FUNK = Soul + Blues + Rock n' Roll + Jazz (with a little bit
of Gospel and Latin thrown in for some spice).

As the late Rolling Stones cofounder and guitarist Brian Jones
once explained to a couple of teenage musicians named Mick and
Keith, blues and soul was all about SEX.

Brian was a few years older than his future bandmates and had
been hanging around beatnik jazz and blues joints. He was turned
on by the deep, Deep South style of blues, -- with the likes of
Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Elmore James and a younger guy at
that time -- the early 1960s -- by the name of James Joseph
Brown. Jones was correct in his metaphor and nobody embodied both
the Sex in his songs and Sex on stage better than "Soul Brother
Number One" (aka Brown). Even now, at the ripe old age of 60-
something, Sir Mick Jagger still resonates Sex on stage and
probably has the "Fatha'" to thank.

Friday night's show at the Java Jazz Festival was typical of
Brown's high-energy, deep funk style, but with a distinct Jazz-
like flavor. Brown's huge, talented ensemble was at their jazzy
best on the epic hit It's A Man's Man's Man's World (1966). They
really transformed this classic R&B ballad, into a way cool Jazz
remix and everybody was diggin' it.

The crowd was on their feet with Get On Up (Sex Machine) and
of course, the one that everyone was waiting for -- I Feel Good
(1965) -- really got them rolling. That had the thousands of oh-
so-cool, wine-sipping jazz buffs in a state of dancing delirium
-- movin' with the groove as "The Minister of the Super Heavy
Funk" did the Mashed Potato with his three very well-endowed
(vocal cords, that is) backup singers. If cats were not able to
let their backbones slip on that one, they might as well get
fitted for a toe-tag and a morgue slab right now.

Living in America (1986), the theme song to the movie Rocky IV
-- complete with the female dancers emerging from their American
flag capes -- was a hit as well, despite the feelings of most
people in this part of the world toward George Dubya and his gang
back in Washington D.C.

One thing that detracted somewhat from the good vibe,
unfortunately, was the weak, even spineless, sound quality in the
cavernous Plenary Hall at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC). It
was nothing short of embarrassing, especially for this type of
"heavy funk", which really requires -- in the words of Sly and
the Family Stone -- some serious "bottom". One would hope that
the sound cats at the JCC can get that sorted out before the
Godfather's second and final gig at the festival on Sunday
evening.

Another problem was the camera operator for the two giant
screens, who was apparently asleep, as the camera was stuck on
the Hammond organ -- whether anyone was playing it or not.

Regardless, there is no doubting that "Mr. Dynamite", even
with his WWII-era conk hair style and bright red zoot suit, is
still the hippest hepcat this side of Macon, Gee-Ay (Georgia)!