“Music is a language. It’s another facet of the way we communicate, only with more feeling and passion. Theory, notes, technicality…throw those out the window.” – Vinx
Vincent De’Jon Parrette, more popularly known as Vinx, brought his one-man show to Ottawa’s beautiful Zolas Restaurant this past Thursday night. He gave us a taste of his past and present repetoire which encompassed nuances of jazz, soul, pop, funk, and other worldly delights. This latest tour is in celebration of his newest effort, An American Crooner, set to have been released on Valentine’s Day. It is an album of jazz standards in tribute to his father, who remains the biggest musical inspiration of his life. Special guests were chosen from recorded tracks/videos sent in by those wanting to appear on the CD…his way of giving an opportunity for artists to shine. It was how he himself was discovered, when Sting happened to stumble in on one of his performances at a venue one night.
Vinx is a world renowned vocalist and percussionist originally from Kansas City, and now living in the Boston area. With a long list of achievements and accolades, he has performed and recorded with the likes of Taj Mahal, Sting, Herbie Hancock, Sheryl Crow, Darius Rucker, Ricki Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder…and the list goes on. He is busy with many musical projects on the go, such as his bands, Vinx & The Groove Heroes, Jungle Funk, and his all-percussion group, the Rhythm Nomads. He also provides vocal and songwriting workshops, has his own production studio, and teaches at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Vinx has been on a musical journey that began as a small child, developed from his natural-born ability of vocal improvisation and rhythm. As a boy, he grew up listening to many forms of music such as jazz, Motown, Caribbean, and the music of his father. Constantly singing and experimenting with the sounds his voice could make, he would spend hours recording himself on an 8-track recorder from inside his family’s coat closet…his first makeshift “studio” that he spoke of fondly, and hence the improvisational creativity that would continue the rest of his life.
The night began with the man seated in front of two microphones…one for singing, and the other connected to a synthesizer and loop pedal. He began with the classic standard, “Summertime”…sung acapella, and nearly unrecognizable, as he delved between higher and lower registers that flowed somewhere between the sounds of an oboe to the deep sounds of a baritone saxophone. The sound of his voice would switch from a nasal resonance, to ones from the depths of his chest, and upwards from the throat to inside the mouth. He demonstrated the first of his synth sounds by replicating bass licks in a vocal solo. His articulation and control was extraordinary, and suddenly, the large room of people that were engaged in conversation and culinary delights moments ago, fell silent.
The scene inside Zola’s Restaurant.
He continued with more improv, this time looping various rhythms and harmonic arpeggios that intertwined over each other in layers. The more layers he added, the more symphonic it became.
He also showed amazing dexterity when he later played various complex beats on his custom made African bass drum. He kept up an intricate tribal rhythm as he sang, “My Funny Valentine”, and even though the two sounded very unlike each other, the combination somehow simply worked.
In his interpretation of “Moondance”, he began slowly as his voice moved in and out of bass and mid tones, strong and soft progressions, and his enunciation of words swept between concise, distinct projection, to soft, flowing, and breathy. His movement close to and away from the mic played with volume intensities. Other improvised melodies such as “It’s Too Late”, “Nature Boy”, and “The Nearness Of You”, combined more of his layering and his synthesized interpretation of various musical instruments…the language of each he’s practiced emulating since childhood.
In one of his original jazz/pop pieces, “Please Come Back” (The Storyteller – 1993), he generated a gentle rhythm by the quick swiping motion of his hands (see cover photo above, left). Near the end of the song, he broke into a scatting instrumental, which he brought into a “fade-to-black” ending…another technique he used several times throughout the evening.
I was also impressed with “Obama Groove” (Vinx Solo Live 2011), which was a completely rhythmical, improv piece using his looping method to create a multi-layered background of voice-generated beats and harmonies over which he scatted, intermittently using the words, “Obama” and “Michelle”. He wrote it thinking the president should have his own catchy theme song. It grooved and chugged along, with a very George Benson quality to it…my favourite piece of the night.
In between sets, Vinx mingled through the crowd to chat and hand out roses to each and every woman in the restaurant. It was a nice touch to kick off Valentine’s Day weekend, and lent an opportunity to get up close to the artist. By the end of the evening, I found myself amazed and inspired by the array of creativity of this man, who has not only spent his career immersed in the language of music, but also continues to help others achieve artistic freedom in themselves.
