(Judson's Live, Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center) Performing together for their 1st time in Orlando, SaxKixAve was fun, raw, and gritty, easily entertaining those in attendance Thursday night at Judson's Live.
SaxKixAve is a music duo, comprised of Grammy-nominated New Orleans rapper, Alfred Banks, and the saxophonist / flutist also Grammy-nominated partner in that of Albert Allenback. For 2 hours, the southern-infused hip-hop pair exuded their strong musical compatibility, reminding this author of his previous life of having lived in Louisiana, and marveling at the exceptionally talented street performers in New Orleans. This is not a knock on this pair by any means. Their music was authentic and they were very passionate about creating their uniquely-blended sound on tonight's stage in Orlando. Fortunately, central Floridians still have Friday 9/6 and Saturday 9/7 to still catch a glimpse of these 2 in action together.
Early on, they kicked off their set with a hip-hop medley, followed by dance song titled 'Away From You'. Tonight's audience also heard one of their newer tracks 'On That'.
In between songs, the pair cracked jokes together, sometimes very open humor, while at other times they subtly floated jokes out there to see who would catch the references (at one point, they joked on a song's count-off to 'give me something ailing... something in hospice... a sick beat.')
While Albert was busy exchanging his saxophone for his flute throughout the night depending on the song, Alfred's instrument was his voice, whether he was rapping or beatboxing. Although he made a comment about sometimes being off-key, his voice actually wasn't bad, and he even began carrying melodies later in the evening, whether the pair was singing about hashbrowns, cell phones in pockets, or covering upbeat Paul Simon songs.
We heard an extremely talented flute solo in their song Yawp, and were backed throughout the evening with another Grammy-nominated musician by way of their drummer 'Sam' who didn't appear to be a permanent fixture of SaxKixAve as of yet, but the chemistry between the 3 musicians made for some very positive 'vibin' this evening.
This musical act also provided me with our outlet's first opportunity to check out the very comfortable 'Judson's Live' venue, outside of their Sunday brunch setting. This is a really chill hangout spot, serving up pretty strong drinks (Expresso Martini: very nice tonight) and a pretty decent selection of small plate dishes (I ordered the flatbread with mushroom, but was on the fence between that any the more dessert-oriented 'chocolate flight'. Hope to try out the chocolate next time, and possibly some of the pork belly I also saw on that menu!
All in all: a very wonderful evening, audibly and palatably. The food was light yet filling, the drinks were good without making me regret my decision to consume an alcoholic beverage on a weeknight, and the musical choice of performers perfectly fit the setting. Sincerely hoping that Judson's becomes part of my regular routine because I can get used to this cool setting real fast!
Bailey Guinigundo
SaxKixAve is a music duo, comprised of Grammy-nominated New Orleans rapper, Alfred Banks, and the saxophonist / flutist also Grammy-nominated partner in that of Albert Allenback. For 2 hours, the southern-infused hip-hop pair exuded their strong musical compatibility, reminding this author of his previous life of having lived in Louisiana, and marveling at the exceptionally talented street performers in New Orleans. This is not a knock on this pair by any means. Their music was authentic and they were very passionate about creating their uniquely-blended sound on tonight's stage in Orlando. Fortunately, central Floridians still have Friday 9/6 and Saturday 9/7 to still catch a glimpse of these 2 in action together.
Early on, they kicked off their set with a hip-hop medley, followed by dance song titled 'Away From You'. Tonight's audience also heard one of their newer tracks 'On That'.
In between songs, the pair cracked jokes together, sometimes very open humor, while at other times they subtly floated jokes out there to see who would catch the references (at one point, they joked on a song's count-off to 'give me something ailing... something in hospice... a sick beat.')
While Albert was busy exchanging his saxophone for his flute throughout the night depending on the song, Alfred's instrument was his voice, whether he was rapping or beatboxing. Although he made a comment about sometimes being off-key, his voice actually wasn't bad, and he even began carrying melodies later in the evening, whether the pair was singing about hashbrowns, cell phones in pockets, or covering upbeat Paul Simon songs.
We heard an extremely talented flute solo in their song Yawp, and were backed throughout the evening with another Grammy-nominated musician by way of their drummer 'Sam' who didn't appear to be a permanent fixture of SaxKixAve as of yet, but the chemistry between the 3 musicians made for some very positive 'vibin' this evening.
This musical act also provided me with our outlet's first opportunity to check out the very comfortable 'Judson's Live' venue, outside of their Sunday brunch setting. This is a really chill hangout spot, serving up pretty strong drinks (Expresso Martini: very nice tonight) and a pretty decent selection of small plate dishes (I ordered the flatbread with mushroom, but was on the fence between that any the more dessert-oriented 'chocolate flight'. Hope to try out the chocolate next time, and possibly some of the pork belly I also saw on that menu!
All in all: a very wonderful evening, audibly and palatably. The food was light yet filling, the drinks were good without making me regret my decision to consume an alcoholic beverage on a weeknight, and the musical choice of performers perfectly fit the setting. Sincerely hoping that Judson's becomes part of my regular routine because I can get used to this cool setting real fast!
Bailey Guinigundo
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