Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Derrick Baskin establishes a deep connection between life and music in his profoundly soulful concert at Feinsteins/54 Below

• By drediman
• July 6, 2021
• No Comments

Fresh off the train from my much-needed weeklong trip to Provincetown, I headed straight to Feinstein’s/54 Below to attend the final performance of Derrick Baskin’s short run at the beloved theater district cabaret. In short, I’m grateful to have made the effort not to miss this astonishing performance, which caught me off guard by establishing a profoundly deep connection between life and music.

The opportunity to see a Broadway star such as Mr. Baskin (he was excellent in Ain’t Too Proud‘s leading role) step out of character and intimately hold court as themselves is, for me, one of the chief pleasures of cabaret. As you’d expect, Mr. Baskin oozed charisma the moment he stepped onto the stage. But as the concert unfolded, it became clear that through the music, Mr. Baskin was not just entertaining, but also channeling the very stuff of life itself. Indeed, when he sang about notions like youth, love, connection, self-assessment, and heritage, he surrendered himself completely to be their conduit vis-a-vis his personal experiences. As such, the emotional impact of the songs was as cathartic for him as it was for his adoring audience.

Musically, the overall sound was as smooth as could be. Mr. Baskin’s voice is a lusciously flexible instrument that – I just don’t know how else to describe it – invariably makes love to the music. Music director Shelton Becton has tastefully stripped the arrangements and orchestrations of their Motown pop sheen, thereby allowing the audience to feel every bit of the nuance of Mr. Baskin’s emotionally naked and incredibly soulful song interpretations. To start off the evening, he appeased fans of his performance in Ain’t Too Proud with a crowd-pleasing Temptations medley. From there, he dove into the uplifting Stevie Wonder songbook (with a bit of Ray Charles thrown in), which inspired much of the concert.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

DERRICK BASKIN
Cabaret / In-person
Feinstein’s/54 Below
Approximately 1 hour (without an intermission)
Closed