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SXSW review: Maya Azucena
(Midnight Wednesday, Mohawk Patio)
Taking the stage at midnight - shortly after Bavu Blakes had blown up the spot at the Mohawk - Brooklyn neo-soul vocalist Maya Azucena had a hard act to follow. Unfazed, Azucena used her voice as her band’s most powerful instrument, providing one of the evenings most unexpected delights as she radiated charm and finesse, revealing herself as one of the most approachable and likable divas you’d ever want to meet.
Although it might have made more sense to have hometown heroes Bavu Blakes and his Extra Plairs burn up the stage after Azucena so that the crowd didn’t thin after Blakes finished (which it did), the billing of the two artists was ultimately well-played as it allowed Azucena and her crack two-piece band to flex their own considerable skill in the aftermath of Blakes’ lyrical fury.
Guitarist Christian Ver Halen and “drum-cussionist” Ivan Katz were on point. Ver Halen never missed a lick, subtly and deftly providing the dominant musical melodies while Katz played a talking drum with one hand and a highhat with his other.
And then there was the statuesque Azucena. “She’s mesmerizing…and so full of energy,” one young woman in the audience shouted out to her friend (and in my ear) during Azucena’s clever R&B meets hip hop-soul “Junkyard Jewel.”
And it was true: it was hard to take your eyes off Azucena during tracks like “Down, Down” as her voice rattled the rafters with her fearless ability to hit the most difficult upper register notes. But Azucena seemed most stirred during her collaborations. For her song, “The Half,” she brought back up Kendra Ross (who had performed her own set at 9 p.m.) and the two bounced the chorus back and forth as if they’d rehearsed the song for years.
Likewise, the most impressive and inspired moment of Azucena’s set came during a collaboration between Azucena, Extra Plair Terrell Shahid and Blakes as she called them up to the stage for an impromptu joint (collabo) on Azucena’s best song, “G-Hetto.” Austin and Brooklyn yield some of the best musical talent in the country, and the pairing between Blakes’ freestyling flow and Azucena’s energetic precision appeared to raise the level of both of their game.
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