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IN Series’ musical recreation of Chuck Brown and Eva Cassidy’s 1992 collaboration, Chuck and Eva: Songs from the Other Side, premiered June 1 at D.C.’s True Reformer Building. An album attentive to jazz and blues traditions, City Paper’s Alona Wartofsky called Brown and Cassidy’s The Other Side “a study in contrasts” when it was first released. Music directed by Janelle Gill, Chuck and Eva is dedicated to this brief but historic local partnership and includes a selection of swing classics like “Fever,” “Red Top,” and “Let the Good Times Roll.” The night featured vocals by Greg Watkins and Melissa Wimbish, with Romeir Mendez on bass, Dana Hawkins on drums, DeAnte Haggerty Willis on guitar, Marshall Keys on saxophone, and Gill on piano.
Located at the corner of U and 12th streets NW, the True Reformer Building is a five-story walk-up that was designed in 1902 by John Anderson Lankford. This architectural landmark along D.C.’s Black Broadway has been the home of many cultural and community milestones, including several performances by Duke Ellington—it’s even rumored to be the site of his musical debut. For IN Series to produce the final selection of their season in such a storied space is no insignificant matter.
Brown’s impact on local and national culture should not to be overlooked. The “Godfather of Go-Go,” Brown played music primarily rooted in funk and soul. Yet, with Chuck and Eva, IN Series highlights Brown’s one commercial venture into jazz. An evening of “oldies” without a single go-go song, the performance still adds a touch of Brown’s signature style and passion for experimenting with genres.
Watkins demonstrates his vocal talent on each of Brown’s attributed tracks from The Other Side, but he struggled to capture Brown’s natural ease in call-and-response. Cassidy’s selections were performed by Wimbish, a coloratura soprano by trade. Per the 1992 City Paper feature, these two performers do seem to tap into Wartofsky’s description: “Brown’s a natural ham; Cassidy nervously twists her purse while waiting for her turn. He’s as gregarious as she is diffident.” The question is whether that nitpicky characterization is enough to carry out an album-length performance.
Wimbish’s voice is rapturous, but was similarly masked by a level of self-consciousness that left a lot wanting for her first few selections. However, beginning with Cassidy’s powerhouse arrangement of “God Bless the Child,” Wimbish’s latter sequence of solos were a true standout of the night. Her acoustically backed rendition of “Over the Rainbow” was particularly divine as twilight began to peek through the windowed backdrop of the stage, and “Dark End of the Street” was similarly haunting. Gill is likewise a talented arranger, and the band shined throughout the night, despite those on stage feeling a bit directionless.
On that note, the performance appears not to have a director credited at all. While not always a necessity in collaborative work, this omission may account for some of Chuck and Eva’s more glaring lapses in clarity. Genre mixing is a risky endeavor, and when done successfully it can create truly remarkable performances. IN Series deserves most credit for its attempts to resist the artificial hierarchies of “high art” and “low art.” That being said, while Chuck and Eva certainly aims high, the production feels distractingly out of sync and doesn’t seem to quite know how to define itself—even within its apparent lack of definition. As a live performance, it was similarly unclear as to whether Chuck and Eva is meant to be a narrative retelling, a jukebox musical, a concert, or something else altogether. Still, as one eager audience member called out to a sheepish Watkins and Wimbish between songs, the sentiment rings true: “You’re marvelous, keep going.”
The artists will revive Chuck and Eva on June 24 in Baltimore for one night only. With a few more goes on the album, they might hopefully ease into its subtle, but improvisational range of styles. Likewise, they might find a level of intention more akin to the musical gravitas (and less so to the intimate quirks) of Chuck and Eva.
Chuck and Eva starts at 8 p.m. on June 24 at Baltimore Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St., Baltimore. theatreproject.org. $20–$30.
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