By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Raul Midón, according to no-less a critic than the New York Times, is “a one-man band who turns a guitar into an orchestra and his voice into a chorus.” So while stunning guitar work and hypnotic vocals are the focal point of the singer-songwriter’s music, he politely declines to step into any musical-genre box.
So, he just happens to be scheduled as part of the St. Cecilia Music Center’s Acoustic Café folk series of concerts, with a debut appearance scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27. Tickets are still available.
“My only link to the folk genre is acoustic guitar,” Midón said to WKTV in a recent email conversation. “I’m a jazz trained singer songwriter guitarist with a black and Latin heritage. But I write and sing songs accompanied by acoustic guitar.”
His unclassifiable versatility is evidenced by his having released 10 studio albums as a solo artist, being dubbed “an eclectic adventurist” by People magazine, having collaborated with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Queen Latifah and Snoop Dogg, and contributed to the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s film “She Hate Me.”
And now, on his latest album, If You Really Want, released in September 2019 and arranged by Vince Mendoza, Midón’s voice and guitar blend with an actual orchestra — the equally diverse Metropole Orkest, a multiple Grammy winning ensemble orchestra based in the Netherlands often called a “hybrid orchestra” due to its ability to float between jazz, big band and symphony orchestra music.
But, Midón said to WKTV about the recording — and re-recording — of If You Really Want, the artist is a bit of a musical perfectionist and tinkerer.
“Once the ensemble parts were tracked, I took the recordings home, taking my time to re-cut the vocals and guitar so that they were as nuanced as possible,” he said in supplied material.
“In today’s climate, time is money, more than ever, unless it’s in the comfort of your own home studio,” Midón said to WKTV. “The budget did not allow for me to sing with the orchestra in the studio. But it’s a nice compromise, plus I have the skills to achieve that.”
Musical talent, musical editing skills and musical confidence, are clearly in abundance with Midón, despite the fact that he is blind — evidenced by the title of Midón’s 2017 release: Bad Ass and Blind.
And that blindness also does not stop him from being at home with a live audience, feeding off the unseen audience, in fact.
“Energy isn’t visible, so what would blindness matter,” he said to WKTV. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years or so, I can read an audience in my own way. Applause is just one way. But if you are in Japan, silence and attentiveness would be another.”
For more information on Raul Midón — and his new album, The Mirror, due out March 13 — visit his website at raulmidon.com.
Two other St. Cecilia Acoustic Café concerts remain for this season, both with tickets available, include Grammy-award winning folk/Americana singer and songwriter Marc Cohn — he of “Walking in Memphis” but so much more — returns to St. Cecilia on March 19.
Then Shawn Colvin returns for her second appearance at St. Cecilia, on May 19, performing her newly released album Steady On Acoustic in its entirety. Her original 1989 album Steady On became her first Grammy Award winning album.
Tickets for Raul Midón on Feb. 27 are $40 and $45 and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org. A post-concert “Meet-the-artist” party with a cash bar will be offered to all ticket-holders giving the audience the opportunity to possibly meet Midón and obtain signed autographs of his CDs.
