Concert in your area for Funk & Soul and R&B.
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Will Downing was born Wilfred Downing on 29 November, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He studied as a music producer in a school whose alumni included Kedar Massenburg, the president of Motown, and Barbara Streisand. Downing graduated in 1981 and went on to later record for the music company, Motown.
Downing has enjoyed enormous success throughout his music career. He has worked on albums by a number of highly acclaimed artists, including Jennifer Holiday, Kool & the Gang, Gerald Albright, Billy Ocean, Regina Belle and Mica Paris. His discography consists of a staggering 23 albums, which are a mix of R&B and Jazz and were all released by several different record labels. In 2002, Downing received the International Association of African-American Music Diamond Award and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2000. Some of his most well-known songs include is 1991 hit ‘I Try’, ‘A Million Ways’, ‘A Love Supreme’, ‘Wishing on a Star’, ‘Free’, ‘After Tonight’ and ‘You Were Just Meant For Me’, amongst many many others.
Artists that he is often compared to or can be thought of a similar to include Howard Hewett, Jeffrey Osborne, Freddie Jackson, Keith Washington and Phil Perry.
He has produced a steady stream of music from the early 80s right up to today, despite suffering from polymyositis.
I’m not usually a fan of covers artists, and by no means is Will Downing solely a covers kind of guy, but I am a huge fan of his interpretations of pop classics from the 80s, such as Where is the Love, and I go Crazy. His distinctively rich and creamy baritone voice can hold an audience in silence for moments at a time, captivating everyone listening.
Seeing him in concert was amazing, it’s not very often that you can have the opportunity to hear a voice that powerful with such a range in a live setting. He started the show with After Tonight, which went down really well, and had everyone in the crowd on their feet, swaying and singing along with him. His jazzy runs are real crowd pleasers, and in those few show off moments, everyone cheered with appreciation.
The band that he has backing him up seem like they’ve been playing together for years, as they were extremely tight, and when Downing began to improvise or would quickly switch from one song to another, seemingly unrehearsed, they were able to follow without hesitation. Downing is really great at being involved in his music, but still interacting with the audience. There’s no wall between his performance space, and that of the spectators, and he gets everyone singing along which was great fun.
The show was short yey enjoyable from start to finish I would love to be in the audience should Melvin return for those three guys have made me a fan for life!
Will definitely attend another concert
Freddie Jackson was amazing! His voice was smooth as silk (like butta, as he says), and his range and inflections were incredible.Hearing him sing the old favorites was such a treat and so pleasing for the pysche and soul. I enjoyed every minute of his performance. He lost a tremendous amount of weight; I almost didn't recognize him. But once he started to sing, there was no doubt. He had great rapport with the audience, and he has aged gracefully. So glad I caught this one at Sculler's in Cambridge!