Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Tower Of Power With Special Guests War: Westbury, NY, Ap...

42

Tower Of Power With Special Guests War: Westbury, NY, April 18, 2012

Tower of Power with Special Guests War
NYCB Theatre at Westbury
Westbury, New York
April 18, 2012
The Funk and Soul were flowing freely as Tower of Power and War both performed virtuoso sets at the NYCB Theater in Westbury, NY on this slightly chilly and overcast April evening.
At precisely 8pm, War took the stage to a smattering of claps and a few whistles. It wasn't very long after the band had played a number of their hits that the polite applause became rousing cheers, catcalls and pleas for more. Vocalist Lonnie Jordan (currently the only original member playing in this incarnation of the band) and his group of merry soulsters' set was described by members of the audience as the "War greatest hits set." Quite capably setting the stage for Tower of Power, Jordan effortlessly and joyously reached into the band's vast catalogue and delivered a top-notch, tight and jamming set that included songs that even the most casual popular music fan would undoubtedly know. "The Cisco Kid," "Why Can't We Be Friends," "Low Rider" and "Spill The Wine" were all played with high-energy and joy to a very receptive audience.
They had gotten the audience in the mood to party. After a short twenty minute break, Tower of Power took the stage. The Oakland, CA band wasted no time as they set the tone for their set with the infectious "We Came To Play." The current lineup, which featured bandleader/vocalist/tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo; new lead singer Larry Braggs (who is an excellent replacement for the departed Lenny Williams); Adolpho Acosta on trumpet; Jerry Cortez on guitar; drummer David Garibaldi; Sal Cracchiolo on trumpet and trombone; "Doc" Kupka on baritone sax; Tom Politzer on tenor sax, bassist Rocco Prestia and Roger Smith on keyboards, used the Westbury venue as their private time machine. Music has an amazing ability to bring to mind happy and special moments in one's life. Minutes after the band began to play, and well before Braggs addressed the crowd, many members of the audience were clearly lost in the moment reliving and reveling in their youth.



The band whipped the crowd into a frenzy by punctuating their set with the soulful and funky horns that they are known for, syncopated dance steps and old favorites like "Soul With a Capital S;" "You Got To Funkifize," "This Time It's Real," "What Is Hip?," "Still Diggin' On James Brown" and "Soul Vaccination." The evening, however, wasn't an oldies show, as the band played deep into their catalogue. They included new offerings such as "Me & Mrs. Jones" from The Great American Soulbook (Top Music, 2009) as well as a few rarities ("Come Back Baby" was introduced as "a song you haven't heard in a long time...").

The band also played the very appropriate "Ain't Nothing Stopping Us Now," which also helped serve as a reminder that Tower of Power, even forty years down the road, still has what it takes.


Photo Credit
All Photos: Christine Connallon

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT



Tower of Power Concerts


Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

Near

More

Jazz article: Bark Culture At Solar Myth
Jazz article: Hingetown Jazz Festival 2025
Jazz article: Hayley Kavanagh Quartet At Scott's Jazz Club

Popular

Read Take Five with Pianist Irving Flores
Read Jazz em Agosto 2025
Read Bob Schlesinger at Dazzle
Read SFJAZZ Spring Concerts
Read Sunday Best: A Netflix Documentary
Read Vivian Buczek at Ladies' Jazz Festival

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.