*On Saturday, August 18, The Miracle Theater on South Market Street in Inglewood was the site for a concert billed as, “An Evening of Jazz and Soul,” which featured Eloise Laws, Ronnie Laws and Tom Browne, with special guest Yakira Ketchens. The theater was the perfect comfortable and intimate setting for the event co-promoted by Chuck Dennis, who I would like to thank for the hook-up. Between him and Owen Smith, the owner, folks were well taken care of, especially in the VIP Section, which offered champagne and food.
Before the evening officially got started, there was non-stop Aretha Franklin music playing, in honor of the Queen of Soul. A few people danced in the aisle. It was an appropriate way to get the evening started, especially since first up was Los Angeles KJLH Radio personality Roland Bynum, the MC for the evening, who mentioned Aretha was part of his family and asked for a moment of silence.
Yakira Ketchens, who was the opening act, provided most of the vocals for the artists. She has a nice voice and began her set doing a pretty fair job of Denise Williams’ “Free.” She is also a percussionist and performed Sheila E’s, “Glamorous Life.” In my best Randy Jackson (American Idol) voice, “It was just alright for me.” She was not awful, just not on Sheila E’s level.
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