Doña Oxford Northside/Fat Fish Blue 7/17 and 7/18
By David Jackson
What do you get when you mix Jerry Lee Lewis, with the funk and soul of James Brown, mix in the Sass of KoKo Taylor and wit of Bette Midler, with the power of Mahalia Jackson, and top it off with a contagious Cheshire Cat Grin? You get Doña Oxford.
Typically when I hear someone who is extremely gifted in one area (piano in Doña’s case), occasionally this means their vocals are “OK” and you sit and wait for the solo. This is NOT the case with Doña Oxford. While the samples on her web site allow you to hear her; the presence and power of her voice in a live setting made me believe that she really didn’t need a microphone (you have to experience her to understand). Her soul and passion saturate every note that comes from her lips.
Typically when I hear that someone is (again) extremely gifted in one area, that means when you go to their concert you will hear nothing but that instrument. Doña is very wise, and knows that every good performer needs a good BAND. Guitarist Eduardo Garcia’s solos were tasty while the Rhythm Section of Mark Diffenderffer on Drums and BNY Dughba on bass showed FANTASTIC use of dynamics. This band has a huge amount of fun on stage as they play off each other. This then elicits an “Oh Yeah!” and a big smile from Doña and it is very, very contagious.
About the time I was already impressed, they performed a song called Doe’s Boogie – which explains why they call her the Boogie-Woogie woman. When the song was over, my body spent time looking for my head (as I believe it had exploded). Here she plays a solo with just the left hand (very impressive), and a solo with just her right hand (amazing). Then she puts them together and it was like watching David Copperfield. She’s doing it right in front of you but you have no idea how she is doing it. My hands cramp just thinking about it. On break I went up and shook her hand (and checked to make sure there were only five fingers). What’s the kicker on top off all of this? The band had started their day in New York, drove approximately eight hours to get to Ohio, and then put on this show. That is truly amazing. When I drove to Cleveland the next night to watch this again, it still completely blew me away.
So yes friends, the Doña Oxford band is currently touring the country (her schedule is on her website at www.donaoxford.com). If she’s coming to a city near you, you need to be there. If she’s not coming near you, you need to move.
For more information go to: http://www.donaoxford.com
