Jazmine Sullivan sang her soul free before a sold-out crowd at the Pageant last night, letting her fans know that she was worth the ride – and the wait.
As Sullivan belted intricate runs and riffs that echoed Kim Burrell or a contralto Clark Sister, it was clear she had finally peeled back the layers dumped on her by naysayers and well-meaning “industry experts” that stagnated her career a few years back.
Jazmine Sullivan was in her own skin. She quite possibly could have been wearing Chaka Khan’s old clothes, but her performance was authentically the best of Jazmine as she graced the stage for the St. Louis stop of her “Reality Show” tour.
Turmoil and frustration led her to temporarily bow out of the music industry altogether after her second album a few years back. But as she hit the road on the tour that is the namesake of her latest album, the audience got chills as they saw what all the fuss was about.
Anyone with an inkling of an ear for music will give Sullivan props as a once-in-a-generation vocalist.
There was warranted cause for marvel when she was still a teenager after capturing the industry’s attention – and leaving then host Steve Harvey’s jaw hanging – as an 11-year-old singing a snippet of the gospel classic “Accept What God Allows” during the amateur segment of “It’s Showtime at the Apollo.”
Nearly 15 years later she was back to her roots during her St. Louis visit. Sullivan wasn’t singing church music, but she was showcasing the best of the flatfoot, tilted head “sainging” delivery often found there. Based on her pre-song narrative for “Masterpiece,” her doing so was fueled by self-actualization.
She’s clearly grown into herself, and out of trying to please the masses.
Thanks to her newly found self-love, Sullivan tuned the audience into her gift as a singer – instead of offering a failed attempt to fit the mold of a “total package” performer, like the one that marred her most recent visit to St. Louis as an opening act for Mary J. Blige at the Fox Theatre.
And based on the whoops and hollers from the crowd, the end result was as close to a religious experience as one could get from secular music.
Particularly during her offerings of “Stupid Girl” and “Forever Don’t Last” from her latest album (which is the namesake of the tour) – it was clear that an organic connection has been made that’s finally afforded Sullivan the opportunity to live up to her hype.
Backed by a full band and background vocalists with voices almost as big and impressive as hers, Sullivan’s performance was a throwback to the best days of R&B.
By the time she claimed to close the show with her debut hit single “Need U Bad,” even those with seats were on their feet cheering her on and had fashioned themselves into an amen chorus.
“Yes Gawd,”and “Sing Jazmine” almost drowned out the encore as she closed with an extended rendition of her signature song “In Love with Another Man” that would pose a threat to some of the most established soulful voices in music history.
With her final bow she thanked the crowd for their support of “The Reality Show” album and tour. If they could have done so the fans would have responded by telling her how it was truly a pleasure to finally meet the real Jazmine on stage.
Newcomer Jordan Bratton served as the opening act for Sullivan’s tour and gave listeners a “Miguel in the rough” as he sang his heart out with a short set of songs that included his breakthrough single “Danger.”
