Alexandria , VA
May 7, 2005

A full house of 500 people were treated to 1½ hours of Mr. Smooth himself, Michael Franks, on a balmy evening in the DC area. The show was part of a weekend of festivities called Jazzmatazz, which is a benefit for the National Children's Medical Center. All proceeds from this show and the late show were being directed to the hospital.

Michael Franks had his usual outstanding band accompanying him on stage: Veronica Nunn (vocals), Charles Blenzig (piano), Chris Hunter (sax), Sean Conly (upright bass), and Willard Dyson (drums). I have seen this band with Michael in the past, but they seemed even more cohesive this time. Chris Hunter really played his heart out on the sax and flute, and Sean Conly had a bass solo that left this reviewer in awe.

The show opened with the Franks' favorite, “Tiger in the Rain.” The intimacy of this venue was perfect for a song like that, which is so serene. The next song, “Tell Me All About It,” was dedicated to Natalie Cole, who recently had done a remake of it. Michael thanked Ms. Cole for all of the royalty checks! The duets, “Love Has No End” and “When I Give My Love to You,” with Veronica Nunn were very well received by the crowd. And the tremendous sax solo by Chris Hunter on “Love Has No End” just blew the audience away.

Michael Franks dug deep into his library of CDs for some old favorites that just wowed the crowd. “One Bad Habit,” “Sunday Morning Here With You,” the playful tune “Eggplant,” and “Monkey See, Monkey Do” were songs that the crowd just loved hearing. Veronica Nunn's sweet vocals and Charles Benzig's crisp piano offered a blend that is signature Franks. Rounding out the night were other classic hits, such as “When the Cookie Jar is Empty,” The Lady Wants to Know,” and “Rainy Night in Tokyo,” the 25th anniversary song Franks wrote for his wife, Claudia.

The encore, though, was something that had to present this smooth jazz icon with a feeling of “WOW!” The band re-emerged from the off-stage room to the cheers of the crowd and proceeded to play “Popsicle Toes.” This classic song is one known by most people, whether a fan of Mr. Franks' music or not. Picture the scene of nearly 500 people singing along with this song. It was a perfectly fitting end to a perfect evening of music.

-  Bonnie Schendell