I must admit, I was a little concerned for Mr. Najee this weekend at the Birchmere.   It was a Sunday evening, and I know from experience that smooth jazz shows at the Birchmere tend to sell better during the week.    It was also a near perfect spring day, much too nice to be indoors.  There was a Nats game at the stadium that afternoon, plus, the Air Show was going on at Andrews.   Mr. Najee had some competition.  I hoped the people would come out and support this show.  I am happy to admit that my fears were unfounded.  This 500+ seat venue was packed with Najee’s fans.  If it wasn’t sold out, it was pretty close to it.   This crowd was ready, even before we knew this was being recorded live for Sirius XM radio.

The band entered first and played him on with “Najee’s Theme.”  From that point on, the energy of the show never wavered.  Najee and his band, which, by the way included guest keyboardist James Lloyd of POAD fame, came ready to play, and they gave it their all in every song.

Najee’s first self titled CD came out in 1986, and he made it a point to thank the audience for supporting his career through 14 CD’s (including a couple of compilations.)  It was a nice thing to hear from an artist.  Has it really been 26 years since Najee’s Theme was released?  My goodness!  Where does the time go? 

Of course Najee played music from his latest CD, The Smooth Side of Soul.  Jimmy Heath was an early influence for him, and he pays homage on this latest album with “A Sound for Sore Ears.”  The version we heard was not quite as jazzy as the CD version (difference in instrumentation,) but it was still very good.   And the live version of the album’s first single, “Perfect Nights,” sounded as good as I expected it would.

The evening was a pleasant retrospective of Najee’s musical catalog.  He played songs I hadn’t heard in a long time, but they sound as good and fresh as the first time I heard them, sometimes years ago: “Sweet Love,” “Knocks Me Off My Feet,” “Tokyo Blue,” “Gina,” which he said was written for his now ex-wife.  He joked that she got the house and he got the song.   And what would a Najee concert be without “Noah’s Ark,” a song written for his son.  He can’t leave the stage without playing that one.

The music alternated between beautiful ballads and driving funk tunes, as Najee alternated between saxophones and flute.  The band was talented and in the mood for dancing.  Guitarist Chuck Jackson provided the vocals on a number of tunes, such as “All I Ever Ask,” and “We Gonna Ride.”   Najee’s got a young keyboardist; a 21-year old who studies at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.   This young man is very talented, so watch for him as he progresses.  The bass player was in constant motion, dancing and playing across the stage.  At one point, he jumped off the stage, grabbed a woman in the audience, and danced with her. 
Of course you have the obligatory audience participation moments that you have at most smooth jazz concerts, but I can overlook those because the music was so good, the energy level was high, and the audience was appreciative.  The Birchmere showed their love for Najee and his music.  I’m already anticipating the next time Najee comes to town.  Great show Najee!  Thanks.