Normally, I don’t write about movies I haven’t seen. But for Sharon Jones, I’ll make an exception.
Feel the power of Sharon Jones!
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings might just be the best live act on the planet. The band, led by bassist Bosco Mann, has been playing classically inspired neo soul for 15 years. They’re probably most famous for backing Amy Winehouse on her Back to Black album. Sharon Jones, a native of James Brown’s home town Augusta, Georgia, was a former guard at New York’s infamous Riker’s Island who first hooked up with the band as a backup singer and was then quickly promoted to front woman. And what a front woman she is! with an Aretha Franklin-level voice and a wellspring of boundless energy, she is the perfect focus for the old school soul revue. i first saw the band just after Jones had finished her first round of chemotherapy treatments for cancer. She announced that she had just been declared in remission, and proceeded to tear the roof off Minglewood for almost three hours. It was as pure expression of raw life force as I have ever witnessed.
The documentary Miss Sharon Jones! (the exclamation point is in the title, and it feels appropriate) is about her life, music, and struggles with cancer. It has been my most anticipated documentary of 2016, and it’s playing for one night only at the Brooks Museum tonight. I’ll be there, and you should go to. Here’s the link for the tickets.
Miss Sharon Jones! at the Brooks Museum