Cantus Vocal Ensemble gets down with a funk-filled evening of music with their latest show, “Covers: Pure Funk,” now running at the Luminary Arts Center.
Fittingly, they get the party started with “Give up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” by Jerome Brailey, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of the band Parliament. Right away, the concert is jubilant, the singers bursting with smiles and dancing along with the tunes.
They continue that exuberance in a performance of “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown, a trailblazer of funk music, whose danceable style emerged out of African American forms and featured complex rhythms and groove. Cantus’ performance not only captures the joy of Brown’s tune, it also nails its nuanced rhythm, including a well-timed pause near the end.
As the concert continues, it offers a selection of funk classics from across different decades and gives them the Cantus treatment.
The beauty of the musical cover is taking a popular song — often known for being performed in a particular way by a particular performer — and transforming it through the vessel of the artist or artists doing the cover. In this case, Cantus takes funk tunes from the 1960s through the 21st century and reimagines them through the group’s unique artistry as a low voice choir made of classically trained singers.
Cantus often performs their work a cappella, but here they are joined with a live band, including drums, keyboards, bass and guitar and brass instruments. Samuel Bohlander-Green runs back and forth, alternating between singing center stage with the chorus and playing trombone stage right with trumpet player Butchy Austin and saxophonist Anna Dolde.
Cantus’ multi-part harmonies are somewhat lost with the added sound of the additional instruments, with the trade-off being that the band contributes an added groove. Drummer Tarek Abdelqader plays behind a screen of plexiglass to mute the sound of percussion somewhat, and still brings a complex rhythmic element to the tunes. Meanwhile the singers add a bit more belt to their voices than they might in a traditional concert, infusing soul in their sound, especially in a section of songs made famous by Black female vocalists like Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin.
For his part, Rod Kelly Hines unleashes his inner diva, singing Beyoncé’s debut single “Work it Out,” from the third Austin Powers movie in 2002 in a call-and-response format with the rest of the singers. Later, the singer shows off the lower part of his register in a solo section from “Superstition,” by Stevie Wonder, as part of a medley featuring the musician and composer.
In one show-stopper, tenor Paul Scholtz wows with his performance of Prince’s “Kiss.” Because Prince’s voice and performance style were so distinctive, emulating his style is no easy task, but Scholtz succeeds not necessarily by performing as Prince, but certainly by hitting the high notes with ease and swagger.
The audience gets into the energy of the show, clapping and swaying along at times. By the encore of “Uptown Funk,” the show felt more like a summer dance party than a concert performance, ushering in the start of summer with a spirited beat.
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Covers: Pure Funk
Who: Cantus
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7, 3 p.m. Sunday, June 8.
Where: Luminary Arts Center, 700 N. First St., Mpls.
Tickets: $5-$45 at cantussings.org.
Accessibility: Accessibility info for Luminary Arts Center, including parking/drop off info, elevators, bathroom and assistive listening can be found at luminaryartscenter.com.accessibility. Cantus’ accessibility information can be found at www.cantussings.org/ada-access.
Capsule: Cantus ushers in summer with an ebullient evening of covers of popular funk tunes.
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