5 days Ago
Let’s get one thing settled off the top: TMF , the sextet playing a show with vocal group The Whispers at Township Auditorium Nov. 22, is not a tribute band. Sure, they play the silky soul music of Maze, the iconic R&B group formerly fronted by the late Frankie Beverly, but that’s because, in essence, this band is Maze.
Beverly passed away at 77 earlier this year, and it was difficult to imagine Maze continuing to exist without their impossibly smooth and massively talented frontman. It seemed that hits like “Before I Let Go,” “Joy & Pain” and “We Are One,” songs that helped Maze score nine gold albums, would never be performed again. But never underestimate a great band.
Even without Beverly, this new iteration of Maze, now called TMF (The Music First), has all the grown-and-sexy soul and gritty R&B you need. And it’s difficult to argue the band’s authenticity. It’s packed with musicians who were with Maze for years, or in some cases, decades.
Percussionist Roam Lowry (just call him Roame) has been with the band for 55 years, right from the start. Keyboardist Vance Taylor has been around since 2003. Bass player Bear Williams’ tenure is almost as long.
That trio is the nucleus of the group. Roame said he’s thrilled to be back out on the road with his musical family. “The one thing I love doing most is performing,” Roame said.
“Being with Maze 55 years, we were always a live performing band, so I absolutely did miss it and now we have a new chapter with TMF, and the music is just fantastic.” And who’s stepping into Beverly’s shoes on vocals? That would be Chris Walker, who’s worked with everyone from free-jazz iconoclast Ornette Coleman to R&B hitmaker Regina Belle to the great Al Jarreau. “I've been a huge fan of Maze featuring Frankie Beverly for so many years,” Walker said.
“I first met Frankie when I was 19-years-old and I was Regina Belle’s musical director. Frankie would be at the side of the stage when I was singing a duet with Regina, and he came up to me many times and said, ‘Young man, you have a great voice, keep doing what you're doing.’ So for me to be in this position to honor him in such an incredible manner, it’s not easy, but I welcome the challenge.
” TMF is certainly going to play scorching versions of Maze hits at the Township, but you should be prepared for some new tunes, too. TMF released their debut album earlier this year, and so far audiences have been receptive, sending singles like the funky “Let Me Love You” and the push-and-pull ballad “Making Love To The Music” up the charts. “It was a magical time,” Roame said of recording the new album, called "The Music First, Vol.
1." “For us to not have been together as a unit and putting the album together with everyone writing, the camaraderie, the brotherhood," he continued. "It's almost surreal how quickly we adjusted and got the tunes within one or two takes.
” For newer members of the group, recording the album was a surreal experience. “Maze is one of the coldest bands on the planet,” Walker added. “So you have to understand what it was like for me to be in the studio with those guys and just watch the magic unfold.
It feels like It was predestined to happen.” With TMF on the road playing Maze classics, it felt fair to ask Roame, who’d been by Beverly’s side for over five decades, how it felt to perform these songs without Frankie. “He was my best friend,” Roame said.
“I've known him since 1969, and we're going to continue to share his legacy and his love, as I know he would want us to do.” TMF presents the music of Maze at Township Auditorium Nov. 22 at 8 p.
m. Tickets range from $69 to $150. More info at thetownship.
org.
