Singer-songwriter Ledisi closes the Tri-C JazzFest with an evening full of soul, cheekiness, powerful singing and positive vibes

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The 45th annual Tri-C JazzFest concluded Saturday night with another mix of legendary jazz greats, contemporary artists, international music and a little soul both inside and outside the theaters at Playhouse Square.

Outside, there was live music from local and regional artists throughout the day and evening. Inside the historic facility, there were, among others, Artemis, the all-female band of contemporary composers and musicians, a trumpet showcase featuring several Tri-C graduates and teachers, experimental saxophonist Charles Lloyd and his Ocean Trio II, and Latin and South American sounds from Cuban pianist Harold López and Brazilian guitarist Diego Figueiredo.

This year’s festival closed with singer, songwriter and actress Ledisi, who was born in New Orleans and grew up in Oakland and who, over the course of her 24-year career, has carved out a place for herself in the adult contemporary R&B world with eleven albums and has also dabbled in jazz, funk and pop.

The Grammy-winning singer is riding high on her 2024 album, “Good Life,” and her 80-minute show drew heavily from the record but also tapped into her catalog of fan favorites. On records, contemporary R&B prefers programmed beats and grooves (similar to many smooth jazz records), but onstage, backed by a responsive and tight quartet of musicians and a pair of backup singers, her arrangements in her 14-song set were given extra oomph and the grooves were more natural and less static.

With the smooth groove of “Alright” from her 2007 album “Lost and Found,” she quickly got the over-45 crowd nodding collectively and her fans singing along to the song’s affirmative message of overcoming life’s ups and downs and understanding that, in the end, you do everything right.

Ledisi writes music for adults. Self-affirmation and acceptance, being comfortable in your own skin and loving the skin you are in were common themes of the show, along with love and relationships in all their complexity.

“Think of You,” with its funky beat and creeping bassline, is a blatant song about the throes of love, while “Add To Me,” with its jerky, radio-friendly R&B vocal rhythm, asks a potential lover what else they bring to the proverbial relationship besides “material things” and demands that they “have it all figured out.”

As she herself said: “They don’t sing like I do anymore. There are still a few of us out there, but not many.”

Unlike many young R&B singers who grew up in a post-autotune world, Ledisi doesn’t limit herself to melismatic acrobatics instead of melodic ad-libs. Her voice is strong and malleable, with the clarity and control of a jazz singer and the deep soul of a church girl, and plenty of attitude when needed. “I’m 52. After 50, you do what you want,” the self-proclaimed “grown woman” declared to roars of applause.

In the middle of her set, Ledisi played a tribute to Nina Simone, one of her biggest influences, for whom she recorded the tribute album “Ledisi Sings Nina”.

She didn’t choose a song from that record, however, but instead performed “Be My Husband,” accompanied by a steady, African-influenced rhythm from drummer Greg Clark Jr. It was a stunning display of her vocal abilities, mixing Simone’s fearlessness and rarely celebrated sensuality with scat singing and jumping and spinning, making full use of the Connor Palace stage.

She then performed a funky jazz-fusion version of “See-Line Woman” that had people in the front rows standing up and dancing in the aisles and earned her the first standing ovation of the night. “Was that jazzy enough for you?” she asked cheekily.

She was able to dig deep into her vocal chops on the title track, “Good Life,” a song about the joy of “waking up every morning and trying again.” “Hello Love,” with its warm, ’70s Rhodes electric piano and gentle brass touches reminiscent of Emotions Quiet Storm’s radio classic “Don’t Ask My Neighbor,” had people swaying in their seats.

Ledisi was undoubtedly the star, but she also let her backup singers shine. She sang two duets, “Stay Together” and new song “Perfect Strangers” with honey-voiced singer David Michael Wyatt, ready for a slow-jam mixtape. On the extended version of “Pieces of Me,” which explores the complexities of being a woman, Ledisi got the crowd, men and women, chanting “Women,” and gave singer Sarah Williams the opportunity to take everyone to church for a few powerful moments.

Throughout the show, Ledisi interacted with the audience as if she was everyone’s buddy who also happened to be in charge. She alternated between teasing people in a playful way and encouraging them to celebrate themselves at times too, and to understand that everything we go through makes us who we are today.

Ledisi closed her performance with the classic waltz-timed soul ballad, the love tune “Anything For You,” dedicated to the recently deceased, underrated R&B singer Angela Bofill, with a powerful improvised coda accompanied only by her guitarist, which also featured people waving handkerchiefs as if they were in church.

Closing love song “I Blame You,” with its mid-tempo, bouncy groove, transformed the stately Connor Palace into a simulated Saturday night roller-skating jam session, with all decorum thrown out the window and the aisles filled with fans dancing and singing along.

Ledisi is both a nostalgic and contemporary soul singer with messages for adults. On Saturday night she gave the adults a great show that was affirming, sassy and just plain fun.