StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Anticipating "A Soulful Christmas"

This week, we've got some video clips featuring the performers in "A Soulful Christmas," the smooth jazz holiday show that's coming to The Pageant next Sunday, December 14. The show features singers Will Downing and Lalah Hathaway and saxophonist Gerald Albright, and though I couldn't find any videos online of them doing holiday-related material, these clips at least offer samples of their respective sounds, the better to inform those who don't already know them and/or entertain those who do.

First up is Downing, who's seen here performing "Where Is The Love" in duet with singer Mica Paris on the British TV show "Top of the Pops." The song was made famous through the version by Roberta Flack and the late singer/pianist/songwriter Donny Hathaway, a former St. Louisan who was Lalah Hathaway's dad. Ms. Hathaway is seen in the second clip singing "Killing Me Softly," another song that was a hit for Flack. The performance is from the 2002 North Sea Jazz Festival, and the band is led by bassist Marcus Miller.

The third video features Albright at the Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia with a group including keyboardist Jeff Lorber and drummer Ricky Lawson. The song they're playing is called "Walker's Theme," a tune that, to the best of my knowledge, has nothing to do with either Roberta Flack or Christmas but seems to stand up pretty well on its own.

(For more about upcoming holiday-themed jazz shows in St. Louis, please see this post.)