As if being a Grammy Award-winning producer and record company president (Blue Note) wasn’t enough, Don Was has rededicated himself to live performance during the past couple of years — including membership in Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir’s Wolf Bros and touring with Ryan Adams’ Cardinals. So something like the Pan-Detroit Ensemble was probably inevitable. The group, which began its first tour earlier this week, including former Was (Not Was) bandmates Luis Resto on keyboards and Dave McMurray on saxophone along with vocalist Steffanie Christi’an, guitarist Wayne Gerard, drummer Jeff Canaday, percussionist Mahindi Masai, Vincent Chandler on trombone and John Douglas on trumpet.
The repertoire is diverse — a Was (Not Was)-like blend of jazz, R&B, funk and rock similar to “The Don Was Motor City Playlist” Friday nights on WDET-FM — but Was promises that the delivery will leave no doubt about the band’s musical roots. “There’s a Detroit ethos in that band,” explains Was (nee Fagenson), 71, who was raised and began his musical career in Oak Park. His long list of credits includes work with Bonnie Raitt, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bob Seger, the B-52’s, Barenaked Ladies and many more.
“There’s a sound to Detroit music that’s embodied by this particular group of people playing together. “It’s got a real flavor to it. It’s like a less rigid kind of Was (Not Was) almost.
It’s got a groove, but people are stretching out.
