M'balia 4/22/17 Yale Art Gallery Theater

I heard from a friend that the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective were staging a free weekend long festival with free concerts at various venues around Yale. The Art Gallery theater was a perfect place to see jazz vocalist M'balia. When I arrived, it seemed like some students were warming the place up. From the Peanuts gang, Lucy was on piano, Pigpen on standup bass, and Schroeder ( probably booted from piano by Lucy) was on drums, all they needed was Peppermint Patty on thumb piano to round out the group. M'balia, an impressive stage presence, joined the crew. Big hair, big earrings, big voice and attitude poured out of this singer. The Peanuts gang were her band, and they all had chops. M'balia charged through her set with the kids holding fast to her coat tails. "April in Paris" and Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things" were great. She also put lyrics to some original compositions to great effect. The band was tight, especially piano, showing flourishes of McCoy Tyner and Mulgrew Miller. M'balia sounded at times like Betty Carter crossed with Jill Scott. She definitely had control of the kids and worked them for an impressive set. My one complaint was with the crowd, this afternoon crowd of hipsters and academics felt compelled to clap at each handoff of the solo baton which disrupted some song flow. I was happy to be in attendance, and clapping at the conclusion of each tune rather than five times during each song seemed like an appropriate level of appreciation.