Bilal has one of the most singular and spectacular voices in soul music. He’s constantly using it as a shapeshifting tool. Sometimes, he stuns crowds with a prolonged Sly Stone-esque scream; at other moments, he uses a chilling falsetto to seduce rapturous listeners. His voice is his instrument and he wields it with the natural command and limitless freedom of the great jazz horn players. That’s no accident. In an illuminating interview with Sweeney Kovar, he reflected on finding his voice, while hanging with jazz instrumentalists friends like a young Robert Glasper: “I wanted to be an ill piano player in a jazz band. I started to sing like I’m just gonna change my voice into an instrument. Hanging around those cats and listening to them talk about theory and shit like that – I just started hearing music differently.”
On Wednesday night, the often elusive, envelope-pushing singer wowed a seated crowd at World Cafe Live with his instrument of soul. The show was a homecoming for Bilal, born and raised in Germantown. Growing up, he soaked up myriad musical and spiritual influences: from the small, family-filled church he attended at and the local jazz clubs he frequented with his father. These spaces were his education, as much if not more so than his time spent at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (known as PAFA) and the New School in New York. He dropped out after getting a record deal, leading to 1st Born Second, his breakout opus and biggest mainstream success. (Abdur Rahman explored the album further in an essay for WXPN celebrating its twentieth anniversary. The record showcased his astonishing gifts as a vocalist steeped in the jazz and soul traditions yet endlessly influenced by the hip-hop era he grew up in. In the decades since, Bilal has avoided recreating that album’s beloved sound, while shunning the spotlight that threatens to consume so many stars. Throughout it all, he’s remained loyal to a core group of collaborators and always kept his beloved hometown close to his heart.
Bilal | photo by Dylan Itkin
“We made a lot of the songs here in this city, cause I love making music,” Bilal told the crowd at World Cafe Live. With deadpan wit, he added that “to hear this music live in front of my family…it’s awesome – even though I got these glasses on and I can’t see shit.” Philly bassist Tone Whitfield is a key part of the Bilal extended universe; he backed the singer onstage and co-wrote several songs on Adjust Brightness, Bilal’s entrancing new album. The iconic singer began the show with a few tracks from the record, which is full of both romantic reminiscing and existential reflections. On the album, pulsing programmed drums and spacey synths soundtrack Bilal’s search for connection in an increasingly frigid digital world.
Bilal was joined by Whitfield and several other killer musicians: guitarist Randy Runyon, drummer Joe Blaxx, and Philly keyboard master Corey Bernhard. It was quickly apparent these players, like their frontman, were almost limitless in their abilities, yet always razor-sharp in their delivery. The group sounded tight yet free, locking into deep funk grooves before stretching into worlds of psychedelic fusion. They performed plenty of new tracks, including the hypnotically bluesy “A2Z” and the beautiful, slow-burning “Tell Me,” which was co-written and co-produced by Philly guitar wizard Simon Martinez, a.k.a Flanafi.
Bilal | photo by Dylan Itkin
Bilal also dove into his rich back catalog, including his beloved second album Love for Sale, which has never been officially released. He performed the endlessly groovy “Something to Hold On To” and the showstopping “Ashtray.” Bilal and the band really stretched out with an explosive rendition of “All Matter.” “So what is love,” he sang. “What is it?” That may be the defining question of Bilal’s discography and it lingered during his spectacular encore, which brought the audience out of their seats and into a blissful time-warp back to the 1st Born Second era. It began with the sprawling “Sometimes,” on which he ponders the addictive powers of love, lust, and weed. Blial begins the track with an admission: “This is a song that makes me spill out all my guts.” The World Cafe Live crowd watched and sang along as he did just that, further reminding us of his astonishing power as a performer and vocalist. He followed it with “Soul Sista,” his biggest hit and a fitting finale. It took just a few notes for the audience to erupt into wistful, lovestruck euphoria, singing along to every word and basking in the beauty of the music.
Melanie Charles | photo by Dylan Itkin
Bilal was wise to pick Melanie Charles as the opener for his Philly date (check out her Tiny Desk if you’re unfamiliar). She wasted no time stunning the crowd, beginning to sing almost as soon as she walked onstage. Charles utilized a NORD keyboard, a sampler, a flute, and her powerhouse voice in her self-described effort “to make jazz trill again.” (Zacchae’s Paul joined in to back her up up on keys). Her contemporary approach to the genre is reminiscent of Bilal’s genre-bending genius but her voice is all her own.
Bilal continues the Adjust Brightness tour with several more shows; tickets are available here. If you’re unable to attend, cue up Live at Glasshaus, the live album he released in June. It features the singer and a killer line-up of musicians (Questlove, Robert Glasper, Common, and the brilliant bassist Burniss Travis) exploring his biggest hits and deepest cuts; their palpable brotherly bond and endless musical curiosity makes for a visceral and addictive listening experience. Like his performance at World Cafe Live, it is the sound of a soul music icon further cementing his legendary status.