Song of the week: Woman of the Ghetto
Marlena Shaw
Woman of the Ghetto
I had the unexpected pleasure of seeing Marlena Shaw live at Cargo the other week. We were there for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards and had no idea she was playing, but there she was picking up a well-deserved lifetime achievement award. Her subsequent performance probably stole the night (and not just because she was the only musician there who could actually shut the irritatingly talkative audience up).
Marlena Shaw sang her classic ‘Woman of the Ghetto’ that night, but an untempo, funky version backed by the Robert Mitchell Trio. It was pretty damn good, but nothing beats this stunning 10 minute ‘Live at Montreux’ version.
‘Woman of the Ghetto’, Marlena Shaw from Live at Montreux, Blue Note, 1974
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Tags: song of the week
February 6th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
That is great. I’m glad you had a good time seeing her. I bet it was quite a nice surprise. Sorry the audience had been so talkative. At least she was able to shut them up. Thanks for posting that clip there. I love that song. It’s amazing. Have a great weekend. Cheers!
February 6th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Hi Keith, it’s a great song isn’t it? I don’t think she ever topped it, although California Soul is pretty good – she did that one too when I saw her. Fantastic!