{"id":1964,"date":"2017-08-24T00:48:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-24T04:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/?p=1964"},"modified":"2017-08-30T23:56:20","modified_gmt":"2017-08-31T03:56:20","slug":"dot-podcast-ep36-a-world-of-soul-with-zeshan-b-plus-new-comedy-from-ray-harrington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickzaino.com\/departmentoftangents\/2017\/08\/24\/dot-podcast-ep36-a-world-of-soul-with-zeshan-b-plus-new-comedy-from-ray-harrington\/","title":{"rendered":"DoT Podcast EP36: A World of Soul with Zeshan B plus New Comedy From Ray Harrington"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you caught Zeshan B<\/a> on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert a couple of weeks ago, you know how powerful a soul singer he is. On that show, he covered the George Perkins civil rights anthem \u201cCryin\u2019 In the Streets,\u201d which he also recorded for his debut album, Vetted. Zeshan can soar and swing, and he did that when I caught up with him at Sonia in Cambridge, Ma a week after that appearance, ripping through a dozen tunes at a late-night show. <\/p>\n

The set list drew heavily from the new album, with outstanding versions of \u201cHard Road To Travel,\u201d \u201cAin\u2019t No Love In the Heart of the City,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m At the Breaking Point,\u201d \u201cYou Don\u2019t Miss Your Water,\u201d and \u201cMeri Jaan,\u201d a gritty Chicago blues sung in Urdu. Toward the end of the set, he said he was going to try something a little different. He was tentative in his introduction, explaining the song was suggested to him and he doesn\u2019t normally do it. He and the ban then launched into Italian composer Ernesto De Curtis\u2019s \u201cTu ca nun chiagne,\u201d a song people would associate with the likes of Luciano Pavarotti or Enrico Caruso. Zeshan needn\u2019t have worried. His voice was clear and strong, and the crown might now have known what hit them, but they were appreciative. <\/p>\n