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Additional Reviews from Wyclef Jean's Carnegie Hall Benefit submitted by: Lisa D. source: Sonicnet, Rolling Stone, NY Newsday Date: January 23, 2001 Stevie Wonder, Marc Anthony Surprise At Wyclef Jean Benefit NEW YORK - At Friday night's benefit concert for his Wyclef Jean Foundation, the organization's founder proved his worth as an MC in the true Master of Ceremonies sense. Armed with good-natured crowd banter, jokes about union rules and no fewer than five wardrobe changes, Jean strolled down the aisle of Carnegie Hall in a white leather tuxedo and matching fedora to introduce the evening's festivities, which featured performances by Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Macy Gray, Charlotte Church, Mary J. Blige, Stephen Marley, Miri Ben-Ari, and Third World, as well as surprise guests Stevie Wonder and Marc Anthony. After making his grandiose entrance, Jean performed a curt medley of hits from Harlem's heyday, including Cab Calloway's "Minnie The Moocher" and Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train," suiting the evening's theme: a revue of musical style from the 1930s to the present. Stevie Wonder brought the crowd to its feet with a blistering harmonica solo during Third World's performance of "Now That We've Found Love" and later joined Wyclef during his performance of "Gone Till November." The duo traded verses until Jean veered into a guitar solo that left Stevie frantically scatting over the song's chorus. The audience's excitement peaked at the arrival of notorious no-shower Whitney Houston, who ignited the crowd with the inspirational "I Go to the Rock" from the soundtrack to "The Preacher's Wife." Clad in a black two-piece suit and backed by the vocal group Sunday, Houston sang her hit "My Love Is Your Love" - co-penned by Wyclef - before exiting to a standing ovation. Destiny's Child, the final group to perform at the event, spurred a massive sing-along with their Grammy nominated-hit "Say My Name." After a shout-out to all the "independent ladies in the house," the trio, flanked by a quartet of backup dancers, broke into "Independent Women Part 1." Looking demure in a conservative gray suit, Eric Clapton played a bouncy, reggae-tinged version of "Wonderful Tonight" that prompted the Haitian-born Jean to launch into Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" upon Clapton's leaving the stage. Marley's son Stephen emerged soon after to bring the reggae standard home. Clapton returned an hour later for "My Song," a duet Jean wrote especially for the guitarist. Mellow and with a tropical feel, the first public performance of the song did little to flex Slowhand's chops until the (still effortless-looking) guitar solo. After a rousing performance of a gospel tune she used to sing in her father's church choir, Melky Jean, Wyclef's younger sister, remained on stage for the Bee Gees-sampled "We Trying To Stay Alive," from Jean's 1997 album, Carnival. The Product G&B supplied additional vocals, while Bronx break-dancers the Rock Steady Crew busted moves on Carnegie's Hall's legendary hardwood. Wyclef might have busted more than that after a back flip backfired, causing him to publicly call attention to a finger injury. Jammed joint or not, it didn't stop him from playing guitar and singing with soul diva Mary J. Blige, who hit the stage clad in a pink sequined trench coat and shades. The pair performed the lovesick "911," which appears on 'Clef's latest album, last year's The Ecleftic. Sporting a bulbous bleached-blond afro, Macy Gray, accompanied by Wyclef on guitar, brought a new feel to Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" - which was covered by Jean on The Ecleftic - by supplanting the original's eerie sparseness with her warm, smooth tones. The Product G&B contributed a performance of "Maria, Maria," their vocal contribution to Santana's Supernatural, with Jean filling in on guitar, which segued into the three-hour-plus event's finale, an entire-cast rendition of "Guantanamera," highlighted by the second surprise guest, Marc Anthony. While two dozen performers chanted about the stage, two troupes of percussionists - one Brazilian, the other from Africa and Haiti - pranced down the aisles and got the audience as involved in the celebration as the crowd onstage. The concert raised funds for the MC's Wyclef Jean Foundation, which helps to provide music education and expanded opportunities for young people, and its year-old Clef's Kids program, which provides musically gifted New York-area high-school students with new instruments, private lessons and academic aid. Of the 15 students currently enrolled in the program, six performed at Friday's event. Suiting the event's youthful focus was 15-year-old opera singer Charlotte Church, who performed an impromptu duet with Clef onstage at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. Church appeared early in the show, singing a straightforward "Ave Maria" and later joining ringmaster Jean for a funky version of George Gershwin's "Summertime." Cultures clashed when young Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari's "Hip Hop Violin" combined classical string virtuosity with a scratch DJ and rap samples, most notably Black Sheep's "The Choice Is Yours." Clef Kid Vanessa Charles opened the concert with a Beethoven piano solo befitting the event's classical confines. Later in the show, 14-year-old Clef Kid Erin Rivers joined Ben-Ari onstage for Jean's multi-culti arrangement of the Bach composition "Duet for Violins," which positioned a pounding kick drum and rumbling bass rhythms at the forefront. - Joe D'Angelo Wyclef Takes Carnegie By EVAN SCHLANSKY, Rolling Stone Carnegie Hall opened its doors to a hip-hop party January 19th as Wyclef Jean commandeered the stage, the first hip-hop act ever to headline the famed recital hall. The concert, a benefit for the Wyclef Jean Foundation, which provides support to young musicians, was crammed with special guests. Some, like Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige, Stephen Marley and Charlotte Church, were listed on the playbill. Others, like Stevie Wonder, Marc Anthony, the Product G&B and Macy Gray, showed up unannounced. "Yo. Arrival at Carnegie Hall," announced Jean in his trademark Haitian-American accent. "I asked this bum how do you get to Carnegie Hall . . . and he said practice, practice, practice." The concert kicked off with top-notch performances by Clef's Kids, up-and-coming talents who've received aid from the Foundation. They were soon joined by the man himself, decked out in top hat, white tux and tails, and intent on spending the night demonstrating the meaning of the word "Ecleftic." The hall quickly took on the feel of "Showtime at the Apollo," as guest after guest joined Clef on stage, each to a standing ovation. First out were reggae stalwarts Third World, who got bodies moving with "Now That We Found Love (What Are We Gonna Do?)." "I feel like I wanna hear some harp right about now," said Jean, who left the stage mid-song and returned with Stevie Wonder, harmonica in hand. During Clef's "Gone 'Til November," the pair tried their hand at a little freestyling. "I'll drive the car while you'll be gone 'til November," sang Wonder. Clef shot back with, "Let me tell you a secret. Stevie Wonder ain't really blind." Eric Clapton offered up a reggae-flavored version of "Wonderful Tonight." Wearing a suit and seemingly embarrassed by the crowd's attention, Clapton concentrated on playing leads that were sweet and subtle. He and Jean also traded guitar lines and sang on "My Song," a number Jean had whipped up for the occasion. "This is our first time playing this song," Jean told the crowd. As the evening's MC, Jean was loose and funny, teasing the "rich people" who forked over $150 for a seat, including Naomi Campbell, Carly Simon and Clive Davis. "Let me tell you, they don't let black men in here that much," he quipped. Aided and abetted by fellow Fugee Pras and John Forte, Jean performed a white-hot version of "Staying Alive," from his first solo album, The Carnival. In full hip-hop swing, they strutted their way across the stage of Carnegie Hall, inviting the crowd to throw their hands in the air. Mary J. Blige, in sequined pink overcoat and red and blonde hair, kept emotions high as she joined Jean to tear through "911," from The Ecleftic. But true Diva-hood arrived in the form of Whitney Houston: "It's an honor to be performing once again at Carnegie Hall. My God!" Houston radiated star power as she stopped mid-song to address the crowd. "Hi, how are you?" she said to no one in particular. "Clive Davis! I miss you." Houston was animated and in tremendous voice as she sang her Wyclef-penned smash hit "Your Love Is My Love." But not everything ran smoothly. Jean's sister Melky, who sang a down and dirty a cappella "Amazing Grace," ran onto the stage without shoes. "You called me out too early," she told her brother. Jean himself admitted he'd hurt his hand break dancing during a segment with the Rock Steady Dancers: "When I did that flip I busted my finger. I want to cry, but this is on TV so I got to hold on." Surprise guest Macy Gray exuded funkiness, taking the stage in a hip Seventies dress and white afro-wig to rasp a cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here." Less funky were girl-group of the moment, Destiny's Child. They danced their way through an award-show-friendly choreographed set of "Say My Name" and "Independent Women," supported by a backing tape and three male dancers. Though the girls worked it for the crowd, their lack of live chops seemed out of step with the rest of the performers. For the finale, Jean pulled out all the stops, bringing Marc Anthony out to lend his pipes to "Juantanamera." As a troupe of West African dancers and percussionists made their way through the audience, the two were joined by most of the night's performers, including Gray, Blige, Wonder and Destiny's Child. What had begun as a high school recital had ended in a triumphant all-star extravaganza worthy of Madison Square Garden. "Wyclef the multitalented, average heads can't handle it," Jean had boasted back in his days as a Fugee. At Carnegie Hall, Wyclef got the chance he needed to prove his word. For Wyclef Jean, Music Is His Message; Rap artist hosts a multicultural benefit for kids at Carnegie By Glenn Gamboa; STAFF WRITER MUSIC REVIEW WYCLEF JEAN FOUNDATION BENEFIT. Featuring Jean, Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Destiny's Child, Stevie Wonder and others. Seen Friday at Carnegie Hall, Manhattan. RAPPER WYCLEF JEAN'S wildly ambitious benefit ended with the stage filled with many of today's music elite singing "Guantanemera," the aisles of Carnegie Hall overflowed with a Brazilian drum corps and African dance troupes and a packed audience cheering for more. "We're going to try to mix every culture in here tonight," said Jean, who served as the evening's host and featured performer. "I'm going to try to show what music is really all about. It's universal, really." Jean certainly tried his best. Parts of the nearly three-hour concert, the first- ever rapper-headlined show at Carnegie Hall, were brilliant, as he stretched hip- hop's boundaries, infusing Bach's "Double Concerto" with a big backbeat and scratching through a hip-hop version of "Summertime" with Charlotte Church. However, others missed the mark, especially since stars such as Marc Anthony and Stevie Wonder didn't even get to perform an entire song. Whitney Houston's appearance was a highlight, as she moved easily from the gospel standard "I Go to the Rock" to the Jean-penned "My Love Is Your Love." Dressed in a black-beaded pantsuit, Houston was in fine voice and seemed to be in good spirits as she musically sparred with Jean and the singing group Sunday, even though she did not return for the finale. Eric Clapton's reggae version of "Wonderful Tonight" was excellent, though "My Song," a new duet with Clapton that Jean wrote for the evening, needed some work. Jean and Mary J. Blige brought down the house with a strong version of their current hit, "911." Though Destiny's Child got the crowd moving with the mega-hits "Say My Name" and "Independent Women," the trio's choice to perform to backing tapes instead of using a live band seemed like a missed opportunity. Because the group flew in from performing at a pre-inaugural concert for President George W. Bush, it played late in the show, which slowed the momentum building after Jean figured out how to best use the performances from the children in his foundation. Jean had just started to hit his stride. Great collaborations were rolling out at that point, with a great version of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" with Macy Gray and an impressive, orchestral version of "Gone 'til November" that included an amusing freestyle rap by Wonder, who also livened up Third World's version of "Now That We've Found Love." Jean did not let the audience, which included J Records president Clive Davis and supermodel Naomi Campbell, forget about the uniqueness of the evening, regularly referring to how few blacks make it to Carnegie Hall. He also made sure politics was on people's minds. "Count the votes," said Wonder, which Jean agreed with, adding later, amid an ongoing rant against Carnegie Hall's union restrictions, that "Y'all need to leave Jesse Jackson alone." Jean's rebellion was far more than the jokes. It was his breakdancing with the Rock Steady Crew on the Carnegie Hall stage. It was getting the crowd to "raise the roof" and wave their hands in the air. The evening's message was simple: Music can change the world. It helped Jean rise from a Haitian refugee living in Brooklyn to a growing musical force - "I am the new Clive Davis," he declared at one point-and a social force through his foundation. Future benefits will likely run better, making it easier for him to reach his goal of using music to change the lives of underprivileged kids. That belief is a wonderful star of any evening. Site design by: Dolphin Webpage Designs © 1996-2001