On July 17, Milwaukee’s Broadway Theater Center will become a sea of flapper dresses, live comedy and contemporary soul– three things that rarely have a defined point of intersection, especially in the modern-day Midwest.
Acute Inflections, a New York City jazz-R&B-soul duo, will bring this unique mix with their upcoming “Soulful Sounds” tour stop in Cream City. It’s an all-encompassing night with an air of the Harlem Renaissance in terms of attendee dress code and select era-evoking ballads, as well as a modern flair with comedic banter from the pair, audience-based interactions and recent music with a spin.
Composed of Elasea Douglas’ smooth, wide-ranging vocals and Sadiki Pierre’s skillful plucks on the upright bass, they use their musical talent and chemistry– as both a performance and romantic couple– to transform venues across the country. Their dynamic’s natural flow comes from a storied history of shared passion.
They originally met when Douglas performed in a Broadway show called “FELA!” and Pierre was a self-described “groupie” for the musical. Witty jabs leaked through even as the couple described Acute Inflections’ beginnings, with Pierre joking that the takeoff of their shared musical journey was “all [Douglas’] fault.”
“I was working on a solo album, and Sadiki wasn’t even playing bass at the time. In conversation, I would ask his input, and he would give pretty good advice. When he decided to finally admit to me that he used to play the bass, I forced him to start playing again,” Douglas said.
After the “forced” rebirth of Pierre’s bass talent, Douglas explained that the duo aspect was an unintentional– but well-received– discovery.
“I invited him to be a part of this music experience with a whole band, and the day of the show, the rest of the band didn’t show. It ended up being Sadiki and I performing, which I think was a set-up looking back, and the crowd loved it,” Douglas said.
The duo has emerged from these circumstantial beginnings to form a blended style across decades and genres. Pierre credits his background of growing up in the Caribbean, as well as Miles Davis, Rob Carter and James Brown. Douglas finds boldness and vocal influence in Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston and Farrah Fulton. However, the actual style’s broad expanse makes it undefinable in simple words.
“It’s difficult to describe musically because we jump around so much stylistically. One song might have a Latin feel, another one will have a reggae feel, another one may an Afrobeat feel, then a [Michael] Jackson feel, then an R&B feel, so we’ll keep you on your toes. Sometimes it feels operatic, so you’re in for a treat,” Pierre said.
With both originals and covers, the duo creates an expansive range with only two live elements: bass and vocals. Pierre explained that this creates a “space” musically that further involves the audience.
“It seems simple and minimal, because it’s just two sounds, but it stirs your imagination. You start to feel like you’re hearing a lot more sound in music than is technically there, but it’s very catchy. It’s very moving,” Pierre said. “You see in our audience, a lot of people snapping their fingers, clapping, singing along. You fall into it, and it invites you to be part of the experience.”
Audience affects each performance differently; since “Soulful Sounds” is a tour with natural banter in-between songs and chances for attendee participation, each stop varies. Together since 2013 and discovering the humor element as a COVID-era shenanigan, the duo has perfected the art of reading a room– and adjusting how they run their shows accordingly.
“We come into an evening with a rough game plan of what we want to achieve and things that we want to talk about, but the audience helps us build it. We’ll see the audience and take a guess if these people will enjoy Childish Gambino or Vin Prince tonight,” Pierre said. “We walk around before and say hello, so we get an idea of what they’re like.”
This witty thinking is what keeps the fun alive: no show is the same.
“We are very present with what’s going on in the room, and we’re not shy to acknowledge it, so that helps to spiral this fun give-and-take and comedic experience on-the-spot. It’s a willingness to just be,” Douglas said.
Being from New York City, the couple uses the city’s rich jazz and Harlem Renaissance history as inspiration for the show, with an upscale recommended dress code and jazzy elements.
“There’s legitimacy because we’re from New York, but also a license to take it forward because we see how many artists that have such an impact on culture came from New York, and we realize it is a responsibility to continue that,” Douglas said. “This is how we carry that legacy forward.”
However, the event is not simply a night of jazz or a Renaissance reenactment. Rather, it has a life independent of the 1920s fashion and influence.
“People come with the wrong expectation that it’s going to be jazz all night or we’re going to try to make you feel like it’s the 1920s. The thing about feeling in the 1920s performances was that it was different, it was fresh, it was adventurous, and we’re trying to capture that energy by making sure that what we do is rebellious and interactive. It has that same feeling because it’s almost a modernized experience,” Pierre said.
While humor permeates a musically-diverse performance, they know when to separate comedy from more soulful moments.
“We let the audience keep parts sacred. It definitely is an ebb and flow. We even give the audience a heads up that we’re gonna move very quickly between the drama and the humor, so be ready to make the switch,” Douglas said.
Attending this show has more benefit than the experience alone, as proceeds support the local TBEY Arts Center, a nonprofit empowering Milwaukee’s underserved youth through arts education.
Grab tickets here or visit their website for more information.
This story was written by Jane Patterson. She can be reached at [email protected].