Is it possible to be ubiquitous and behind-the-scenes at the same time? That pretty much sums up Don Was and his long career in the music business.
After co-leading the funky pop-rock band Was (Not Was) in the 1980s, Was went on to win an armful of Grammy awards as a producer. He's worked with Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Elton John, Ringo Starr and Bob Weir, to name just a few. Since 2012, he has been president of the legendary Blue Note Records.
Was is also a son of Detroit. In recent years, he put together a band under his own name for the first time: Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble. "We are on a mission to promulgate the indigenous sounds of our hometown of Detroit, Michigan," he explains.
This is a tight and powerful group, with an emphasis on the groove, but all eyes and ears are on lead vocalist Steffanie Christi'an. In this Tiny Desk performance, she breathes a very different kind of fire into the Grateful Dead classic "The Music Never Stopped" and smolders on re-working of Hank Williams' "I Ain't Got Nothing But Time." The entire set is a perfect example of how, as the Dead used to say, "the music plays the band."
SET LIST
- "The Music Never Stopped"
- "You Asked, I Came"
- "Midnight Marauders"
- "I Ain't Got Nothin' But Time"
- "Insane"
MUSICIANS
- Don Was: bass
- Steffanie Christi'an: vocals
- Wayne Gerard Milton: guitar
- Luis Resto: keys
- Dave McMurray: tenor sax
- Vincent Chandler: trombone
- John Douglas: trumpet
- Jeff Canady: drums
- Mahindi Masai: percussion
- Herschel Boone: background vocals
- Terena Boone: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Felix Contreras
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Director/Mix: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Alanté Serene
- Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Vanessa Castillo
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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