Concert Review: A Genuine Crossover

Erykah Badu and the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Soul diva Erykah Badu emotes as Alan Pierson conducts the Brooklyn Philharmonic.
Photo by Alvina Lai © 2013 The Brooklyn Philharmonic.

The classical crossover, combining a traditional symphony orchestra with popular music can be a difficult proposition. Do it wrong and you're accused of trivializing the skills of the players. Hit the wrong pitch and critics will say you're pandering to the masses. On Saturday night, the Alan Pierson and the Brooklyn Philharmonic did neither in the first of two concerts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, with neo-soul diva (and this year's artist-in-residence) Erykah Badu.

There was a lot of publicity leading up to Saturday night's concert. And there were some important questions:

•  Would the leggy singer's brew of jazz, funk, soul and rap mesh or clash with the orchestra? 
• Would the complex messages of her songs (drawn from the album New Amerykah Pt. 1: Fourth World War) get lost in a soup of orchestration? 
• Finally, what would Ms. Badu (known for head wraps and exotic Afro-centric fashion statements) be wearing?