Naughty Professor Touring with Chali 2na, Sasha Masakowski and More
Five down, 13 to go. Naughty Professor is in the midst of a tour that will take them through 10 states and the nation’s capital, up and down the East Coast and over to Texas before returning home to the Crescent City.
The tour resumes tonight (Wednesday, October 12) at The Hamilton in Washington, DC. The superb New Orleans sextet posted this about the DC show and the four following:
“Excited to announce that we’ll be joined by the very talented Sasha Masakowski while we’re on the road with Chali 2na! Had the pleasure of recording with her for our new album and can’t wait to be collaborating with her live all next week.”
Chali 2na joins them for another two dates, and Naughty Professor will play two gigs with Moon Taxi and two more with TAUK.
This run began at the Bear Creek Bayou pre-party at the Joy Theatre, where they absolutely crushed their set. At the time, we reported:
The Naughty Professor boys heated the place up instantly with a song from Out on a Limb, then “Six Paper Joint” from Until Next Time. This was by far the strongest performance I’ve heard from this sextet. And it was the start of the parade of great New Orleans drummers, with Sam Shahin absolutely smoking at the kit.
Chali 2na (one of the weekend’s artists at large) walked on stage for the third song. The former J5 member (Jurassic, not Jacksons) is an engagingly positive hip-hop artist who delighted the crowd with a pair of songs before inviting Dexter Gilmore to the stage to sing and play guitar. Gilmore was very Prince-like with a beautiful voice. Ian Bowman had a great tenor solo on the first tune, “Don’t Stop.”
After another tune pairing Chali and Gilmore, Chali left as Shahin announced that they have been collaborating with Gilmore, then unveiling one of the new tunes they’ve been working on. The horns were killing. Next, Luke Quaranta and Weedie Braimah came out for some fun. The set ended with Chali reprising some of the great J5 catalog.
Naughty Professor are: “Wild” Bill Daniel, guitar; Noah Young, bass; Sam Shahin, drums; Nick Ellman, alto & baritone saxophones; Ian Bowman, tenor saxophone; and John Culbreth, trumpet. Their three albums, In the Flesh (live), Until the Next Time and Out on a Limb (plus an EP) are audio dynamite.
Our advice?
FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL NAUGHTY PROFESSOR.
10/12 The Hamilton | Washington DC w/ Chali 2na & Sasha Masakowski
10/13 Ardmore Music Hall | Ardmore PA w/ Chali 2na & Sasha Masakowski
10/14 James Street Gastropub | Pittsburgh PA w/ Chali 2na & Sasha Masakowski
10/15 Iron Works | Buffalo NY w/ Chali 2na & Sasha Masakowski
10/16 Brooklyn Bowl | Brooklyn NY w/ Chali 2na & Sasha Masakowski
10/20 Beyu Caffe | Durham NC
10/21 Leaf Festival | Black Mountain NC w/ Chali 2na
10/22 The Pour House | Charleston SC w/ Chali 2na
10/27 Music Farm | Columbia SC w/ Moon Taxi
10/28 Barrelhouse South | Savannah GA
10/29 Minglewood Hall | Memphis TN w/ Moon Taxi
11/11 Last Concert Cafe | Houston TX w/ TAUK
11/12 Howlin’ Wolf | New Orleans LA w/ TAUK