(October 2, 2023) Jef Kearns has been using his flute to take a deep dive into the music of Motown. It has long been Kearns’ mission to explore the places where jazz improvisation and instrumentation intersect with the groove of R&B. And we all know that there is no place that possesses more groove than music label known as the Sound of Young America.
Last year, Kearns and Aria Zenua combined on a video that paid tribute to Diana Ross and the Supremes and all the “girl groups” of the 1960s on their interpretation of “Stop In the Name of Love.” Now Kearns and Zenua return with a lyric video of their take on the Jackson 5’s hit “ABC.”
(October 2, 2023) Jef Kearns has been using his flute to take a deep dive into the music of Motown. It has long been Kearns’ mission to explore the places where jazz improvisation and instrumentation intersect with the groove of R&B. And we all know that there is no place that possesses more groove than music label known as the Sound of Young America.
Last year, Kearns and Aria Zenua combined on a video that paid tribute to Diana Ross and the Supremes and all the “girl groups” of the 1960s on their interpretation of “Stop In the Name of Love.” Now Kearns and Zenua return with a lyric video of their take on the Jackson 5’s hit “ABC.”
The cover maintains the youthful energy of the original due to Zenua’s vocal and an arrangement that infuses the melody with hip-hop percussion. Kearns flute playing hovers over the entire arrangement in a way that allows him to engage in call and response with Zenua. It’s a fun take on a song that was fun. Check out Kearns and Zenua on their lyric video of “ABC” here.
By Howard Dukes
Jef Kearns feat. Aria Zenua - "ABC"