Over the holidays I asked my nineteen-year-old son, a music maven, to name a tune he liked that I probably hadn’t heard. He quickly brought up “What You Don’t Do,” by Lianne La Havas:
Blew me away. Still does. Can’t get enough of it.
It’s not just her soulful voice and delivery, but the arrangement. Wow. Such a swingy groove, with a beat recalling Sly and the Family Stones‘ Hot Fun in the Summertime. Both are in 12/8 time, with piano chords pounding an eighth-note rhythm over rising bass notes. (See the opening sheet music here and here.)
And the changes… the changes. Wow. The lyrics, and her delivery, have this teasing peek-a-boo to them that’s like nothing else I know. (But hey, I miss a lot.)
I see she’s on tour and sold out across the States, but not yet in Europe. Catch her if you can.
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