"You" by Frankie Beverly and Maze, performed by Ace Livingston & Friends
Ace Livingston & Friends Tribute to Frankie Beverly and Maze – Whiteout Night
Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz
Bushnell Park
Hartford
July 21, 2025
It’s July, so that means it’s once again time for the largest free jazz festival in the United States, the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz, taking place in the heart of the city at Bushnell Park.
Despite its moniker, the Jazz Fest features more than just jazz music. The final act of this evening’s show was a tribute by guitarist Ace Livingston and an all-star band to the late Frankie Beverly. There were thousands of people in the audience, decked out in their all-white outfits to honor his memory.
This was a special act for a couple of reasons. First, it served to highlight Frankie Beverly, one of the most brilliant soul and funk writers/singers of the 1970s and ’80s. I hadn’t realized how many of the songs I grew up listening to were performed by Beverly and his band Maze until I heard them as part of the tribute Friday night.
The other aspect that made the performance so special was that all of the talent is local. Everyone on the stage for the final performance either was born and raised in the Greater Hartford area, like guitarist Doug Wilson and singers Rue Williams and Victoria Brooks, or made the area their home as transplants, such as trumpeter Haneef Nelson. It was a vivid showcase of the talent that our region both nurtures and attracts, and showed that Hartford is in the same class as any other musical city in the nation, be it Nashville, New Orleans, Atlanta or New York.
The world-class talent of the band was evident from the very beginning of the set. They covered “You,” one of the classics of Beverly and Maze. Rue Williams played the role of Beverly for the evening. Williams is a talented singer, and he brought his own sense of style to the song, with shifts in octave that rivaled Beverly’s own performance. Williams was the hype man as well. Little touches like how an artist ad-libs during their performance, the way that they move to the beat, and their enthusiasm for the song go a long way in both bringing a song to life in person, while also distinguishing the cover from the original.
The song was a real showcase for Doug Wilson and his guitar playing. For a full minute he shredded the strings on his instrument, replacing the funky rhythms of synthesizers with a contemporary solo that made the song feel fresh and new while still honoring the original. It was also noteworthy to see Ace step back and allow Wilson to shine on stage. It was like a metaphorical passing of the torch to a talented new generation.
A Frankie Beverly tribute wouldn’t be complete without Maze’s most enduring song, “Before I Let Go.” The standout on the song was Victoria Brooks, who took over with a singing/rapping performance that brought the whole crowd to its feet. It was feel-good music with a feel-good message: The multitalented artists of Hartford were as much the focus of the show as the generational music of Beverly.
Livingston summed up the evening with a simple statement from the center of Bushnell Park:
“This is my favorite place to play, because it’s home.”
Hartford is fortunate to have so much to offer in such a small space.
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