Nile Rodgers & CHIC: Tiny Desk Concert
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Published 2023-10-26
Before Nile Rodgers & CHIC set the Tiny Desk off, the icon established a sort of mission statement for the group's sound: "If we can funk in this, you know we can funk." They surely can. In stints since 1972, CHIC has assured its position as funk ambassadors — a position its members clearly relish — and no space is resistant to their grooves. When Rodgers asks singer Kimberly Davis to show the audience "how we do it in the CHIC organization," she launches into high-powered vocals that vaporize every note. And when he asks drummer Ralph Rolle to lead them to "maximum funkocity," Rolle ignites call-and-response with an electrified crowd. As the ringleader of the CHIC experience, Rodgers crams a lifetime's worth of nightlife into every strum of his guitar.
Rodgers' career is epic in both scope and impact. The 1979 CHIC album Risqué was a disco milestone that became a hip-hop cornerstone. Standing at inflection points for two different genres is enough to make a career, but Rodgers was far from done. An incomparable songwriter and session musician, his call sheet as a producer is emblematic of his immense range: David Bowie, Diana Ross, Madonna and Mick Jagger, just to name a few. His work is embedded in the very fabric of popular music, and he continues to add to his resume decades after first making changes to the sonic landscape. In 2014, Rodgers won the Grammy for record of the year with Daft Punk. This year, he amassed more honors for his work on Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE.
His wondrous set spans his massive catalog — songs he wrote for CHIC, songs he wrote with collaborators, songs he wrote for other stars and a surprise song he wrote for a classic movie. Throughout, Rodgers is the pulse for an ever-amplifying funk. The band's performance of "I'm Coming Out" builds to a rip-roaring sax solo. A rollicking performance of "We Are Family" breaks down in the middle before erupting to a triumphant finish. And atop the rippling bassline of "Good Times," Rodgers breaks into an impromptu version of "Rapper's Delight," which samples the song. It all leads to the maximum funkocity of Bowie's "Let's Dance," a tribute to the genre's reach and power.
SET LIST
"Le Freak"
"I'm Coming Out"
"We Are Family"
"Get Lucky"
"Good Times"
"Let's Dance"
MUSICIANS
Nile Rodgers: guitar, vocals
Russell Graham: keyboards, vocals
Jerry Barnes: bass, vocals
Ralph Rolle: drums, vocals
Richard Hilton: keyboards, vocals
Ken Gioffre: saxophone
Steve Jankowski: trumpet
Audrey Martells: vocals
Kimberly Davis: vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
Producers: Bobby Carter, Bob Boilen
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin
Videographers: Maia Stern, Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Alanté Serene
Audio Assistant: Ted Mebane
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Grace Widyatmadja
Tiny Desk Team: Suraya Mohamed, Hazel Cills
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann
#nilerodgers #chic #nprmusic #tinydesk
All Comments (21)
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SO MUCH LOVE! Thank you... Tiny Desk.. EVERYONE..... This means so very much to me 🙏🏼
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This will go down as one of the best Tiny Desks in history
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These guys consistently sound way better live than the studio recordings
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There's very little in this world as awesome as listening to a tight funk band play live.
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When you are responsible for the greatest hits of David Bowie, Duran Duran, Madonna, Sister Sledge, Diana Ross, Sheila B. Devotion, Daft Punk, etc. and off course your own band Chic, you can say that you are one of the greatest.
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Tiny Desk sound engineers deserve an award.
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This is not a performance.....this is A MASTER CLASS 🤷🏻♂️
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My man hit that "Soul Glow" with precision!! I'm dead 💀😭🤩
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I googled Nile Rodgers and it looks like the whole music industry relied on this mans talent for decades. To this day! His achievements completely overwhelming to look at.
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Give that man his flowers. He literally doesn't get enough props. This man helped write the soundtrack to our childhoods if not our lives. Niles is definitely in the Pantheon.👊🏿💜
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I met Nile once on a redeye from Burbank to JFK. I was a flight attendant at the time, paying the bills while beginning my career as a jazz guitarist. I was practicing on the jump seat with a nylon string guitar while most of the plane slept. Nile came by to use the bathroom and heard me practicing a complicated John Coltrane song. We talked for a little bit, and then he picked up my guitar and played some of the baddest jazz guitar on the same tune. I was not expecting that from the guitar player from CHIC!
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The level of precision and accuracy in this sound is amazing
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The keyboardist singing SOUL GLO will forever be part of my random access memories; ‘JUST LET YOUR SOUL GLO....JUST LET IT SHINE THROUGH’ 🥰
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The keyboardist busting out the Soul-Glo theme was incredible.
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Those interpolations in Get Lucky are such a swift touch. It must be such an amazing experience to be recruited by Nile, knowing his whole thing is allowing amazing musicians to shine, my god has his career been epic
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Kimberly Davis, the most underrated singer in the USA. I said it, fight me.
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Did anybody else have a huge smile on their face throughout this entire concert???? ❤😁
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David Bowie hired Nile for some of his funkiest songs during the 80s and 90s. Nile is an absolute genius of funk.
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These 2 girls singing are so talented and beautiful. Im in love
