Proving that Camden Fringe is not only presenting plays that are concerned with how badly men behave is Kansas City’s soul and jazz trio, BEATS + STRINGS. Playing instrumental versions of songs – some famous, and others less so – Soul Renaissance celebrates the music that comes from the city and beyond.
Demonstrating that musical instruments are just, if not more, versatile than the human voice, BEATS + STRINGS take on some of America’s finest: Luther Vandross, Mary J. Blige and Marvin Gaye. Who needs lyrics when you have RMJ Music on cello, K’Tina on violin and D Dot Prof on keyboards?
With the cello strapped to his chest, RMJ Music (aka Robert McNichols, Jr.) captures the bassy tones of a hot underground jazz club, while K’Tina (Tina Bilberry) stuns the audience with her virtuoso playing, hitting impossible high notes again and again. With the keyboards preset to seemingly two programmes, piano and sci-fi (sounds from the latter put one in mind of the communication made by aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), is D Dot Prof (Desmond Mason). Wearing shades and standing at the back of the Hen & Chickens stage, he looks a little like Ice-T.
Their instruments plugged into amps, the sounds they make are incredibly rich, surprisingly so, being played in a room upstairs of a pub. But the trio shines here in such an intimate venue, and the audience can see, and almost participate in, the improvisations that the three musicians engage in, each spurring the others on.
The familiar songs like Boyz II Men’s I’ll Make Love To You and the Fugees’ Killing Me Softly have the audience whispering along, reluctant to break the magic spell happening on stage. But it’s the final song, D’Angelo’s How Does It Feel, with each of the three performing solos, that brings the house down. Sometimes an hour is just not long enough.
Runs until 14 August 2026
Camden Fringe 2026 runs until 30 August
