Karl Denson may call his band the “Tiny Universe,” but in the music world, his network is anything but small. The 63-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist co-founded and led the Greyboy All-Stars, recorded with the likes of Slightly Stoopid, Blackalicious, Blind Boys of Alabama, and Stanton Moore; and toured with Lenny Kravitz and the Rolling Stones. His band has also been a regular on the annual JamCruise since 2014, and on Gnomes & Badgers, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe’s latest album, the group’s namesake enlisted musical luminaries such as Lukas Nelson, Anders Osborne, Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada and Dumpstaphunk’s Ivan Neville to contribute.
Nowhere is Karl’s universe more expansive than in Southern California. The Santa Ana native operates largely out of San Diego nowadays and, on the third Thursday of 2020, kicked off a string of four shows at intimate venues in the Golden State as part of his Election Year: Winter Edition 2020 tour with a stirring set at the Lodge Room in the northeastern Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland Park.
For this particular performance, Karl reached all the way across the continental United States to enlist Long Island’s own Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer. The teenaged sensation—who’s starred on Broadway in School of Rock: The Musical, appeared on The Ellen Show, Good Morning America, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The View; and performed with Lady Gaga, Stevie Nicks, Buddy Guy, Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks—warmed up the 500-person room with a sizzling selection of songs pulled from his own growing catalog and wider repertoire.
Whether putting passion behind his own words in “My Revival” and “I Can’t Live” or lending a new voice to a cover of The Meters’ “People Say”, Taz kept his energy and his soon-to-be-legendary (if it isn’t already) guitar-shredding constant—and spectacularly so. For local fans who caught his headlining show at The Mint in 2019, the sights and sounds were at once familiar and fresh and offered even more hope for the future of funk, blues, rock, jam and just about every other within that sphere of sonic influence.
Even though it was a school night, Taz didn’t take off after his opening set. Instead, he threw on a blazer and stuck around to sit in with KDTU. While he was by far the most junior musician onstage, Taz not only took his turns soloing but stole the spotlight, to some extent, with his exemplary axe work. Check out a fan-shot video of some of the madness below.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe w/Taz- 1/16/20
[Video: Tom O’Hara]
Not that Karl and his cats were slacking, by any means. From Chris Littlefield on trumpet and Chris Stillwell on bass to David Veith on keys and Zak Najor on drums, his bandmates all had their opportunities to shine throughout a set that carried on well past 11 pm.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe w/Taz – 1/16/20
However big or small his universe may be, though, Karl remains at the center of it, and certainly was on this night. He got the crowd riled up with his phenomenal flute to open “Dance Lesson #2” and flexed his funky vocals on a chunk of tracks from his latest album—including “Gossip”, “What If You Knew”, “Change My Way”, “Time to Pray”, “I’m Your Biggest Fan”, “Something Sweet”, and “Can We Trade”. Along the way, he kept the rhythm with a variety of percussive implements and waxed philosophic about our divided times and what it will take to bring people together again.
And, of course, there was Karl’s saxophone, and plenty of it. For all of Karl’s skills (and they are many), it’s his ability with brass that still stands head and shoulders above the rest, regardless of the man’s actual physical stature. His passion and presence infuse every note as if James Brown had been reincarnated as a sweat-dappled sax man.
Thanks to that central talent and his own charisma, Karl has become a mainstay in the music world, to the point where he’s developed his own gravitational pull. His magnetism is the product of decades of outstanding musicianship and has pulled Hall of Famers and young prodigies alike into his orbit.
With that eclectic sphere of influence, Karl’s message should resonate with audiences across the country as he continues to play through 2020. Performance by performance, his universe should become a little less tiny each time out.
Below, check out a gallery of photos from the performance at the Lodge Room courtesy of photographer Brandon Weil.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe continues their tour tonight at Soho Restaurant & Music Club in Santa Barbara, CA before a Sunday night performance at Fremont Theater in San Luis Obispo, CA on January 19th. His tour will pick back up on Valentine’s Day at The Ardmore Music Hall in Ardmore, PA for the first of two consecutive nights. Visit their official website for tickets and more tour information.
