AFA '09 - Ahmad Jamal, Soukous Stars, Booker T. Jones, and Julia Huff

Over the course of the weekend, on the main stage, a lot of talented performers shared their craft. Here are 45 of my favorite photos from those shows.

Booker T. Jones was an interesting performer. He wasn't the most animated man on stage, but he was clearly passionate about his music. The good news is that his band was pretty colorful. This was especially true of his bassist who had ink all over. Although his music wasn't my style, he was great to hear.

Julia Huff had a great voice, although I had never heard her sing before. On the downside, she used her voice to sing covers of other artists' songs. On the plus-side, she sang many of them as good (or better) than the original artist - including a Jill Scott track, which says a lot!

Ahmad Jamal was nice on stage. That is a smooth man right there. The best part of his Jazz set was that I could take my earplugs out for a night. He had a lot of fun on stage. A while back I saw Ben Vereen perform in Wicked. Everyone else on stage was "acting" and Ben was clearly in his element, is was like watching a master perform. Ahmad had that same air about him.

Lastly, the Soukous Stars were probably the most entertaining act of the weekend outside of Mr. Clinton. Their two dancers, Jessica and Maria, were fantastics and really got the crowd into the show. The lead sing showed his stuff too, and must have been reliving a past life on stage. He was an intesting contrast to Maria and Jessica, but to his credit - they all put on a great show!