Random thoughts after Tony Allen's exceptional 3 ¼-performance (including intermission) on Saturday night at the sold-out Cedar Cultural Center:
* What a mesmerizing blend of jazz, soul and Afrobeat. (Allen was Fela Kuti's drummer and music director from 1968-79; the Nigerian native now lives in Paris.)
* Allen, 70, had a soft voice but one that was true and musical. Not many drummers can sing and play so effectively simultaneously.
* In the first set, the sound was not loud enough, perhaps out of respect for the softness of Allen's vocals.
* Seldom seen so many people stand so long indoors for what was essentially a jazz show.
* This group would go over big time at a jam-band festival.
* With his large wrapup-around sunglasses, Allen had a bit of a mysterious presence. But he was friendly and talkative. In an odd way, he evoked Miles Davis — if Miles had been a kinder person.
* Elated on the final night of their North American tour, Allen and his band ended the evening with the same number with which they closed the first set: the one about "don't take my kindness for weakness."
