Saxophonists Play to Different Beats

Saxophonist Maceo Parker, a principal architect of soul godfather James Brown’s groove, and Femi Anikulapo-Kuti, the standard-bearer of Nigerian Afrobeat, compelled their listeners at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday to ponder the magic of cross-pollination--as well as to shake everything they’ve got.

Questions of name recognition notwithstanding, it was a misstep to start the evening with Anikulapo-Kuti and his group the Positive Force, because their high-energy set made Parker’s almost anticlimactic. Because both bandleaders play saxophone, it would have been fascinatingly cool to hear each blow a few notes in the other’s world--after all, the pairing illustrated how American and African R&B; have fueled and inspired each other. But that was not to be.

No matter. Anikulapo-Kuti, following in the footsteps of his late father, renowned Afrobeat creator Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, proved a compelling head man himself, adding modern soul elements that made his set, drawn partly from his current album “Shoki Shoki,” irresistibly danceable. The players’ musical intensity was conveyed in vivid living color, with the 11 men in matching bright green pants and ethnic-print shirts and the three female singer-dancers sporting yellow- and red-fringed bikinis.

Their leader, a commanding figure in orange, turquoise and yellow patterned pants and tunic, conducted a sprawling 70 minutes dominated by simple, sinuous grooves infused with loads of percussion. Yet Anikulapo-Kuti also focused on his singing, communicating some universally uplifting messages but also turning melancholy with “97,” a homage to his father. At first appearing coolly self-confident, by the end he was sweaty, shirtless and whirling like a dervish possessed by musical spirit.

Parker and his octet were technically more sophisticated, but their 80-minute set never found its flow.

The 57-year-old musician exuded the charisma you’d expect from a former Brown bandleader, P-Funk sideman and sought-after soloist, but maybe he would have focused less on mugging and sardonic patter if Brown had been there to issue his classic command, “Maceo, blow your horn!”