Teedra Moses: Tiny Desk Concert

Bobby Carter | November 25, 2024
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of her debut album, Complex Simplicity, Teedra Moses came draped in all red, the same color she wore on the album’s cover. She couldn’t wait to get into the office and sing. Admittedly, I held off from formally inviting her to play the Desk for a couple of years because I knew this landmark was approaching, and this album was worth honoring in a major way. She rarely performs songs from Complex… exclusively, so she brought family and invited special guests to participate, including long-time collaborator J. Black and Tiny Desk alumnus Durand Bernarr.

2004 was a banner year for R&B albums, with debuts from John Legend, Ciara, and Fantasia. We also got the final album from Destiny’s Child and Usher’s magnum opus, Confessions, among many others. Moses came at a time when love songs still reigned supreme and while she carried that tradition into Complex Simplicity, on the flip side, she also wrote about how she really felt, which makes this album so unique. The balance of hard, soft and slick was a refreshing formula. Moses’ brazen approach to songwriting influenced a generation of women in R&B, like SZA, Summer Walker, and Ari Lennox. Behind the Desk, she ran through the best of Complex Simplicity, closing with the original and Kaytranada remix of “Be Your Girl.”

SET LIST
“Caught Up”
“Complex Simplicity”
“You'll Never Find (a Better Woman)”
“You Better Tell Her”
“No More Tears”
“Take Me”
“Backstroke”
“Be Your Girl”

MUSICIANS
Teedra Moses: vocals
LeShawn Thomas: bass, musical direction
Sharod Virtuoso: guitar
Branden Akinyele: drums
Brandon Butler: keys
Durand Bernarr: background vocals, co-musical direction
J. Black: background vocals
Amanda Mikkel: background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Bobby Carter
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel
Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Estefania Mitre
Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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