The Sublime Miss Kosi

Photo: www.seangilligan.com

I first met Kosi at an open mic at Paris Blues. Her striking silhouette immediately caught my attention as she sat at the bar quaffing her signature tequila sunrise. I was taking pictures of the Les Goodson Quartet for Paula to send out to the Harlem Blogs. I asked Kosi if I could take a picture of her and she asked me “What’s it for? I told her that I was an aficionado of feminine beauty. She laughed and permission was granted.

Later when I heard her sing I was impressed not only by the quality of her voice but also by the intelligence she brought to the lyrics. Even the most banal standard becomes nuanced and layered by her interpretation. I asked her if she wanted to do a duet of a new piece I was introducing called “Love”. It went well and since that night we have slowly incorporated her into The Goddess Lakshmi.

“What’s a band called The Goddess Lakshmi doing with no chicks in it anyways ?” she recently stated to me.

The enigmatic Kosi is from Queens and nobody seems to know much else about her. Not even her last name. Unaccompanied she appears just before the gig and disappears into the night shortly after. Direct questions are parlayed by her Mona Lisa smile. I felt odd introducing her as just “Kosi” so I invented The Sublime Miss Kosi. It was a play on Lady Day and The Divine Miss M. Then Les picked it up on his Wednesday open mic night and began using it too. The other night Paula told me she wanted to make T-shirts with The Sublime Miss Kosi on it. So it appears to be sticking.