I saw JT on the Today show a week or two ago, promoting his "One Man Band" tour with a live morning performance in Rockefeller Center.

He was not performing solo: he had one accompanyist (on keyboard) and told the interviewer, "He's my One Man Band." Besides the two musicians, there was a large and complicated contraption that generated some kind of automated percussion ~ not an electronic drum machine, but some kind of fanciful mechanical gizmo with a certain weird/quaint visual appeal. (Somthing that my parents would have called a "Rube Goldberg machine.") The keyboard player and the big funnylooking machine will be on stage for the upcoming tour.

One of the numbers he did was especially unusual and seemingly out-of-character: he spoke/sung a kind-of rap/hip-hop style lyric through a megaphone (or, more precisely, through a battery-powered bullhorn). Very unexpected, pretty interesting, less-than-compelling musically ~ but good entertainment. One such selection in the context of an entire evening's concert would be a welcome change of pace, but more than one would be a mistake; I trust that he won't be overdoing this gimmick...

I really liked James Taylor when he first appeared on the scene, gradually got tired of his act over the years, and have come full circle to respect and enjoy him again now that we're all a little older. He really does have a great voice, and it has held up remarkably well for many years.