Remind Me: The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978-1984 (Advance Review)
Patrice Rushen – Remind Me: The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978-1984 The impact of Patrice Rushen on the music industry at large over the past four decades is ineffable. As a musical director for prominent concerts and award shows and a revered session musician, she’s left her stamp of melodic and rhythmic prowess on many timeless recordings […]
The Love Reunion (2019)
Raheem DeVaughn is something of a musical anomaly. He’s made club bangers, tossed numerous musical roses to the ladies and created the kind of tunes that could be found on any ‘woke’ person’s playlist. However, from the time DeVaughn’s closeup came with 2005’s The Love Experience – where he incorporated one of R&B’s most identifiable […]
Chapter II – EP 2 (2019)
In recent years, the band Vintage Trouble has taken the tactic of leaving their fans wanting more. Their last full-length album, 1 Hopeful Road, dropped in 2015. That project found the quartet crafting a well-balanced album that featured rollicking countrified blues rock tracks such as “Run Like the River” and soulful ballads like “From My […]
Life II (2019)
Vivian Sessoms – Life II “I Can’t Breathe,” the absolutely stunning lead single from Vivian Sessom’s upcoming album Life II, references the final words said by Eric Garner in 2014 when he was placed in a fatal choke hold while being arrested by police for illegally selling cigarettes. However, the mixture of blues and gospel does […]
Keep On (Advance Review)
The music on Southern Avenue’s self-titled debut album reflected the Memphis street from which the band took its name. Southern Avenue runs from the city limits to the Soulville neighborhood that Stax Records helped to make famous. And the music on the band’s debut album brought to mind Memphis soul – whether the band was […]
Heroes and Gods (Advance Review)
Rahsaan Patterson – Heroes & Gods It’s been nearly a decade since Rahsaan Patterson released his last album, Bleuphoria. Many sonic trends in R&B and popular music at large have since come and gone. Yet, despite not having new music out during such a long period of time, it’s easy to settle into the multitiered […]
Golden Days (2019)
Funny how time flies. It’s been a decade since London-based soul revival band Mamas Gun struck gold with their first single “Pots of Gold” and a rolled out LP Routes to Riches, becoming a huge chart-topping talent in Japan and winning critical acclaim across the globe via word-of-mouth and Internet consumption. Since then, the five-piece […]
Seeds (2019)
Lasperanza – Seeds Artists who make covers albums know that they will have to explain and defend that decision. Outside of the jazz world, nothing says mailing it in quite like an album of remakes, and jazz artists are increasingly moving away from projects consisting exclusively or primarily of songbook material and are instead releasing records […]
Disco Soul Gold, Vol. 2
Various Artists – Disco Soul Gold, Vol. 2 Memphis, Chicago, Detroit and Philadelphia. For music fans, those cities are more than just points on the map. Each is associated with a certain sound and a music label. The music of Philadelphia dominated the 1970s and early 1980s in the way that Chess dominated the 1950s […]
The Way We Are (2019)
Bashiri Asad – The Way We Are Bashiri Asad seeks to create music that will be the soundtrack of his life, as well as the lives of his listeners. A black family man and Midwesterner, Asad is a veteran of the Indy and indie music scenes. The soundtrack of his life features artists such as Donny […]
