The Book of Jonah
J. Nadir Omowale, a.k.a. Nadir, was in an activist mood when we last heard from him. It was an election year – 2008, to be exact. The nation was involved in two wars and was about to enter the worst economic downturn since The Great Depression. Nadir looked at the state of the nation and […]
Live with the Metropole Orkest (2012)
If you’re a fan of jazz vocalists who add soul and a dash of pop to their work, you’re probably an Al Jarreau fan. Jarreau gained a reputation in the 1970s as a songwriter and vocalist who used his voice and his body as instruments. He released a series of highly regarded albums that earned […]
Crates: Remix Fundamentals Vol. 1 (2012)
There is no set template in place when it comes to a musical remix: there can be vocals grafted onto a different track, a tempo change or even the addition of new voices like a continuation of the initial version. But even if there isn’t a required standard to follow, what makes a remix successful […]
Beautiful Surprise (2012)
There’s been no reality show, no stints in rehab and no tabloid-ready reports about her marriage and family, but maintaining a low profile hasn’t kept Tamia from being one of her generation’s most popular R&B artists. Ever since her appearance on Quincy Jones’ Q’s Jook Joint project, the Grammy Award nominated performer has used her […]
channel ORANGE
It may seem like old news already but it was just over a month ago that singer/songwriter Frank Ocean announced to the world, including his very conservative hip hop world, his unrequited first love for a boy and rode the subsequent publicity all the way to #1 on the iTunes and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 […]
House of Cards (2010)
Bobby Caldwell made his name by singing R&B and soul music steeped in jazz sensibilities. However, the places where Caldwell spent a portion of his life insured that he would be a musical sponge who soaked up influences from each port of call. The vocalist and multi-instrumentalist was born in Manhattan, a location that provided […]
Life as a Ballad (2012)
Shag carpeting, polyester leisure suits, mutton-chop sideburns and butterfly collars. If you ask folks who remember the 1970s, many of its hallmarks fell short of worth beyond the era in which they came to fruition, but that truth usually doesn’t apply to its music. There was plenty of vivaciousness and variety in lyrics and from […]
Letters
Smooth jazz, Marvin Gaye faux soul and Amos Lee organics all highlight Sean Roux’s short digital LP, Letters. The eight-song trek travels like an unplugged set, hinging tightly to its acoustic arrangements. Accordingly, throughout this debut, Roux intentionally leaves out the studio gimmicks, sidestepping most mainstream soul pop conventions and obvious radio appeals. Personifying much […]
Whoa To WOW! (2012)
Renee Spearman is an artist who proves demographics do not necessarily equate to destiny. It would be easy to assume that Spearman, like many of her Generation X cohorts, would be a purveyor of the type of gospel music that fuses religious and inspirational themes with contemporary R&B and hip-hop production techniques. And Spearman does […]
Jealousy (2014)
Chubby Tavares is an old school singer, and he makes no attempt to escape that fact on his latest recording, Jealousy. Most fans of 1970s era R&B, disco and funk will remember Antone “Chubby” Tavares as one of the five brothers in the vocal group Tavares. Tavares had a nice run in the 1970s and […]
