Feels Like Heaven (2010)
I thought that The Jones Girls came from nowhere when I first heard "You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else." Nothing could be further from the truth. The Jones Girls hailed from Detroit , and they came from a musical family. Sisters Brenda, Shirley and Valorie Jones worked as backing vocalists while recording their own […]
Kebomusic Presents: The Soul Prototype (2010)
Derrick Pryce is the head of Atlanta based KeboMusic. Pryce is a Canadian by birth who moved to Atlanta to be a part of that city’s burgeoning soul scene. He’s worked as a producer, songwriter and musician for hire. Pryce has music that he plans to release next year through his label. In the meantime, […]
Tho’back (2010)
Vic Frierson has the kind of ‘measurables’ normally associated with NBA power forwards and NFL defensive ends. He’s 6′ 8” and weighs about 290 pounds. Soul music fans have seen their share of super sized men with smooth as butter and passionate as preacher vocals – Otis Redding, Luther and David Peaston from previous generations […]
Roots and Grooves (2010)
Haiti is never far from saxophonist Jowee Omicil’s mind. Omicil is Canadian born and of Haitian descent, and he’s been profoundly affected by the events that have taken place in that island nation over the last two years. Omicil wrote the song "4 My People" in 2008 as a tribute to those affected by the […]
Q: Soul Bossa Nostra (2010)
If a musicologist stated that Quincy Jones never produced a bad album, there probably wouldn’t be too many dissenting voices. That’s a remarkable statement considering Jones’ six decades in the music business. Of course, legends like Frank Sinatra don’t work with sloppy people, and those are the kind of A-list talents who called on Q […]
Lost In Time (2010)
Just over five years ago, singer, songwriter and musician Eric Benet found himself at a personal and professional crossroads. In spite of a decade that had began with great promise, thanks to his gold-selling and Grammy-nominated Tamia duet, "Spend My Life With You," his reputation as low-key R&B love man was nearly destroyed thanks to […]
Soulsville (2010)
It’s not hard to pinpoint Huey Lewis’s musical influences; evidenced best in his formulaic motif, one built upon doo-wop pop, sassy horn inclusions and his bluesy, Ray Charles vocals. No wonder the Lewis and the News decided, even in an age where cover albums are entirely flooding the marketplace, to honor the sweaty, gutsy soul […]
Going Back (2010)
With an astounding career singing with prog-rock band Genesis and scoring countless MTV staples and pop hits on solo records throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, Phil Collins comes out of his eight-year reprieve from his last album Testify to deliver an album focusing on Motown covers. Before launching into a "not-another-one-of-those" hissy fit, it’s safe […]
Zen Food (2010)
Most of us know Kevin Eubanks the celebrity. That Kevin Eubanks served as Jay Leno’s music director from 1995 until earlier this year. Prior to becoming the leader of the Tonight Show Band, Eubanks played the guitar when Branford Marsalis fronted the group. The band Eubanks led balanced its precarious role, providing the atmospherics of […]
For You (2010)
For those who consider themselves aficionados of True School R&B, the name ‘Freddie Jackson’ recalls more than a laughable line from the movie Friday. In fact, depending on who you ask, the mention of those four syllables can illicit romanticized rose-colored, memories of a past-time or present love, thanks to nearly-immortal soul classics like "Tasty Love," […]
