Filling In the Gap
Mark A’lleven’s musical home is located in that area where the sacred and the carnal intersect. The strong, throaty vocals, the growls, yelps and hollers that A’lleven uses on his debu album, Filling In the Gap, have a place on a Saturday night band stand and a Sunday morning choir stand. Of course, that’s what […]
VOCAbuLarieS
In international music circles, Bobby McFerrin is considered an uncommon, almost superhuman treasure. Few mediums have demonstrated all that can be done and transcended with the human voice like this multi-genre singer, composer, arranger and producer has. It’s criminal that for many he will forever be pigeon-holed as the dreadlocked Jamaican who in 1988 cheerfully […]
Live from Los Angeles – Vol. 2 (2010)
It seemed like only yesterday when vocalist and Pastor Beverly Crawford made noise across the gospel industry with “He’s Done Enough.” The powerful testimonial track from her 2007 release, Live from Los Angeles, made such a huge impact that it lasted over a year in the top ten on the Billboard gospel charts. For her […]
Blu Transition (2010)
On her last album, the SoulTracks Award-winning 2008 Still, Conya Doss displayed her skill at drenching nu-soul music with a classic soul sensibility. She’s always had a way with a lyric, while her delivery made honesty and earnestness sound sensual. I thought that Still would be Doss’ breakthrough album. It contained several tracks that could have […]
No Regrets (Advance Review)
Elisabeth Withers landed the role of Shug Avery in the stage version of "A Color Purple," and listeners who haven’t seen the show but want to hear what made Withers ideal as a theatrical performer should listen to her duet with Gordon Chambers on the song "Bittersweet." The cut appears on Withers new album No […]
UnderCover: Live from New York
A power belter and full-figured Ford model touted by Time and Newsweek as the next big thing, Maiysha was rightly celebrated in 2008. Unfortunately, the hype didn’t have the ground support to sustain the boast and the artistically strong soul/rock hybrid album, This Much Is True, fizzled with limited commercial impact. Recognizing crucial career steps […]
I Still Believe
It’s not often that the hard-knock life and a ten-year arson bid paves a path to stardom, but it’s all part of what makes the singer, songwriter and producer known as Lyfe Jennings…well…Lyfe Jennings. Prison wasn’t where he first discovered his voice, of course—it had been cultivated in church choirs during his teenage years—but the […]
M.P.3
The dearth of bands in the mainstream R&B world has left the field open to talented instrumentalists like Mike Phillips. On top of that, instrumentalists are increasingly reluctant to operate under the limits imposed on them by the smooth jazz description. That label can be especially restrictive for contemporary jazz saxophonists such as Phillips. Sometimes, […]
Love God, Love People: The London Sessions
Israel Houghton knows that the source of his inspiration comes from the Lord. Houghton, one of modern gospel’s innovators, knows music and music history. That much should be obvious from the way he incorporates modern sounds and classic gospel along with world music to craft a sound that is distinctly identifiable and relentlessly original. That’s […]
The Soul Renaissance LP
There is the all too familiar story of up and coming artists who were about to sign their first record contract only to have the deal fall apart at the seams. Singer/songwriter J. Hollins traveled down that frustrating path in 1998 while recording a project as part of the vocal group Laid Back. He eventually […]
