For All We Know (With Jeff Neve) (2010)
Jose James is one of the most exciting male artists to come along in a decade, and that’s of any genre. Confident and assured without being boastful, this baritone balladeer never has to stoop to crass suggestions to ooze sexuality or that elusively defined "swag." His last two projects, The Dreamer and Black Magic, have […]
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (2010)
I’ll be the first to admit loathing the multi-platinum Craig David of old. I found his teen brand of two-step soul/pop on songs like the international hits "Fill Me In," "7 Days," and "Walking Away" cloying and calculated to a fault. But he was, essentially, a child then. Since then, Craig has certainly left behind […]
Live on the Sunset Strip (2010)
When Otis Redding finished his brilliant performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, his name was already synonymous with the greats. To this day the Monterey set is regarded as an ethereal moment in pop history; a major dispensation of gutsy explosive Southern soul wrapped around the genius of his backing band, Booker T & […]
My Life’s Lyric (2010)
DeWayne Woods, in my view, is a gospel traditionalist. By that, I mean Woods’ repertoire leans toward tunes that feature a lead vocalist singing verses and then leading a large ensemble choir on a call and response chorus. Woods can be performing a praise and worship song that could be equally effective as a congregational […]
Backatown (2010)
Like the angel Gabriel, when Trombone’s Shorty blows his horn much is revealed about the young musician’s once dreamlike native home and its uneasy future. The legacy of both pre-and post-Katrina Naw’lin’s can be heard far beyond the referential titles like "Hurricane Season," "The Cure" or the title track, "Backatown." Through the energetic Shorty, the […]
Illegal Copy (2010)
Making instrumental funk music creates a challenge for the Berlin based duo Funkatized that they do not face when making dance music. This challenge becomes acute if the group hopes to reach the American market. With the exception of jazz, instrumental music has a difficult time getting heard on American airwaves. This, of course, was […]
Let’s Come Together (2010)
When Kevin LeVar Gray first recorded "Good Things," the gospel love song was a regular staple on radio stations throughout his hometown of Washington , DC . So he thought that a record deal was imminent. He thus took a major career risk by leaving his long time lucrative day job in the public school […]
Blessed & Cursed (2010)
I interviewed a vocalist who comes from a church background for my day job as a reporter. I had to interview her for a story I was doing on an upcoming concert. One thing she told me about the benefits of being a church musician or vocalist is that an artist who can perform gospel […]
Bom Tempo (2010)
As I look back at pop culture during the sixties, I listened to the soul stirring grooves from Motown and Stax Records, the British Invasion led by The Beatles and the Southern California-style rock of The Beach Boys. There was also a unique sound injecting Latin flair with pop sensibility, which produced several top forty […]
It’s Personal (2010)
Honest, sincere, unpretentious, and yes, personal. These are the qualities that make Angela Johnson one of the finest artists-writers-producers to emerge in the modern soul era. For her, making music is about melody and rhythm, hooks and harmonies. Flash, faux-swag, and fads are simply not synonymous with the woman who can move an audience to […]
