InDRUpendence Day (2010)
Unless you lived in a convent or a monastery during the late 1990’s, it was practically impossible to ignore Dru Hill’s dominance of the charts and airwaves on the urban scene. Qualms about the platinum do’ and Jodeci-esque vocals aside, Sisqo, Woody, Jazz, and Nokio came on strong with sinewy, harmony-laden singles that sustained enough edge for the […]
Pushing the Envelope (2010)
Smooth jazz is one of the few genres where funk music can still be heard. In fact, the listeners wouldn’t be wrong if they conclude that Pushing the Envelope, Gerald Albright’s new CD, is a funk record. Listeners wouldn’t have to go past "What Would James Do," the album’s first track, to reach that conclusion. […]
Bucket List (2010)
It’s easy to see how someone would confuse blues and Southern soul because there is a great deal of overlap. Blues singers can make Southern soul records and vice versa. And Southern soul act Julius Pittman and the Revival have at least one blues song on Bucket List, their new album – a cover of […]
Simply A Vessel Vol. II: Faithful (2010)
Singer/songwriter Sean C. Johnson was never used to having one place that he called home. Growing up, his family lived throughout the U.S. and Germany. Sean’s parents’ strong example inevitably shaped his future; his mother as an accomplished singer and music student and his father’s life-long service to the military. While he has experienced many changes […]
My Story (2010)
Watching Season 9 of American Idol helps pinpoint two obvious truths: the best is behind them and the show is just a hallow shell of its former glory. And, with the recent madness of past seasons’ talent rising to the occasion to record their freshman records, we’re much better for yesterday. On Season 5, Jose […]
So Smooth (The Funk Album) Produced by Wadz (2010)
There are a few cultural earmarks that many were glad to say goodbye to when the 80’s ended: asymmetrical shags, jheri curls and mullets, to name a few. But what few will dispute is that the era produced some of the most memorable ballads and dance cuts ever heard, especially in R&B. And whether you […]
Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook (2010)
With Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook, the self-proclaimed "Great Lady of Soul" delivers the third in what has been an inspiring series of reinterpreted covers that is definitively the platinum standard for how to credibly create a compelling homage to the classics and their originators. Viewers of the December 2008 Kennedy Center Honors will stand […]
The Bitter Suite (2010)
Like the old saying "you’re beautiful when you’re angry," Carmen Rodgers sounds really good when she’s bitter. And she effectively captures the stages of hurt, anger and resignation of a love gone bad on her new EP, The Bitter Suite. It’s been six years since the Dallas-based singer won a sizable number of fans with […]
Now Is The Time (2010)
Jeff Lorber is often referred to as a "jazz veteran." His professional roots in the music go back to the 1970s when the fusion giants roamed the land. Back then, Lorber fronted a group called Jeff Lorber Fusion, and he played that funky brew of jazz, funk and rock. In the 1980s, Lorber flipped the […]
The Sellout (2010)
Macy Gray has this rare ability to create music that puts a jaunty and carefree slant on songs that have very disturbing subject matter. On Big, Gray’s critically acclaimed but tragically underappreciated 2007 album, she sampled Gilbert O’Sullivan’s maudlin classic “Alone Again, Naturally” to tell a the story of murder for life insurance. “My Fondest […]
