Coming Forth By Day (2015)
The lists of artists who performed tunes made famous by Billie Holiday is long and distinguished. The list includes Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross, John Coltrane, Miki Howard, Lynn Fiddmont and, coming soon, Jose James. Holiday was among the first vocalists to use modern amplification techniques to develop and refine a style of singing that was […]
Chocolate Drops (2015)
Decadent, delicious, succulent and the equivalent of a warm embrace that melts on the tongue: unless one is allergic, chocolate remains one of the world’s most popular and addicting treats. Will Downing, like chocolate, has also been considered a must-have indulgence for jazz and soul lovers for the last couple of decades, so he’s one […]
Dress Code (2015)
How does a group overcome being categorized simply as a “retro” act? Well, one way is to avoid falling into the trap of being a cover band, or more so a tribute band. So, that means write original music, but even then a group is going to be marked as having a sound set in […]
Original Soundtrack from Empire Season One (Deluxe Edition)
In just one short season, this FOX soap has become America’s #2 scripted drama, with over 16.5 million “live watch” viewers by the drama’s season finale, nipping at the heels of the top dog status of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Its name is Empire and it has rapidly become one of America’s guiltiest pleasure pastimes. […]
Here We Go (2015)
For the past three decades, the contemporary jazz format has notably stood out from other genres of popular music in its stability and consistency. True, the style has picked up its fair share of influences from modern R&B, hip-hop, and even pop at various points in time; but for the most part, the underlying paradigm […]
Home: One Special Night at the Kimmel Center (2015)
It’s the kind of aural utopia for which true music lovers literally salivate: lush, live instrumentation anchoring multiple textures and tempos in each selection, all enhanced by a dream line-up of guest players and vocalists. Such moments are best experienced as they happen, but the next best thing is a skillfully rendered live CD, which […]
BamaLoveSoul: On Deck 3
I can’t pinpoint the moment when southern hip-hop became ratchet. Yes, there are plenty of southern based rap acts who make or have made great music but there a plenty of people for whom the face of southern rap is Two Chainz rather than OutKast or Ludacris. Southern based R&B/soul singers don’t have the same […]
At The BBC (2015)
It seems that newcomer Jarrod Lawson has almost overnight become a star among soul music aficionados, instantly winning the SoulTracks 2014 Editor’s Choice Award for Album of the Year his first time out. A Pacific Northwestern blue-eyed soul star with a stunning range, smooth tone, a very fine piano technique, and more than a bit […]
The Essential Chris Jasper (2015)
The first and only time that I saw The Isley Brothers perform live came in 1981. Two of my buddies and I saw them in August of that year at the former Holiday Star Theater in Merrillville. The show was great because the Isleys were in the latter portion of their commercially and critically successful […]
The Gospel According to Jazz Chapter IV (2015)
Kirk Whalum starts the fourth installment of his The Gospel According to Jazz series with a saxophone solo of the hymn “Just As I Am,” a tune that is a standard in Christian hymnals across denominations and throughout the world. At that point, many in the audience might expect the rest of the album to […]
