Yesterday I Had The Blues (2015)
In certain quarters, Minneapolis-born, London-based José James has been accused of being “boring” as a vocalist. Armed with a weighty baritone whose flow flirts with the bridges between jazz, hip hop and soul, James excels in songs with plenty of space and whose arrangements allow him breathing room to spare. How well he holds your […]
Afrodeezia (2015)
For more than three decades Marcus Miller has been called upon as one of the most reliable, well-versed musicians and producers. He maintained lengthy relationships with legends Luther Vandross, Miles Davis and David Sanborn that resulted in several Grammy Awards and countless studio sessions. This is not to discount his work as a band leader, […]
All I Need (2015)
When I first discovered Crystal Aikin as a contestant on BET’s Sunday Best during its inaugural season, my immediate attraction was this is an amazing soprano voice breathing fire and brimstone while also unhesitatingly elevating praise and worship to incredible heights. When all was said and done, Aikin practically blew the competition away, especially with […]
Make Some Room (2015)
They only have four songs to convince us that they’re the real deal. Half the number of a scratchy old school vinyl album with half the opportunities to make us love them. They manage it in one, with the title track, and then again and again without yield. They’ve come to conquer. Grand in size […]
The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story (2015)
There is a point in the documentary The Greatest Ears in Town: The Arif Mardin Story where the interviewer cuts to Mardin, Quincy Jones and Sir George Martin giving their individual insights about whether they, as producers, have an identifiable sound. Mardin notes that another one of his 1960s contemporaries – Phil Specter – produced […]
Vinyl Daze (2015)
With a name like Vinyl Daze and the buzz Rhonda Thomas received from her great video remake of the Isaac Hayes tune “Do Your Thing,” one might think that the new release by the Georgia-based singer would be a cover project. But Vinyl Daze was actually inspired by conversations Thomas had with Darren “Daz-i-kue” Benjamin of the British band Bugz in […]
The Kool Collection
There is this prevailing idea among the grown ‘n’ sexy set that if soul has any obvious electronic elements or explicit auto-tuned overlays, the material is immediately suspect. One would think the ‘80s and the reign of labels like Solar Records and artists like Roger, Cameo, and Zapp never happened. As though that era’s heavy […]
If You Were Mine (2015)
“Less is more.” It’s a concept that’s become a fashion mantra, a designer’s motto and quite frankly, the best way to dine and imbibe after age 30. Excess can be fun on occasion and even a bonus, but too many have become reliant on going too far, especially in music. AutoTuning this, synthesizing that, building […]
True Romance
It’s easy to understand why Estelle is a vocalist who appeals to a variety of producers and collaborators. Her voice is very pliable, meaning she can move easily from hip-hop styled spoken word numbers to power ballads to traditional R&B pieces. She’s not a singer who is going to seek to hog to the mic […]
Stargazer (2015)
One virtue of being an indie artist is that performers can create their own musical world. That goes a long way toward compensating for the challenges and frustrations confronted by those not attached to a major label. On Stargazer, the third studio album by Mississippi born and Dallas raised soul singer Carmen Rodgers, she creates […]
