Soul Traveler (2015)
Marion Meadows is a classically trained saxophonist who studied at the Berklee College of Music as well as the SUNY system in New York State. However, like so many jazz musicians, Meadows also received his practical education on the road through touring with performers such as Norman Connors and Joe Henderson. Those connections led to […]
Uptown Special (2015)
In case you didn’t get the memo the first time, producer Mark Ronson is a fan of nostalgia. It’s what made him the go-to guy in the music biz. He was the brains behind the Motown-sounding throwback soul of Amy Winehouse’s records. He gave Duran Duran their ‘80s comeback sound on All You Need Is […]
Love Phases (2015)
I don’t know what accounts for the nine years that lapsed between Carol Riddick’s stunning debut, Moments Like This, and her excellent follow up, <strong”>Love Phases. But then too, I kinda do. It’s probably the story of funding issues and life issues. But mainly funding, or trying to muster up enough cash to ensure that […]
A Better Man (2015)
Phil Perry is a soul survivor. From his time with The Montclairs in the early to mid 1970s, through his duet work with Perry and Sanlin, through the years that Perry worked as a much sought after backing vocalist and jingle singer in the 1980s, to his emergence as a lead singer starting in the […]
Reality Show (2015)
It is a cliché to say from great pain comes great art, but like most clichés, there’s a reason why we believe it: there is so often some truth to it. When Jazmine Sullivan left us nearly five years ago, to take a semi-retirement break from the business, following the release of her sophomore album, […]
The Gil Suite (2014)
A frequent Facebook question asks people if they had a chance to see a concert performance by music legend who has left us, who would they choose? The post is accompanied by the photographs of departed legends such as Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Luther Vandross and Whitney Houston. I can’t recall ever seeing Gil-Scot Heron’s […]
Transparent (2014)
At the center of gospel music, besides the anointing, are the artists’ testimonies that inspire the fans and believers to maintain their Christian walk. In her short season of gospel music fame, Jessica Reedy has been very unafraid to bring all her testimonies and the forthright emotions along with them, while also balancing single parenthood […]
The Soul Collection (2014)
Recording a cover of a well-loved or vintage song selection can seem like sheer laziness, but it can actually a daunting task when there’s reverence for the culture and material. One would be hard-pressed to find a band that would successfully interpret modern and classic soul music that originated over a continent away, but Big […]
Smooth Winter Soul (2014)
Smooth Winter Soul, the latest compilation from Tom Glide and TGee records, picks up where his summertime compilation – Sweet Summer Soul – left off. The project covers the gamut of sounds listeners like to experience when the cold and snow take most of the action indoors. Things tend to slow down in the winter, […]
Sweet Freaks (2014)
I first came across the term “acid jazz” around 1997 in relation to the group Incognito. Bluey and his crew had just dropped the album Beneath of Surface, hot off the heels of their triumphs with Positivity and 100° and Rising, and it stayed in heavy rotation for a couple of years. From my standpoint […]
