Live From London (2013)

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An authentic, ever-evolving love story that took root in the streets of Philly, blossomed into a marriage, children and four studio albums that chronicled every step of the way: that’s what Kindred The Family Soul is. Together, as part of the 2000s neo-soul emergence, Aja Graydon and Fatin Dantzler spun the grit and the glory […]

Seven (2013)

It’s unfortunate – even tragic – that Vesta Williams died before the release of Seven, her final album. Would this album be the one that earned Vesta the mainstream acceptance that eluded her later in her career? Probably not. Vesta faced the same challenges that confront veteran R&B singers making music in an industry that […]

The Introduction (2012)

In one sense, Zacardi Cortez needs no introduction. Cortez hails from a Houston based Gospel-singing family, was mentored by John P. Kee, and recorded on albums by the likes of Kurt Carr, Bishop Paul S. Morton, Gregg Patrick and James Fortune.   But Cortez is more known inside the Gospel music industry than by casual Gospel […]

Those Who Wait

It is the best debut of the year. A strong declaration, but it doesn’t make it any less true. The twenty-two year old wunderkind from Manchester, England has been in a state of refining and polishing his flawless and varied instrument for the last couple of years, seemingly appearing out of nowhere when he burst […]

Condensate

Without using a statement loaded with hyperbole, it is most important to value the Minneapolis-bred ‘80s funk band The Time separately rather than as a unit. That’s because, as history preaches the unraveling truths from behind the shrouds, we learn that Prince had his hands in everything that once bore the group’s name during the […]

Guitar Man

I was 12-years old in 1976 when I first heard George Benson. By that time, Benson was already a highly respected veteran jazz guitarist. My first introduction to Benson was as the vocalist whom I mistook for Stevie Wonder. Of course, now I know that was Benson’s muscular tenor on “This Masquerade,” as it would […]

Laughing Down Crying (2011)

“I guess you can tell by listening to this collection that I’ve been through a lot.” So begins the liner notes on Daryl Hall’s fifth solo album and his first in the new millennium, Laughing Down Crying.  Now 65 years old (really?) and forty years into his recording career, Hall is incredibly just hitting his […]

Live: The Journey

For many church folks, Shirley Murdock was never further away from her spiritual home than when she was a secular artist known for making “relationship” songs like the 1987 tune “As We Lay.” That’s one way of looking at it. Some might say that in this ying/yang world Murdock simply occupied a place located on […]

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