Najee | Rising Sun
Najee | Rising Sun
by Ian Cooke
Rhythm and Jazz 80’s and 90’s pioneer, two-time Grammy nominee, saxophonist Najee releases his new Heads Up International “Rising Sun” CD this August.
Kendra Ross – New Voice
Lola’s Child Music presents a new vocalist – a new writer – a “New Voice” to the game of R&B music! And without wasting any moments to spare, Ms. Ross plays directly the path of a club setting, crowd crooning flow that’s sure to persuade the immediate attention. In fact, she came with a full fledged band, full of talent & creativity, that I’m sure you will grab the volume control to your ipod & listen in to the compositions for its complete state of mixture.
The personnel includes Lonnie Plaxico – Bass; Chris Rob – Keyboards; Daniel Sadownick – Percussion; Christian Ver Halen – Guitar; Skoota Warner – Drums; Key – Background Vox & Nicole Hamilton – Background Vox. There’s additional support mentioned from the liner notes & they came to get down!
The CD is tight! It will not disappoint. In fact, I had to take a deep breath before dropping this review because the project hit me from so many angles! I was impressed with the songwriting skills, vocal connections, song sequencings, Teo’s sax solo in “Teo’s Intro”, so on & so on, etc & etc. There’s a contemporary, traditional approach, but it leaves a tasty treat of neo on your pallate.
The compositions has texture, which are not too prominent in todays R&B/Hip-Hop. It’s very much needed & Ms Ross & her crew brought it to the kitchen table, along with the main ingredients!
The duet with Eric Roberson on “Why Can’t I See” was organic & sexy, all at the same time! Groove-driven comes the title track “New Voice”. The melody will stick to you!; I immediately hit the repeat button on “I’m So Okay”, for it simply reminded me of her ability to croon a mid-tempo ballad, check it!; Followed very closely to “Real Deal”. Even Hip-Hop artist Talib Kweli laced a featured solo!
Track Listings
— New Voice
— I’m So Okay
— Real Deal
— Interlude – Keep It Loose
— 1st Time
— I Got U
— Can I Keep It? feat Talib Kweli & Tiye Phoenix
— Teo’s Intro
— Send Me Somebody To Love
— You Made The Difference
— Why Can’t I See? (feat Eric Roberson)
— Has2B
— Interlude – Keep It Tight
— Very Well
— Man You Love Blues
Parting Note: They should’ve kept the interlude track “Keep It Loose” flowing, but that’s OK. The time span was good enough for a tease!
Again, Ms. Ross comes from all angles of soul, from either being bluesy or simply being traditional, she will slowly but surely become a force to be recogned with, so as long as she stays consistent…
I’m Gone.
T.J.H.
G. Mayes & Nu Era – Diary Of A Strong Souljah
Right off the back, G. Mayes doesn’t mess around with praise worship! This cat simply creates an anthem of dedicated worship! Its inspiring to say the least, but gracefully, he laced it into a double CD set equipped to leave a everlasting impression of Urban Gospel set to be released …