New Foundation | Goin’ Places
By Ian Cooke
New Foundation’s “Goin’ Places” is a debut project by long time friends Curtis Harmon and Bennie Sims who worked together as drummer and bassist respectively, for legendary contemporary jazz group, Pieces Of A Dream. Between the two of them, they have played with such artists as George Benson, Al Jarreau, Aretha Franklin, Count Basie, Lou Rawls and too many others to list.
Hart Ramsey | My Next Heartbeat
by Brent Faulkner
Producer, jazz pianist, and pastor Hart Ramsey returns with his
sophomore smooth jazz effort, My Next Heartbeat. On Heartbeat, Hart
Ramsey assembles a cast of talented musicians to support him. Having had
the opportunity of reflecting on Ramsey’s debut effort, my enthusiasm
to reflect upon his sophomore effort was high.
“The Angela Bofill Experience f/ Maysa”
Anthology – San Diego
Saturday – November 5, 2011 – 1st Set
by A. Scott Galloway
(Photos: Eric Sarmiento)
Cuban/Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Angela Bofill’s debut album, Angie, arrived in 1978 on the then-new audiophile GRP Records label. She offered a first class blend of jazz, soul, pop and Latin strains that showed tremendous promise. The quality of her music and career took several twists and turns from that point to now with most agreeing that of her ten studio recordings, the first four Arista-distributed albums in the late `70s/early `80s (and an underrated CD she recorded in 1996 for Shanachie Records titled Love in Slow Motion) are her finest. There has never been another artist quite like Bofill in that she has earned staple classics in all four of the above genres but is most lovingly recalled as a pioneering queen of the Quiet Storm. To continue, please click “MORE”!
Keith Sweat | A Christmas of Love (2007)
By George Strand
(Published Dec. 10th, 2009)
The Holiday Season. Beckoned with warmth, seasonal temperature changes & gift wrapping paper scattered all over the tables & floors. Lets not forget about the many spices & candles, the outdoor home light fixtures & a traditional choice of the decorated Christmas Tree. Along with visiting family not seen in recent years & so forth. That’s if you celebrate Christmas that way. Many do. Many don’t.
Maysa | Motions of Love
Shanachie Entertainment
By Peggy Oliver
Mentored by an urban music icon and raised by a U.K. jazz soul band, Maysa Leak has breathed sweet life into many songs from the vaults of soul, R&B and jazz catalogs and conveyed many personal tales of love found, lost and found. And though there are still more achievements to conquer, such as developing a stage play about jazz legend Sarah Vaughn, Maysa
has etched amazing musical memories, primarily with Stevie (Wonder) and Incognito.
Keith Sweat | Til The Morning
By Susan Mutharia
Keith Sweat is done ‘riding solo’ and is back with an album that his fans deserve. It was hard to forgive Sweat for a couple of songs in his last album (Riding Solo, 2010). However, after listening to his new album Til The Morning, I am ready to kiss and make up.
Johnny Gill | Still Winning
by Brent Faulkner
After fifteen long years, R&B veteran Johnny Gill releases only his sixth solo release, Still Winning. Gill’s last high profile appearance of note was back in 2006 in Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion in which he performed “You For Me (The Wedding Song).” That song, though not a ‘hit’ per say, showed that Gill still had the ‘pipes’ that made him such a popular force in R&B. Still Winning, despite honing in on Gill’s incredible vocal talents, never quite does the R&B singer
the justice it should.
The Revelations feat. Tre Williams | Concrete Blues
By Peggy Oliver
Tre Williams was one of the most coveted voices in the millennium hip-hop nation collaborating with Wu-Tang Clan, Petey Pablo, and Nas, as well as the focal point for a mix tape on Nas’ Ill Will Records: Street Gospel: The Old Test of Men. Though Williams kept company in the hip-hop field for a few years, he eventually pursued an avenue to express his voice on a solo level. Fueled by his biggest inspirations Otis Redding, Johnnie Taylor and others, Williams has been preaching his own southern fried message since he formed The Revelations, with the assistance of producer Bob Perry.
Album Review: Eric Clapton & Wynton Marsalis, Play the Blues: Live from Jazz At Lincoln Center
by Brent Faulkner
The expectation when two legendary musicians come together to record an
album is that the musicianship is incredible. On Play the Blues: Live
from Jazz At Lincoln Center, that expectation is met and even surpassed.
Clapton’s vocal and guitar skills are unmatched while Marsalis’s
Dixieland Jazz styled arrangements are nothing short of breathtaking –
not to mention his virtuosic trumpet sound. While Clapton and Marsalis
are the main attraction, the musicians assembled by Marsalis shine just
as brightly as the headlining artists. To continue, please click “MORE”!