Miles Mosley
Uprising
(Fat Beats)
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
“There’s more to life than being alive” – Miles Mosley (from “Sky High”)
EPIC is the vibration when it comes to anything emanating out of the West Coast Get Down (WCGD) compound out of Los Angeles.
Brian Owens & The Deacons of Soul, Soul of Ferguson
by Brent Faulkner
Soul is a term used far too loosely in the current musical climate. The style has been bent tremendously to encompass all things R&B, BUT everything doesn’t fit the mold or the spirit. Some self-proclaimed soul artists don’t maintain the sanctity of the music.
Phil Perry | Breathless
Shanachie Records
by Peggy Oliver
What entails the success and stability of musicians are those who simply stick to what they artistically know best no matter what the record buying public may dictate. In other words, those who stay true to their truthful calling can carry their career many places that eventually lead to staying power in the industry along with a loyal fan base and consistent radio following.
Soul Basement featuring Jay Nemor | What We Leave Behind
by Peggy Oliver
The embodiment of music, when a vocalist or musician so emphatically chooses, can express how we can observe the world around us and what we take from those experiences in life. The latest work from Soul Basement entitled, What We Leave Behind, crafts a journal that reflects personal retrospectives that speaks to several issues.
CeCe Winans | Let Them Fall in Love
by Peggy Oliver
Imagine a multi-award winning gospel artist in the studio, one half of a well-respected brother/sister duo and a member of an extremely famous musical family, with her son mapping the direction of the latest recording session. This is a recent true life scenario between CeCe Winans and her son Alvin Love III, whose conceptual words of wisdom was effectively a beneficial move for this praise and worship icon who has blazed the contemporary urban gospel charts with her brother, BeBe Winans, and with her own solo career.
Bell Biv DeVoe, Three Stripes
(Entertainment One)
Review written by Brent Faulkner
The 1990s was a time when urban music was flourishing. R&B was hot – particularly New Jack Swing. Hip-hop itself was becoming a massive force. Bell Biv Devoe hail from the glorious 90s, laying claim to one gargantuan, multiplatinum album (Poison) and two gold albums (Hootie Mack most notably).
A Very McCrary Christmas
The McCrary Foundation Choir
(Indi-Genius Music Group)
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
With the goal being to create a Christmas album for all the generation within your household, the world famous McCrary family of vocalists, musicians, songwriters, arrangers and record producers (Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Chaka Khan) glowingly succeed in their mission with a richly inspired and diversified 12-song collection of original and traditional offerings.
Merry Christmas from Andra Day
Andra Day
(Warner Bros.)
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
Andra Day has much to feel blessed for with the embrace of her 2015 debut album Cheers to the Fall, opening dates with Lenny Kravitz and a Grammy nomination.
Kenny Lattimore | A Kenny Lattimore Christmas
by Peggy Oliver
There are a lot of hit-making R&B vocalists who can effortlessly deliver the soulful goods. Yet when it comes to performing a holiday project that stretches across several genres, there are fewer who can successful step out of their comfort zone.
Bob Baldwin
The Gift of Christmas
(City Sketches)
A Record Reflection by A. Scott Galloway
Keyboardist/Producer Bob Baldwin eases us into the 2016 holiday season with some much needed aural relief via his 10 song offering, The Gift of Christmas. The CD opens with a pleasant jaunt through Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” then lifts off into space for a celestially reharmonized sojourn through Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time is Here.”