Tag Archives: Bobby E. Davis Jr.

Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band – Soul Conversations

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Title: Soul Conversations
Artist:  Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band
Label: Outside in Music
Format: CD, Digital
Release date: May 7, 2021

 

Drummer and composer Ulysses Owens Jr. is a name to remember in the world of music. Renown for his work with artists such as Christian McBride, Wynton Marsalis, Gregory Porter and Kurt Elling, Owens has also had the opportunity to engage in academic roles, teaching jazz at Juilliard and during residences at other institutions such as the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy and the world-renowned Abyssinian Baptist Church. His new release, Soul Conversations, is the recording debut of his new 19-piece UOJ Big Band, a multigenerational, multi-gender and multi-ethnic ensemble that continues Owens’ tradition of mastery in jazz as culture.

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Dee Daniels – The Promise (Deluxe Edition)

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Title: The Promise (Deluxe Edition)
Artist: Dee Daniels
Label: Cellar Music Group 
Formats: CD, Digital
Release Date: May 7, 2021

 

Dee Daniels sounds like many artists wrapped together in one package as she draws from jazz, classical and gospel music with her smooth inspirational voice. A force of spiritual bliss and freedom, Daniels’ vocal style was first molded in her stepfather’s Baptist church choir in Oakland, California. From these gospel roots she has continued her musical growth, becoming fluent in multiple genres and sharing the beautiful sound of her voice around the world. Daniels’ new release, The Promise, combines both the sacred and secular aesthetic of her artistry as she reflects on her current moment in life and battle with breast cancer. Upon learning about her condition in 2014, Daniels’ initial response was to remain calm: “I knew in my heart that I was about to embark on a journey that would lead me to the answer.” 

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Merry Clayton – Beautiful Scars

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Title: Beautiful Scars
Artist: Merry Clayton
Label: Motown Gospel
Formats: CD, Digital
Release date: April 9, 2021

 

Vocal legend Merry Clayton embodies the true essence of the words resilience and fortitude. The Grammy Award-winning artist has made a return to her southern Baptist gospel roots with her new album, Beautiful Scars. Co-produced by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lou Adler and Grammy Award-winning songwriter, vocalist and instrumentalist Terry Young, Beautiful Scars is a testimony of the hardship that Clayton has endured over her lifetime and in recent years. In 2014, she survived a tragic accident but unfortunately her doctors were forced to amputate both of her legs. In the eye of this storm, when doctors told Clayton she would have to lose her legs, she began to sing. Drawing form the strength of her ancestors and giving praise to God, she persevered despite the new challenges that she would face.

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Adrian Younge – The American Negro

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Title: The American Negro
Artist: Adrian Younge
Label: Jazz Is Dead
Format: CD, Digital
Release date: February 26, 2021

 

In the wake of social unrest and political trauma, composer Adrian Younge, like many before him, has now become part of a canon of musical and literary expression that will likely live on for generations. Younge’s new album, The American Negro, offers 26 tracks of message songs and soulful instrumentals interjected with Younge’s spoken word treatise on racism in America. Through the album, he “dissects the chemistry behind blind racism, using music as the medium to restore dignity and self-worth [of Black people]… It should be evident that any examination of black music is an examination of the relationship between black and white America. This relationship has shaped the cultural evolution of the world and its negative roots run deep into our psyche.”

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R+R=NOW – Live

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Title: Live
Artist: R+R=NOW 
Label: Blue Note
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: February 12, 2021

 

Musical giant Robert Glasper is one of the music industry’s heavy hitters that just can’t miss. The Houston native, who became most iconic during the development of the neo soul and late hip hop music era, has had the pleasure of touching numerous projects and performing with countless artists over the past three decades including the likes of Bilal, Yassin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), Jill Scott and many others. Glasper has also been awarded multiple Grammy and Emmy awards for his contribution to both music and film. His latest project, R+R=NOW Live, is yet another addition to his substantial legacy.

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Various Artists – One Night In Miami… (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

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Title: One Night In Miami… (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: Various
Label: ABKCO
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: January 15, 2021

 

Academy Award winning actress and director Regina King recently released the ground-breaking film adaptation of One Night in Miami. Based on a play by Kemp Powers (who also wrote the screenplay), the plot is a dramatization of what might have happened during a 1964 meeting between Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammed Ali), Sam Cooke, Malcolm X and Jim Brown. The basis of this meeting called by Malcolm X was to discuss the different paths that these men were taking and to both praise and critique their efforts in the ongoing fight for equality. While the specifics of the meeting are fictitious, many of the events surrounding the plot actually happened: Cassius Clay changing his name to Mohammed Ali and joining the Nation of Islam; Sam Cooke releasing his iconic song “A Change is Gonna Come;” Jim Brown ending his football career to become an actor; and Malcolm X’s constant surveillance by the FBI prior to his assassination on February 21,1965.

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The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection

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Title: The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection
Artist: Various
Label: Stax/Craft
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: November 13, 2020

 

The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection is a two CD compilation of all of the gospel music singles released from 1972-1974 by the Stax subsidiary label, Gospel Truth.  One of the many highlights of this set are the opening tracks by the most popular artist on the label, Bishop Rance Allen and the Rance Allen Group, who perform “Just My Imagination (Just My Salvation)” and the song popularized by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Up Above My Head.”

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Bootsy Collins – The Power Of The One

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Title: The Power Of The One
Artist: Bootsy Collins
Label: eOne/Sweetwater
Format: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: October 23, 2020

 

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame legend Bootsy Collins is back, hitting us with The Power Of The One, his 25th album release. Bootsy has been a huge influencer in the popular music community for generations. As a bass player, he was one of the first to use effect pedals, particularly the MU-Tron III, which provided the envelope filter necessary to create the squealing synth-like sound featured on many of the songs he recorded as a member of Funkadelic. He was also a progenitor of the slide technique which is used in many of today’s different genres of music. Rolling Stone’s current list of the “50 Best Bassists of All Time” places Bootsy at #4, stating that he “redefined soul and funk bass playing in the Seventies, and, by proxy, rap and pop in the Eighties and Nineties. . . You can hear his influence in practically every bass player to come since…” 

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Chicago Mass Choir – My Soul Says Yes

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Title: My Soul Says Yes
Artist: Chicago Mass Choir
Label: New Haven
Formats: CD, Digital
Release date: July 31, 2020

 

There’s truly no sound like that of the gospel mass choir and the Chicago Mass Choir embodies the very spirit and essence of this tradition. With thrilling heart thumping, hand clapping, foot stomping songs, the choir takes you back to the “old time way,” to quote the late Bishop G.E. Patteson (former presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ denomination). My Soul Says Yes, the choir’s 17th album release, continues this legacy through their creation of songs that further their mission of giving back to their community and the world.

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Mike Burton – Walk With Me

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Title: Walk With Me
Artist: Mike Burton
Label: Mike Burton Co.
Formats: CD, Digital
Release date: August 14th, 2020

 

A native of Jackson, Mississippi, saxophonist Michael Burton‘s affinity for music was nurtured at an early age by his mother, a singer with the Mississippi Mass Choir, and father, a tenor saxophonist. Burton honed his craft at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of the renowned David Baker, and as a member of the IU Soul Revue, an ensemble that examines and performs Black popular music. Since completing his master’s degree in Jazz Studies, Burton has toured with major artists ranging from Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Patti LaBelle and Anita Baker to New Edition, PJ Morton, and blues singer Willie Clayton. He has also played keyboards and saxophone on many of Tyler Perry’s stage and film productions. Burton’s vast experience is reflected in his third studio album, Walk With Me. Co-produced by Burton and Atlanta-based multi-instrumentalist Jelani Jackson, the album features collaborations from artists such as PJ Morton, Sho Baraka, Jeff Bradshaw, Melvin Jones, Len’i McKinney and Paula Champion.

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Tower of Power – Step Up

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Title: Step Up  
Artist: Tower of Power  
Label: Artistry/Mack Avenue   
Formats: CD, LP, Digital  
Release date: March 20, 2020

 

After 50 strong years of music making, Tower of Power is back with their 30th album, Step Up. Known for their wall of sound horn-driven funk, the multi-instrumentalist ensemble has been performing and creating music since the late 1960s under the direction of bandleader and tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo. A Detroit native, Castillo moved to Oakland, CA where he met baritone sax player Stephen “Doc” Kupka, and they formed a band that would soon become known as Tower of Power. After famous concert promoter Bill Graham heard the group perform at the Fillmore in 1970, he signed them to his label and their debut album, East Bay Grease, was released that same year.  

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Isaac Carree – No Risk, No Reward

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Title: No Risk, No Reward
Artist: Isaac Carree
Label: Shanachie Ent.
Formats: CD, Digital
Release date: March 20, 2020

 

After a seven year hiatus, Isaac Carree has finally released a new solo project, No Risk, No Reward. According to Carree, the title of the album echoes his mantra: “If you never take risk, you will never get the ultimate reward.” So far Carree’s “no risk, no reward” behavior has landed him at #1 on Gospel Billboard and Gospel Radio charts multiple times, and his new release is likely to follow this path to the top of the charts.

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Reverend John Lee Hooker Jr. – Testify

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Title: Testify
Artist: Reverend John Lee Hooker Jr.
Label: Steppin’ Stone
Formats: CD, Digital
Release date: February 14, 2020

John Lee Hooker Jr. grew up in Detroit, Michigan as the son of one of the greatest blues music icons in the world, the late and the great John Lee Hooker (1917-2001). As a bluesman, Rev. Hooker traveled the world performing with musical artists such as B.B. King, Snoop Dogg, Taj Mahal, Lenny Kravitz, Z.Z. Top, Buddy Guy and the late Etta James. After a long and successful career in secular music, Hooker became an ordained minister and is now singing a different tune—the tune of gospel—wrapped in his signature soulful blues sound.

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Will Boyd – Freedom, Soul, Jazz

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Title: Freedom, Soul, Jazz
Artist: Will Boyd
Label: Dist. CD Baby
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: July 12, 2019

 

Saxophonist, composer and band leader Will Boyd pays tribute to spirituals, hymns, and freedom songs on his album, Freedom, Soul, Jazz. The project was released to coincide with Juneteenth celebrations, which are holidays observed among Black communities as a de facto independence day commemorating the abolition of slavery and a first step toward inclusion in the greater American dream. Regarding his motivation for the project, Boyd explained, “I wanted to do my part to move the movement forward,” referring to the advancement of Black people in a post slavery society.

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Renee Spearman – I Love Him

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Title: I Love Him
Artist: Renee Spearman
Label: JDI
Formats: CD, Digital
Release Date: June 7, 2019

 

Billboard-charting gospel singer/songwriter/producer Renee Spearman has worked in the gospel music recording industry for over three decades and continues to champion her genre. After “standing in the shadows” for many years as a background vocalist for numerous popular music artists including Gladys Knight and Yolanda Adams, Spearman’s solo career took off in 2012 with the release of her successful debut album, Whoa to Wow!, which reached #4 on the Billboard gospel album charts. Her recent release, I Love Him, is yet another career highlight.

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The Soul Rebels – Poetry in Motion

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Title: Poetry in Motion
Artist: The Soul Rebels
Label: Rebelution Music Group/Artistry Music/ Mack Avenue
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: October 25, 2019

 

New Orleans based ensemble The Soul Rebels was formed in the early ‘90s by drum majors from HBCUs such as Southern, Grambling, and Texas Southern University. Percussionists Derrick Moss and Lumar LeBlanc, who first met as members of Harold Dejan’s Young Olympia Brass Band, decided they wanted to play the rap music they were hearing on the radio while also respecting the long tradition of the New Orleans brass bands and marching bands they had played in growing up. Now an eight member brass/jazz/hip hop powerhouse, The Soul Rebels include LeBlanc (snare drum) and Moss (bass drum), in addition to Marcus Hubbard (trumpet), Erion Williams (saxophone), Paul Robertson (trombone), Julian Gosin (trumpet and MC), Manuel Perkins Jr. (sousaphone) and Corey Peyton (trombone and MC). For their latest album, Poetry in Motion, The Soul Rebels started with the premise “no genre is off limits for us,” and concluded with twelve tracks that sound contemporary and hip. Their New Orleans rhythms and Black college band attitude combined with rap lyrics and rhymes will make you move your feet and get out of your seat. Continue reading →

Various Artists – 16 Bars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

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Title: 16 Bars (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: Various
Label: Lightyear Ent.
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: November 8, 2019

 

Two time Grammy award winner and hip hop artist Speech Thomas and his band Arrested Development have spent the past few decades touring the world, seeking out opportunities to address social and racial justice issues. Since the release of their triple platinum debut album, 3 Years, 5 Month & 2 Days in the Life of (1993), they have created many different projects and facilitated opportunities for various communities. The documentary 16 Bars, currently screening on the film festival circuit, is the fruition of one of the most ground breaking projects they have released yet. The film follows the journey of Thomas and his band members as they work with inmates at the Richmond City Jail to produce written and recorded narratives about the complex issues of the criminal justice system, including the social and economic effects it has on the families these men were taken away from. In the words of Speech Thomas, “these men are behind bars… but their voices have to be heard.” Continue reading →

Vince Agwada – Light of Day

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Title: Light of Day
Artist: Vince Agwada
Label: Rocketnoodle Music/dist. CD Baby
Formats: CD, Digital
Release date: July 15, 2019

 

Blues singer/guitarist Vince Agwada got his start in music playing in bars like the historic Checkerboard Lounge on the South Side of Chicago, backing artists such as Buddy Guy, Magic Slim, Otis Rush and John Primer. After spending over two decades on the road, touring with the likes of Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, and Son Seals, he decided to take some time off for his own projects. Agwada’s self-produced debut album, “Eyes of the City,” was released in 2008, followed by Basic Blue in 2011. Now, after an eight year hiatus, Agwada has returned with a new album, Light of Day, featuring 16 original songs spanning the genres of jazz, rock, funk and blues. Continue reading →

LAMP Records: It Glowed Like the Sun: The Story of Naptown’s Motown, 1969-1972

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Title: LAMP Records: It Glowed Like the Sun: The Story of Naptown’s Motown, 1969-1972
Artist: Various
Label: Now-Again
Formats: CD, LP, Digital
Release date: August 2, 2019

 

For those of you who aren’t from the Midwest, “Naptown” is a nickname created by local jazz musicians back in the day to describe the sometimes sleepy city of Indianapolis. Bringing some old Naptown soul and funk to light, the new anthology LAMP Records: It Glowed Like the Sun: The Story of Naptown’s Motown offers an overview of the city’s fabled record label, little known outside of hardcore soul collectors. Now, current and former Indianapolis natives can reminisce while the rest of the world can finally hear the soulful sounds that sprung from Naptown during the years 1969-1972. The liner notes for this release, researched and written over a twenty year span by Eothen Alapatt, Jeff Kollath, Jason Yoder and Kyle Long, read like a book as these four experts uncover the history of the LAMP label and Naptown’s music scene. Continue reading →