Deitrick Haddon presents Voices of Unity - Blessed & Cursed (Soundtrack)

Deitrick Haddon presents Voices of Unity
Blessed & Cursed – Motion Picture Soundtrack
Tyscot Records 2010
www.tyscot.com

Deitrick Haddon’s debut film, Blessed & Cursed, won’t be in stores until July 27, 2010, but the soundtrack is available right now.

And what a soundtrack it is. Blessed & Cursed is a veritable treat for the ears, an extraordinary collection of extraordinary performances from Deitrick and Damita Haddon, Destiny’s Child member Michelle Williams, Men of Standard’s Lowell Pye, Shekinah Glory, and many others.

If you know anything about Deitrick’s work, you know the production is crisply-produced, multi-textured, genre-bending, thunderous and brimming with energy. In fact, the first single, “Judah (Let Me Hear You Praise),” featuring Clareta Jackson, could easily be the project’s calling card. It demonstrates in its high-energy the unquenchable power of the youth movement in gospel. The single and the album herald Deitrick Haddon as a singular force in urban contemporary gospel, even though he has been at it for quite some time. This project arguably ranks as his best.

The songs use today’s techno-injected R&B to express the timeless struggle of mankind to find meaning and purpose. It’s a conundrum as timeless as the story of Saul and David, which underpins the premise of the film. Thus, tracks such as Deitrick’s “I’m Blessed” and “Don’t Leave Me Now,” and Suzie Rock’s sacred rocker, “So What,” speak out about the troubles of the world, including what society tries to dictate one should be, do, act or even wear.

Michelle Williams’ lovely ballad “More Like You” is an endearing prayer to live more like Jesus. Meanwhile, Eric “Bishop” Taylor’s gritty delivery on “Zion (Let’s Go Up)” is the perfect vehicle for a pulpit pounder that bemoans “we’ve gotten so sophisticated that don’t nobody want to shout no more,” and then encourages the congregation to partake in some old-fashioned all night worship.

There isn’t a weak track among the twelve, any one of which could win a rate-a-record competition against any single on today’s pop charts (maybe with the exception of Beyonce and Lady Gaga’s singles).

TBGB will review the film next week, but if there’s any reason to anticipate the release of Blessed & Cursed on DVD, besides the roster of gospel stars who appear in it, it’s the sonically amazing soundtrack.

Five of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Judah (Let Me Hear You Praise),” “Zion (Let’s Go Up),” “So What.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

"Are We a Nation?" - Sweet Honey in the Rock

“Are We a Nation?”
Sweet Honey in the Rock
www.sweethoney.com
available at www.cdbaby.com

Individually and collectively, the founding and current members of acclaimed a cappella vocal group Sweet Honey in the Rock have been on the front line of the nation’s civil rights struggles for more than five decades.

Today the group focuses its outrage on the latest embarrassment of modern civilization: Arizona’s immigration law SB-1070. Sweet Honey – Ysaye Maria Barnwell, Nitanju Bolade Casel, Aisha Kahlil, Carol Maillard, Louise Robinson, and (American Sign Language Interpreter) Shirley Childress Saxton.—channel their frustrations in “Are We a Nation?”

Prefacing the song by reading a portion of the Declaration of Independence, the anniversary of which we will celebrate this weekend, Sweet Honey asks us to move beyond the hatred, ignorance, apathy, anti-intellectualism and misunderstanding that allow such a law to happen and uphold the inalienable rights on which our country was founded.

The Soul Seekers: Winning Souls to Christ...and to Quartet

Individually, world-class musicians and singers Gerald Haddon, Teddy Campbell, Warryn Campbell, Nisan Stewart, John "Jubu" Smith, Charlie Bereal, Craig Brockman and Eric Seats have racked up Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, and have been nominated for Stellar and Dove Awards.

But in 2006, as contemporary quartet the Soul Seekers, the group received a Stellar Award for Quartet of the Year. “That was the year our first record came out,” Gerald Haddon recalled during a telephone conversation with TBGB. “We weren’t planning to win; it was a total shock to us when they called our name!”

Haddon hails from Detroit and a gospel singing family. “All I know is music,” he said. “My whole family is musical. My brother [Deitrick Haddon] is a recording artist. My dad [Bishop Clarence Haddon], is a recording artist, my mom is a singer. Brothers, sisters, cousins. So growing up, there was nothing but music.”

The Soul Seekers came together on a lark. Haddon explained: “Nisan Stewart had a throwback concert in 2000 where he had different artists come and do old songs. He got us together and we did a couple of songs from the Mighty Clouds of Joy and the Canton Spirituals. Afterwards, we said, ‘Man, we should keep doing this.’ And from that point the Soul Seekers was formed.”

In addition to recording its self-titled debut album, the group also appeared on other artists’ albums, including BeBe Winans’ Cherch (2006), a guest spot gained through the influence of Warryn Campbell. Campbell is a bass player, one of the Soul Seekers' lead vocalists, and husband of Erica Atkins of Mary Mary. “Warryn has a great relationship with BeBe Winans," Haddon said, "and so he talked to BeBe and we made it happen.”

The group has just released its second album, Soul Seekers II, which features the single, “It’s All God,” performed with another Winans family member, Pastor Marvin.

“We were working on the album and we were looking for songs,” Haddon remembered. “And the crazy part was I gave a song to the group that I thought we could do, and we sent it to Pastor Winans, because we wanted him to be featured on it. We thought we had it. But then a close friend of ours named Harold Lilly – he’s a Grammy award-winning songwriter – sent us a song, ‘It’s All God.’ When Warryn brought it to rehearsal and said, ‘Listen to what Harold gave us,’ we all said, ‘Wow! Oh my God, this is the song!’ We sent it right over to Pastor Winans, and from that point, it was done.”

Haddon described Soul Seekers II as “more grown up for us. The first record was made of songs that we had been doing from the very conception of the group. On the second record, we took our time, sat down and tried to be more grown up. Even with our look. Remember, we had jerseys on the first record. On this record, we have on tailored suits. You know, every quartet group wears suits, but I think we have more of an up-to-date look."

Haddon feels keenly the distinction between contemporary and traditional quartet singing. “We get the ‘You all are not really quartet,’" he said ruefully. "Not all, but a lot of quartet groups don’t take us seriously. We just want to show them that we have a love for music, for quartet music, and we want to share our gift with the world. Our belief is: let’s do what we love to do, let’s write and get songs that we love to sing, and let’s give them to the world.”

Haddon elaborates: “Like with ‘It’s All God.’ It’s not really a quartet song. We don’t like to be boxed in, so when the song was brought to us, we thought this was a crazy song that the world would understand, I don’t care if you are church, I don’t care if you are R&B, I don’t care if you are country. So don’t just make it a quartet song. If this is a song that can change the world, let’s do that. That’s what groups like the Mighty Clouds of Joy did with ‘Mighty High.’ It was quartet but it was a song that went to the world. That’s what we are trying to do: sing songs that the world is going to feed off of.”

Despite, or perhaps because of, their contemporary flair, the Soul Seekers are coining new quartet fans. Haddon said, "We hear people say, ‘I never heard quartet, I don’t like quartet!’ Then they hear our music and they say, ‘Man, I heard y’all and y’all made me like quartet!’ So by us going to different venues – we’ve done Grammy concerts and things like that – we’re able to bring people who didn’t listen to quartet over to the quartet world.”

For Haddon, the formula is simple. “We’re just trying to bring music to the world and let everybody see God through us.”

For more on the Soul Seekers, visit www.thesoulseekersmusic.com.

Copyright 2010 by Bob Marovich, The Black Gospel Blog.

"Praise" - Jai Reed

“Praise”
Jai Reed
From the forthcoming TLR Entertainment album Jai Reed (2010)
www.tlrentertainment.com

New Orleans native son and Stellar-nominated gospel artist Jai Reed is releasing his third album, the self-titled Jai Reed, for TLR Entertainment.

“Praise,” the first single culled from the album, is a live performance that demonstrates Reed’s penchant for blending traditional with contemporary. Weighed in the balance, however, “Praise” is long on the traditional, complete with a warbling B3 and a bluesy beat behind the “come on, let’s praise the Lord” vocal refrain.

Ami Rushes "Testifies" in Chicago

Gospel artist Ami Rushes paid a visit to Chicago to host a listening party for her newly released CD, Testify. Ambassador Dr. Bobby Jones was host for the event, held this evening (June 28) at the House of Blues.

Among Chicago's traditional singers present to support Ami at her release event were Queen of Gospel Dr. Albertina Walker, Inez Andrews, the Pilgrim Jubilees, Lemmie Battles, Shirley Bell, Queenie Lenox, and Lady LaVarnga Hubbard.


Photo: Ami Rushes with Dr. Bobby Jones (credit: Bob Marovich)

TBGB Pick of the Week: June 28, 2010

"God Is Able”
Phil Tarver
From the Kingdom Records CD Place of Worship
(release date: June 29, 2010)
www.kingdomrecordsinc.com

Popular praise and worship leader Phil Tarver of Shekinah Glory Ministry, whose “Better than That” lit up the radio with its effusive, bouncy charm, now channels his inner Luther Vandross on this gentle gospel ballad.

“God is Able” reminds listeners that when life is at its lowest ebb and the world seems hard to bear, “God is able.” Tarver then enunciates examples of daily trials as the choir responds with “God Is able” as if enraptured in a hypnotic prayer.

Eddie James Presents Victory: the Best of Phoenix Mass Choir

Eddie James Presents
Victory: The Best of Phoenix Mass Choir
Eddie James Ministries/Fresh Wine Records 2010
www.ejworship.org

The Phoenix Mass Choir, founded by praise and worship maestro Eddie James, who also serves as the group's vocalist and principal songwriter, is a big-voiced ensemble that delivers the smooth, rich harmonic sound that has come to define P&W choirs.

The group's latest release, Victory: The Best of Phoenix Mass Choir, not only includes Israel Houghton on lead guitar, but also showcases James as lead vocalist and a roster of female leads whose voices of varying textures sell the selections.

Victory is titled a “best of” project, but not in the traditional sense, i.e., a collection of previously recorded material. Instead, it is a collection of the choir’s most popular songs in performance. These include “The Battle,” a song reminiscent of, but not the same as, V. Michael McKay's "The Battle is the Lord's" and featuring female soloists. “Faith,” a lovely and moving ballad, also benefits from a female lead whose rendition of what is essentially a love song for Jesus has appropriate reverence and emotion.

The talented choir showcases its part singing dexterity during special segments of the title track and “Lord We Praise You.” There are a couple of good hand-clappers on the project, notably “Keep Trusting” and “Lord Have it Your Way.” The latter interpolates the Lord’s Prayer and the main couplet from "Anyway You Bless Me, Lord," and as such feels like an old school medley.

The Oakwood College Choir joins Phoenix Mass on “When I Think About the Lord” and “God of Wonders.” The former track has that easy praise and worship vibe and melodic hook that work especially well on radio.

Some technical nit-picking: Victory's limited liner notes list the names of the musicians and choristers but do not identify the lead singers, most all of whom are superb. The tracks also end abruptly and jarringly rather than fading tactfully or dissolving into the next cut. Nevertheless, the Phoenix Mass Choir is a well-trained, professional-sounding group that can hold its own with the best of ‘em.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Keep Trusting,” “When I Think About the Lord.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

"On the Battlefield" - The Original Little Ark Male Chorus

"On the Battlefield”
The Original Little Ark Male Chorus
From the Doowgam Records CD
Old Time Religion 2010
www.doowgam-records.com

Wearing the old school moniker with pride, the Original Little Ark Male Chorus of Baltimore, Maryland continues to wave the traditional standard in the midst of a gospel genre that seems to split into subgroups faster than atoms during nuclear fission.

Old Time Religion, the chorus’s third release in four years, continues its joyous pursuit of the music that came from the little wooden church on the hill. The group has now caught the attention of Universal Music Christian Group on the basis of performances such as “On the Battlefield,” which conjures memories of Atlanta’s Majestic Male Choir.

The Original Little Ark Male Chorus begins its 2010 “Trademarked” eastern seaboard 17-city “Holy Ghost Happy Hour” tour on August 21st in Snowhill, MD, and current plans include visits to Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, DC, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. In addition to appearing at churches, the traditional chorus hopes to appear at non-traditional venues such as the House Of Blues, Harlem’s historic Cotton Club, Sunday brunches as well as gospel, jazz and blues festivals around the country.

Finally, the chorus is planning its second annual regional “KMCAC” (Keeping The Male Chorus Alive In The Church) conference in October 2010 in Baltimore.

Sounds like 2010 has the potential to be a huge year for the Original Little Ark Male Chorus. For more information, contact Donnie Mack at hbuster3@yahoo.com.

Between Two Worlds - Trip Lee

Trip Lee
Between Two Worlds
Reach Records 2010
www.reachrecords.com

In the opening track of his third studio album, Between Two Worlds, Christian hip hop artist Trip Lee makes it known that what we are about to hear is “real life music.”

And he delivers on his promise.

Between Two Worlds is one vignette after another plucked from furrowed brows bowed in daily prayer. Lee essentially portrays the modern Christian everyman (and woman) who must navigate the delicate and sometimes frayed tightrope that runs, as the title suggests, “between two worlds:” between faith/spirit and the circumstances of real life that challenge faith and spirit daily.

On "Life 101," for example, Lee wrestles with questions about life and the answers he receives from half-empties and half-fulls. "Limitations" provides sobering but refreshing reminders about the finiteness of humanity and the infinity of God. The rapper also waxes autobiographical on his transformation from a youth growing up on Jay-Z and overcoming a debilitating illness that put him at death's door on “I Love Music” and “Prognosis,” respectively. The album's first single, "The Invasion" finds Lee and Jai praising Jesus as the true superhero who can fix it all.

Some Christian rappers temper their gritty messages with spoonfuls of humor, but Trip Lee is all about message, with few humorous metaphors. Still, the tightness of the production coupled with Lee’s no-nonsense rapping are sure to earn him a place among the stars who populate his album’s green room.

And what a green room it is! Between Two Worlds has a veritable all-star lineup of featured guests, no less than nine altogether. They include some of the genre’s best: Sho Baraka, Tedashii, Lecrae, Jimmy Needham and the lovely Leah Smith. The beats are stark and the ambient sound sometimes gothically orchestral.

On “Prognosis,” Lee declares that God’s standard is perfection, and we as humans can't possibly meet it, but based on Between Two Worlds, artistically Lee is pretty close.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Invade,” “Limitations,” “Life 101.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

"Just For Me" - Shekinah Glory Ministry

“Just For Me”
Shekinah Glory Ministry
From the forthcoming Kingdom Records CD
Refreshed By Fire (release date: September 14, 2010)
www.kingdomrecordsinc.com

The award-winning, hit making, multi-sensory Shekinah Glory Ministry returns with “Just For Me.”

The single, from the group’s forthcoming album, Refreshed by Fire, is a delicate, melodic musing on Christ’s sacrifice to save the world and eventual return “to reign upon his throne.” And it’s classic Shekinah Glory, too: a female vocalist opens with lithe piano backing but she gradually dials up the emotional heat while the hypnotic choir washes over the listener like waves on a beach.

I Hear You - Deanna Ransom

Deanna Ransom
I Hear You
TOC Records 2010
www.deannaransom.com

Glassboro, New Jersey native Deanna Ransom began her singing career as a five year-old member of her family’s group, the Heavenly Children. Her first solo CD, Never Say Never, earned her the Independent Female Artist of the Year in 2005. During a women’s conference, Ransom earned further accolades after a successful duet with Melba Moore on the anthemic “Rise Sister.”

On her latest project, I Hear You, Ransom demonstrates her artistic versatility by singing, writing, arranging, co-producing, and even contributing some of her own background vocals (with other female support).

While the songs on I Hear You are fairly customary inspirational fare, Ransom’s soprano voice is anything but. She is fond of long, melismatic runs that bear more than a passing resemblance to jazz scatting, especially on “In Love With You.” Another fine example of Ransom’s improvisational skills can be heard on the traditional-flavored “See You Through.” The joyous single, “Song of Salvation,” is also proof positive of Ransom’s adept way with a melody.

The musicians lend a smooth and relaxed foundation to the songs, even lending Caribbean beats to “Mercy and Kindness.” Dance-floor rhythms propel “Make a Way” and a floor-shaking bass underpins “Love 2 Love You,” which teasingly interpolates the hypnotic main lyric of the similarly-titled Donna Summer song.

Sometimes Ransom takes chances by stretching her voice a bit farther than she should, but when she is at her best, she possesses a sweet scat that more than makes up for the album’s rough spots.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Song of Salvation,” “See You Through.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

YouBloom Announces Song Contest

A ground-breaking new music site aimed at helping artists thrive financially as well as artistically has announced the launch of its first original Song Contest.

The contest features cash prizes totalling €28,000 ($37,250) and a judging panel to be led by the iconic Bob Geldof (Boomtown Rats, Band Aid), legendary music A&R man Nigel Grainge, and music mogul Damion “Damizza” Young.
YouBloom is a worldwide music site with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, created by musicians and committed to creating a new platform for emerging talent that will empower unsigned artists to extend their reach and help them turn their music “cents” into dollars.

The YouBloom site launched with the YouBloom Song Contest in April 2010, a way for a growing number of members to discover and support fresh original songwriting talent and performance and for the winners to be rewarded with cash prizes and recognition on the site and beyond. Artists enter their songs into a series of heats and playoffs.

YouBloom.com will redefine the current file-sharing and free-download culture, which makes it almost impossible for unsigned artists to monetize their music. The site will offer a platform to showcase their music, grow their fan base and capitalize on their talents.

For more information on YouBloom or the Song Contest, go to www.youbloom.com.

Hip Hop and Christianity -- this Friday!

NOTE: Click on the flyer to get a closer look at any of the information.

"All Hail King Jesus" - The Wilmington Chester Mass Choir

“All Hail King Jesus”
The Wilmington Chester Mass Choir
From the Emtro CD He’s Been Good (2010)
www.emtro.com

“Come on, make some noise for Jesus!”

This exhortation opens “All Hail King Jesus,” the Stellar Award-winning Wilmington Chester Mass Choir’s first single from its new album, He’s Been Good.

Making noise for Jesus has never been a problem for the tri-state choir, founded in 1978 by the late Rev. Ernest Davis, Jr. The ensemble applies its massive, round sound to Stephen Hurd’s composition of praise as if it were performing on the stage of GMWA.

Juanita Bynum is Starting Over

Prophetess Juanita Bynum is starting over.

She has a new record deal and a series of projects coming out. Her book, No More Sheets: The Truth About Sex, was just re-released as No More Sheets: Starting Over. She will be hosting a conference next month based on the book.

Most importantly, those who have followed Dr. Bynum’s life and career know she has had her share of significant challenges and personal difficulties over the past three years. Her goal is to share her journey not just in a book but via a multi-platform strategy.

The artist who grew up on Chicago’s west side, attending St. Luke COGIC under Pastor Austin, Sr., spoke with TBGB by telephone last week.

“When I looked up the word ‘trouble’ in the dictionary,” Bynum reflected, “there were many definitions, but one in particular caught my attention: ‘an indication that something in your life is out of order.’” The definition resonated with her. In short, she felt God was giving her a second chance, an opportunity to put her life back in order. She felt the pull to chronicle her journey, too, like an diary, so others could benefit from her experiences.

“I knew it couldn’t be just a CD or one recording, because I wanted it to speak to millions of people around the world,” Bynum said. “I wanted to present this as a healing mechanism, not just another record.”

Having signed recently with Matthew Knowles’ new Music World Gospel imprint, Bynum and Knowles fashioned what she refers to as “a new concept for gospel music:” a trilogy of albums that follow her life over the past three years as she moved from pain to purpose.

The trilogy opens with the June 22, 2010 Music World Gospel release of an EP: The Diary of Juanita Bynum: “Soul Cry (Oh, Oh, Oh).” This first leg of the project allows Bynum to expunge the pain she suffered during “one of the hardest times of my life.”

Among the versions of “Soul Cry” on the EP is an instrumental with recitation. “Matthew [Knowles] told me to not forget the power of my voice, to give people what I hear God saying,” Bynum noted.

Initially, the EP will be sold at Walmart for one month, Christian retail outlets and J&R Music World in New York City, followed by a wide release at major retail stores across the country. The EP will also be available at all digital outlets.

Thus cleansed, Bynum will use the second CD to express her humility before God. The three-tiered project will culminate in a combination CD and DVD, The Diary of Juanita Bynum II, scheduled for release next January. This final leg will unveil Juanita Bynum redux: “when I took on the strength of God and found my life and purpose was worth fighting for.”

Wait...Juanita Bynum II? It means “Juanita Bynum for the second time around,” she explained.

To get things rolling, Bynum released a revised edition of her 2000 book, No More Sheets: The Truth about Sex. It is now titled No More Sheets: Starting Over, and includes a whole chapter on "Starting Over.” She has also announced the establishment of the No More Sheets Conference, to be held July 21 – 23 at New Birth Baptist Church Cathedral of Faith International, 2300 NW 135th Street, in Miami, Florida.

“I can’t tell you how many people have stopped me in malls and restaurants and said, ‘Dr. Bynum, we believe in you.’ They grabbed me in this transition when I wanted to quit. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing for the people of God. They are my inspiration.”

For more information, go to www.juanitabynum.com.

TBGB Pick of the Week: June 21, 2010

“Soul Cry (Oh, Oh, Oh)”
Dr. Juanita Bynum II
From the Music World Gospel/Son Flower Records EP
The Diary of Juanita Bynum: Soul Cry (Oh, Oh, Oh) (release date: June 22, 2010)

Gospel songs with staying power are soul cries. Created or birthed rather than written, they burst forth from the artist during periods of utmost despair. It’s the spirit hungering for cathartic expression when nothing else makes sense. “Precious Lord,” “Never Would Have Made It,” and other gospel songs have this in common.

Prophetess Juanita Bynum created “Soul Cry” in the same manner, organically, during a particularly difficult time in her life. She told TBGB: "I sat in a radio station and said to myself, 'God, how in the world can any one person handle such pain?' And without pen or paper I wrote this song." (more from this interview will be published later today).

When Bynum "just can’t take no more...” she cries, “Oh, oh, oh.” The angst builds with the song’s intensity, but so, presumably, does the healing.

I believe “Soul Cry,” especially when performed live, will resonate with its intended audience, who will grab onto the song’s infectious “oh oh oh” hook as a balm to chase away their own troubles.

Photo credit: Derek Blanks For Derek Blanks Photography

"Self Righteous" - His Name

"Self Righteous"
His Name
www.hisnameonline.com

On the loping, mid-tempo “Self Righteous,” contemporary quartet His Name takes umbrage with “Christians” who turn up their noses, look down on others and point fingers. They sing, “We don’t want to be self righteous, thinking we’re the only ones blessed.” Rather, they want “to do like the Bible says” and love everybody. Now there’s a sermon in short form.

His Name is comprised of Pastor A.J. Darby, Roy Scott, Fred Humphrey, Brian Mack, Edwin Mitchell, Antonio "AJ" Gray and Kiary Wilson. The group is being trained under the leadership of George W. Stewart (American Gospel Quartet Convention), who also named the group. The group's objective is to meld the quartet sound with other popular gospel subgenres.

"Just Say a Thing" - Donna McAfee

“Just Say a Thing”
Donna McAfee
www.donnamcafee.com

Q: what do Donna McAfee, R. Kelly and Chaka Khan have in common?

A: They all studied under Thomas A. Dorsey's niece, Dr. Lena Johnson McLin, Chicago’s legendary music teacher.

Today, Donna is a television and film producer, on-air personality, jingle writer and singer who recently released the single “Closer.” She is back at it with the motivational “Just Say a Thing.” The song, breezy and laidback, encourages listeners to stop lying, “step out into the light” with the truth and “it will be alright.”

"What He's Done" - Dayna Caddell

“What He’s Done”
Dayna Caddell
From the forthcoming album Overjoyed
www.cdbaby.com/Artist/DaynaCaddell

With all the unemployment and financial distress swirling around, it’s easy to forget that not everyone is feeling low.

On her new single, “What He’s Done,” Grammy and Dove Award nominee Dayna Caddell thanks God for what she has received in the midst of widespread trouble and strife. And if Dayna can find cause to celebrate – the young woman was temporarily disabled when a drunk driver hit her and had to use a cane for three years – there is no excuse for any of us.

In fact, Dayna goes on in the song to encourage those who haven’t been as fortunate to have faith, because “He’s really going to take care of you.” The hook-laden melody and beat are so infectious, and her voice so genuine, you can’t help but believe her.

Check out a snippet of the song and a video of Dayna discussing the song here: www.gospelmusicchannel.com/dayna-video

DeWayne Woods & When Singers Meet - My Life's Lyric

DeWayne Woods & When Singers Meet
My Life’s Lyric
Quiet Water Entertainment/Verity Gospel Music Group
(release date: June 22, 2010)
www.verityrecords.com

Singer-songwriter and multiple Stellar Award-winner DeWayne Woods has made such a mark on gospel music that it’s remarkable to learn My Life’s Lyric is only his second CD.

Nevertheless, this sophomore offering from the man responsible for the award-winning gospel hit “Let Go” delivers more of the optimistic, tuneful, eminently singable songs that characterized his debut. Woods considers his new album “more mature and sophisticated," although his debut was certainly well-crafted. So consider My Life's Lyric a second story on an already-solid foundation, with songs that reflect Woods' personal growth from then to now.

The first single culled from My Life’s Lyric, an energetic cover of Douglas Miller’s “Living on the Top,” is number one in the album’s opening one-two punch. It is followed by the melodic workshop ballad and upcoming single, “I Won’t Be Afraid.” When this selection plays, you picture rows of hands waving in the air.

Guest artists are a-plenty. The Murrills contribute vocals on “Still Here,” while PJ Morton – a very important emerging talent – appears on the bright “God Can.” Daniel Weatherspoon produces as well as lends musical muscle to the floor-thumping “Positive.” When Singers Meet offers its cathedral-filling wall of sound throughout the project.

A sleeper is the airy inspirational ballad “It Might Be Hope.” I don’t know if the song has been targeted for single release, but more than any selection on the album, it reflects today’s cautious optimism. “It’s been a while since I’ve felt this,” sings DeWayne Woods in his expressive tenor voice, “but it feels like it might be hope.” It is exactly the message people need today, a new and positive spin on the old expression, “trouble don’t last always,” ‘cause it doesn’t.

gPod Picks: “Living on the Top,” “Good Times,” “It Might Be Hope.”

Four of Five Stars

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

"Simply Redeemed" - Isaac Carree

“Simply Redeemed”
Isaac Carree
Sovereign Agency 2010
www.sovereignagency.com

Men of Standard co-founder Isaac Carree just released his version of the lovely “Simply Redeemed,” the Tommy Sims/Marc Harris composition that has already racked up solid readings by Heather Headley and Bryan Courtney Wilson.

Carree’s single, already moving on radio, is a guitar-led ballad alternately delicate and expansive. It ranks with Heather and Bryan’s in its simple beauty.

Isaac Carree is the latest member of the contemporary quartet Men of Standard to try his hand as a gospel solo artist. He follows in the footsteps of Lowell Pye, who released his single, “Running Back to You,” last year.

Shall We Gather at the River: Florida Folklife Collection

Various Artists
Shall We Gather at the River
State Library & Archives of Florida
www.floridamemory.com/Collections/folklife/folklife_cd3.cfm

The Florida Folklife Digitization and Education Project has made available an audio CD called Shall We Gather at the River. It is a fascinating collection of African American sacred recordings captured at various festivals and special events in the Sunshine State as early as 1955 and as recently as 2004, though most are from the 1970s and 1980s. The primary events are the annual Florida Folk Festivals and a special 1985 program in Orlando dedicated to Floridian gospel announcer, singer and story-songwriter Otis Jackson.

On this CD you will find a variety of sacred styles: from straightforward congregational singing to a cappella quartet singing, long-meter hymnody, shape-note singers in convention, solo singing, and even a harmonica-led recording, complete with ring-dance rhythm, courtesy of the always-marvelous Georgia Sea Island Singers.

One common thread running through the fifteen cuts on Shall We Gather at the River is how the actual performance practice of African American sacred folk song confounds academic attempts to mark its development on a timeline. For example, on a 1958 recording, the Amigo Male Singers perform a spiritual in the 1920s jubilee style. Meanwhile, the Washington Singers offer a raw Pentecostal-influenced a cappella outing that sounds like 1958 but was actually recorded in 1985.

Another constant is the production, which is superb, especially given the complexities of outdoor festival and field recording. The earliest cut on the CD, a Hickory Bottom Harmoneers track from the 1955 Florida Folk Festival, is so crystal clear, one can hear what Golden Age gospel singing truly sounded like before it was translated into low-fidelity vinyl grooves.

Besides the Georgia Sea Island Singers, the only other group on the CD that is well-recognized is the Dixie Hummingbirds. Their participation in the 1985 Otis Jackson program is documented with a nearly seven-minute version of “Jesus Is Coming Soon.” Jackson wrote and narrated the ‘Birds' two-sided “The Life Story of Madame Bethune” for Peacock Records.

Historians and collectors will enjoy Shall We Gather at the River, but it is listenable enough to satisfy all traditional gospel enthusiasts.

Four of Five Stars

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

TBGB's Marovich Among Presenters at June 19 Gospel Trade Symposium

Register to attend The Gospel Trade's Gospel Music Symposium this Saturday, June 19.

The 1:00 p.m. session Saturday afternoon will feature TBGB's Bob Marovich, Professor Reggie Miles of Howard University and symposium organizer Pastor Mack C. Mason discussing the history of gospel music in Chicago.

The program will be held at historic Roberts Temple COGIC in Chicago. This was the home church for pioneer COGIC leaders Bishop William Roberts and Brother Isaiah Roberts, and where Emmett Till's funeral took place.

For registration and more information, call (630) 336-5379. Hope to see you there!

TBGB Pick of the Week: June 14, 2010

“Send the Praise Up”
William Smith, Jr. & The Renewed Voices for Christ
From the Psalms Music Group CD
Send the Praise Up (release date: June 2010)
www.psalmsmusicgroup.com

The title track of William Smith, Jr. & The Renewed Voices for Christ’s Send the Praise Up is a church-shaking, pew-emptying, relentless hand-clapping gospel chorus workout, Chicago style!

The Renewed Voices for Christ was formed in 1990 out of the Hyde Park High School Gospel Choir, the latter taking home first place in a choir contest sponsored by radio station WJPC in 1984. William Smith, Jr. came out of the city’s famed True Light Baptist Church and has been the musician and chief coordinator for RVC since the beginning. The group has sung on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” for Chicago’s Gospel Fest, at the Gospel Music Workshop of America and served as a monthly regular for the Chicago House of Blues Gospel Brunch.

Featuring a hard-charging female lead as altar-walking evangelist, “Send the Praise Up” instructs the listener to “lift Him up” and then “do your dance” all over the devil’s head.

"My Daddy" (aka "Daddy's Song") - Evelyn Turrentine-Agee

"My Daddy" (aka "Daddy's Song")
Evelyn Turrentine-Agee
From the WOS Records CD
Double Exposure (2008)
www.amazon.com

Gospel radio programmers know there are volumes of sacred songs about mother: praying, loving, going to church, singing, teaching, denied, on her sick bed, gone on home. The list goes on.

But outside of the Heavenly Father, are there good gospel songs about earthly fathers?

Detroit's own Evelyn Turrentine-Agee has one: "My Daddy."

This song, from her Double Exposure CD, is a weeper, pedal steel and all, about the impact a hard-working, faithful, loving father had on her life. Ideal for Father's Day.

TBGB readers: what are your favorite gospel songs for Father's Day?

Holy Communion - Dr. Cherli A. Montgomery

Dr. Cherli A. Montgomery
Holy Communion
Xlibris 2009
www.xlibris.com
Trade paperback; 59 pages

Not long ago, Dr. Cherli A. Montgomery was a soloist and member of the choir at Chicago’s Lighthouse M.B. Church, under the leadership of First Church of Deliverance alumnus Pastor Jerry Goodloe. She was a choir member when the church backed Albertina Walker on the historic “I Can Go to God in Prayer” recording (Savoy).

Today, Montgomery is a pastor herself as well as an evangelist, speaker, licensed prophetess and member of the Chicago Area Gospel Announcers Guild.

She’s also an author.

Holy Communion, published by Xlibris, is Montgomery’s reflection on the importance of remembering Christ’s birth, death and resurrection through participation in the Eucharist. This lesson can’t come at a better time, she writes, because the practice of offering Holy Communion in churches has decreased while disrespect for the things of God has increased.

It is time for a course correction, Montgomery concludes, and offers scriptural references and a place after each chapter for readers to write and reflect on what they’ve learned. Holy Communion is a quick, efficient and easy read, and I envision it being part of Bible studies and church book clubs.

In the spirit of this weekend's Chicago Lit Fest, Dr. Montgomery will be a guest on “Gospel Memories” Saturday, June 12 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time. She will discuss her book, and vintage gospel recordings will punctuate her main points. If you are in Chicago, tune in at 88.7 FM. If not, you can catch the program live online at www.wluw.org. The show will be archived at www.gospelmemories.com for one month.

Catch That Train and Testify!

TBGB was introduced to "Catch That Train and Testify," a new website dedicated to old time gospel music. Check it out here:
www.catchthattrainandtestify.blogspot.com/

"Hiding Place" - Stanley Johnson

“Hiding Place”
Stanley Johnson
Email: stanleyjohnsonmusic@gmail.com

Wow, can Stanley Johnson sing! The 23 year-old recent college graduate has contributed background vocals for Pastor Rance Allen and can play several instruments, as well.

Johnson’s “Hiding Place” is a gorgeously hypnotic praise and worship song about being wrapped in Jesus’ loving majesty like a child in a father’s comforting arms. Propelled by delicate piano, the song builds in intensity from a whispery open to a pounding apex, and then cools down with a delicate coda.

Quite an auspicious debut for the young man, who each summer returns to his home church, Union Missionary Baptist Church in Lansing, Michigan (Dr. Melvin T. Jones, pastor), to run the Youth Conference.

Lisa Page Brooks Wants to Say "Thank You"

...with a contest.

Go to www.habakkukmusic.com/contest/ for more information.

The site includes a personal message from Lisa Page Brooks and instructions on how to submit a video of your interpretation of "I Want to Say Thank You" for a special competition.

Be original and creative, and you could be a winner!

"Give Me Your Heart" - Catina Rosemond

"Give Me Your Heart”
Catina Rosemond
From the forthcoming Selah Jah Records CD
Nothing Missing, Nothing Broken
www.catinacrosemond.com

On “Give Me Your Heart,” Catina Copeland Rosemond ministers to those who spend more time exercising the vagaries of life (excess spending, investing in false friendships) when the real value is “never too far…give your heart to Christ.” The recording’s urban contemporary sound is heavy, pounding, electronic, and well-constructed.

But make no mistake: Catina isn’t a one-style singer, as she pours out her heart and demonstrates vocal prowess like a Winans or a Clark on the jazzy “Perfect Peace.” Not surprising, really: Catina grew up in the Church of God in Christ, where as a member of the National COGIC choir she learned at the feet of Dr. Mattie Moss Clark and Twinkie Clark. She also earned a degree in musical performance and dramatic arts from South Carolina State University.

The title of her forthcoming album and corresponding single, Nothing Missing, Nothing Broken, refers to a terrible auto accident from which she has recovered.

Texas Gospel - Devil Can't Harm a Praying Man

Various Artists
Texas Gospel, Volumes 3, 4, 5:
Devil Can’t Harm a Praying Man
Acrobat 2008
www.rootsandrhythm.com
or order via email from opalnations@yahoo.com

In the 1950s, if you were a quartet and a Peacock Recording Artist, man, you were something.

Some of the top quartets of the decade were on Peacock’s roster. Thanks to the Texas Gospel series by Opal Nations and Acrobat Records, the vast majority of Houston-based Peacock’s “World’s Greatest Spirituals” singles from its 1500 and 1700 series are now available on CD, some for the first time.

Sadly, after releasing the first two Texas Gospel volumes, Acrobat is no more. Nevertheless, gospel historian and project annotator Opal Nations has picked up the standard and is stewarding sales of Texas Gospel Volumes 3, 4, and 5. He plans for Texas Gospel to be a seven-volume series of Peacock singles when all is said and done. Meanwhile, this three-CD set, subtitled Devil Can’t Harm a Praying Man (a 1955 Dixie Hummingbirds song included here), features 85 tracks and a 60-page illustrated booklet by Nations that is so thick it hardly fits in the jewel case. (The liner notes are available for reading at www.pewburner.com/about_us.html.)

The 85 tracks on Vols. 3 – 5 take the listener from Peacock 1736 to 1781, or from 1951 to 1957, and feature quartets such as the Dixie Hummingbirds, Sensational Nightingales, Original Five Blind Boys (tracks not already included on a separate Acrobat set dedicated to the Archie Brownlee aggregation), Spirit of Memphis, Gospelaires of Dayton and singers Jessie Mae Renfro and Cleophus Robinson. Gospel hits such as the Birds’ “Trouble in My Way” and “Christian’s Automobile,” and the ‘Gales’ “Somewhere to Lay My Head” and “See How They Done My Lord” are intermixed with lesser-known but equally exquisite tracks such as the Spirit of Memphis’ “When” and the Blind Boys' pop-flavored “There’s No Need to Cry,” featuring a passionate lead by Brownlee.

Even if you already own many of these recordings on vinyl, there is something about hearing them in chronological order. First, the experience hammers home just how much give and take there was between the “street corner” vocal groups of the mid-50s and gospel quartets when it came to employing doo-wop background vocals, impassioned leads, scooping and soaring falsetto leaps. Second, it helps you appreciate even more the artistry of the Dixie Hummingbirds and Sensational Nightingales and their respective leads Ira Tucker and Julius Cheeks. Third, hearing the various quartets in one sitting gives you a sense of the rivalry of the day, and how amazingly different the Spirit of Memphis was turning out to be. Fourth, it's easier to carry around than a box full of 78s.

Five of Five Stars

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Gospel Explosion in Gary August 7

Dexter Walker? Victory Travelers? Min. Tim White? Looks like New Friendship Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana has the goods Saturday, August 7!

Call New Friendship at 219/949-4279 for more information, or click on the poster below for a closer look at all of the particulars.

TBGB Pick of the Week: June 7, 2010

“Faults”
Tanya Dallas-Lewis
www.tanyadallaslewis.com

“He Looked Beyond My Faults,” composed by Dottie Rambo to the ancient tune of “Londonderry Air,” is a traditional song that the best gospel singers love to peel and squeeze until all the delicious emotion pours out.

On “Faults,” relative gospel newcomer Tanya Dallas-Lewis takes the song’s premise –“He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs” – and gives it a brand new melody and bubbly R&B arrangement with a rapper at the bridge (“feel like that old Vickie Winans flow”). Throughout, Dallas-Lewis sings, scats and autotunes in synch with the bounce of the booming rhythm.

"You Can Make It" - Alvin Darling & Celebration

“You Can Make It”
Alvin Darling & Celebration
From the Emtro CD You Can Make It
www.emtro.com

Famed east coast gospel singer-songwriter Alvin Darling takes inspiration wherever he can get it, even if it is from the message on his automobile’s side view mirror.

That is, on the title track and second single from his album, You Can Make It, Darling tells the live audience, “Your blessing is closer than it appears.”

Through a call and response session between Darling and Celebration, the singers elaborate: regardless of what you went through, don't give up, because your blessings are just around the corner. A superb female vocalist provides the track’s real sizzle with a fiery solo, the perfect foil for the slow, measured tempo.

A Sweet Summer Treat from a Sweet Clark Sister

Enjoy Karen Clark Sheard's celebrity sundae while listening to her new CD, All in One (Karew Records), which can be found at Walmart or walmart.com.**

Karen Clark Sheard’s Showstoppin’ Layered Summer Sundae

Ingredients:
1 Scoop Breyers® All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream
1 Scoop Breyers® All Natural Strawberry Ice Cream
2 Tbsp. Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
1/2 banana, sliced
Reddi-wip® Original

Directions:
Layer ingredients starting with Breyers® All Natural Vanilla Ice Cream, followed by half of the banana slices. Repeat with Breyers® All Natural Strawberry Ice Cream and the remaining bananas slices. Drizzle chocolate syrup and finish with whipped cream to taste.

Variation:
For a fun and lower calorie alternative, use strawberry sorbet instead of ice cream.

Check out more recipes, deals and celebrity ice cream creations at www.walmart.com/icecream.

A Great Night in Chicago

If there was any doubt that Chicago is the gospel capitol of the world, it was put to rest last night.

At Christ Universal Temple Friday evening, June 4, Gospel Music According to Chicago inducted the first 25 members into its Hall of Living Legends. Just about every gospel pioneer and legend was mentioned yesterday -- from Thomas A. Dorsey and Roberta Martin to Walt Whitman and the Soul Children (who performed with Keith Pringle yesterday) and all with a tie to Chicago.

Included among the 25 included female singers Albertina Walker, Inez Andrews, Bertha Melson, Lorenza Brown-Porter, Ann Yancy, Vernon Oliver Price, DeLois Barrett and the Barrett Sisters. The photo above shows gospel announcers Pam Morris and Edna Tatum congratulating the ladies on well-deserved and long overdue recognition for their contributions to gospel music.

TBGB's Bob Marovich was honored to present posthumous awards to Rev. C.L. Fairchild, Eugene Smith, Ethel Holloway and Robert Wooten, Sr.

Congratulations to Dennis E. Cole, Ann Yancy and their committee for a marvelous program befitting the importance of the event.

A complete list of awardees can be found at www.chicagogmac.org.

"Still Here" - Travis Greene

"Still Here”
Travis Greene
From the Pendulum Records CD Stretching Out (release date: June 8, 2010)
www.travisgreene.net

“Still Here” by Travis Greene is not just a title, it’s a testimony.

It started at the age of four, when Greene fell out of a window in Germany and was pronounced dead – white sheet over his lifeless body and all – but, as the old song goes, he had a praying mother.

So not only is Greene still here, he’s also singing about the trials and temptations he encountered later on, as a young man. “If the devil could kill me, he would have done it by now…the devil lost another one,” he declares on “Still Here.” In a bright and lively call and response with his background vocalists, Greene encourages everyone to resist devilment and rely on the Lord’s saving power. And if anyone knows saving grace firsthand, it’s Travis Greene.

The single is on Greene’s album Stretching Out, to be released next week on Ruben Rodriguez’ Pendulum Records.

Kathy Taylor Live: The Worship Experience

Kathy Taylor
Kathy Taylor Live: The Worship Experience
Katco Music Group 2008
www.kathytaylorlive.com

There’s no question that Kathy Taylor of Houston, Texas is one of the most powerful and expressive gospel singers on the scene today. She possesses a big, traditional-sounding voice hewn straight out of the rafters of the old wooden church, and her commanding presence is reminiscent of the Golden Era’s female stars, even though she herself prefers contemporary gospel and worship songs.

Taylor’s magnum opus is Kathy Taylor Live: The Worship Experience, a self-produced two-CD set (her fourth album). I bring this project to the fore not because it’s new – it’s been around for a couple of years – but because Ms. Taylor is one of the featured artists at this weekend’s Chicago Gospel Fest. Those attending the event will want to catch her in person.

Three months ago, Taylor was in Chicago as a guest soloist for DeLois Barrett Campbell’s birthday program, and she filled every square inch of First Church of Deliverance with her brassy trumpet of a voice. The song she sang at First Church was her single, “Oh How Precious,” which is included on Kathy Taylor Live: The Worship Experience as the more familiar radio edit and an eleven-minute version. The latter concludes, inevitably, with a praise break.

Other standout tracks on the two-disc set, recorded live at the Power Center in Houston, include “Alabaster Box,” where Taylor demonstrates what a superb singer she is, regardless of genre or category. She really showcases her vocal versatility on V. Michael McKay’s “Corinthian Song,” accompanied deftly on piano by the album’s producer, Leon C. Lewis.

Dorothy Norwood makes a guest appearance on “God Specializes.” She follows up Taylor’s cover of the Shirley Caesar-penned song by rendering the classic Roberta Martin Singers' “God Specializes.” She and Taylor conclude with a duet.

Taylor’s vocal group Favor provides powerful backup support, and the chorus on “Lord You Are Holy” offers scintillating classical harmonies. The evergreen Nashville String Machine is among the talented musicians, directed by Glen “GP” Piper. The live program rolls along at a comfortable tempo, peaceful and energizing. Taylor’s website says “the best is yet to come,” but with Kathy Taylor Live: The Worship Experience, a generous portion of the best is already here.

Five of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Oh How Precious,” “Alabaster Box,” “The Corinthian Song.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Music World Entertainment Launches New Faith-Based Label

From a press release:

(Houston, TX– June 3, 2010) – Music World Entertainment announces a newly established gospel music label, Music World Gospel.

The label will succeed the company’s faith-based label, Spirit Rising, with the award-winning recording artists and special projects joining the new venture.

Music World Gospel's roster of artists and compilation projects include Juanita Bynum, Trin-i-tee 5:7, Brian Courtney Wilson, Micah Stampley, Pastor Rudy Rasmus and The ESSENCE Gospel Project. A Spirit Rising compilation CD will retain its name and be released through Music World Gospel.

Music World recently signed world-renowned gospel recording artist Juanita Bynum to a joint venture recording agreement and management partnership. Music World Gospel/Son Flower Records will release Bynum’s new EP, The Diary of Juanita Bynum: Soul Cry (Oh, Oh, Oh) on June 22. The music trilogy is the first of a three-tier project that will culminate in the release of her highly anticipated CD/DVD, The Diary of Juanita Bynum II, scheduled for January 2011.

Acclaimed gospel singer, songwriter, producer, minister and Stellar Award nominee Micah Stampley also recently joined Music World with a management and recording joint venture, and will release a new album through Music World Gospel/Interface. Stampley’s first CD hit the music charts as the second highest debut for a Male Gospel Artist in Billboard’s history at #3.

A rising star in contemporary gospel music, Brian Courtney Wilson is considered one of the top break-through artists of 2009. Wilson’s debut album, Just Love, entered the chart at #2 and after 51 weeks remains in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums Chart. The CD remained at #1 on CMTA’s Inspirational Chart for 14 consecutive weeks.

Founded by President and C.E.O. Mathew Knowles, Music World Entertainment has a rich history of high profile successes within the music genre. Its gospel division was named by Billboard in the Top 10 Gospel Songs Labels of The Year (2009).

For more information, go to www.musicworldent.com.

"Favor Ain't Fair" - Korey Bowie

“Favor Ain’t Fair”
Korey Bowie
From the Invested Music Group CD
Life and Love, Vol. 1: Songs of the Heart (release date: Summer 2010)
www.koreybowie.com

At first blush, the title of singer-songwriter Korey Bowie’s “Favor Ain’t Fair” might suggest that he is about to sing from the perspective of someone still wistfully awaiting the Lord’s favor.

Just the opposite: favor is all over him like sunshine, and it has the haters hating him even harder. But Bowie doesn’t mind, shouting jubilantly, “This is my life and my time, and I’m receiving what is mine.” If you feel the same way, he adds, don’t be afraid to revel in what is yours. All this over an appropriately bright, bouncy, shoulder-shaking contemporary gospel groove.

"I Thee Wed" - Jay McGee

"I Thee Wed"
Jay McGee
From the Beacon Records CD
I Hear Foot Steps 2002
www.cdbaby.com/cd/jaymcgee

As we enter June and wedding season, Jay McGee reminds us of his 2002 pledge of undying love, "I Thee Wed."

Fans of Seventies smooth soulsters such as the Spinners and Stylistics will especially dig this retro-sounding track. One can imagine a tuxedoed McGee standing at the altar, beckoning to his bride-to-be in a cool falsetto like the baddest dude of the moment.

North Carolina's Jay McGee became inspired to sing after hearing performances of quartet stars such as Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls, Johnnie Taylor and Archie Brownlee. "I Thee Wed" is on his album, I Hear Foot Steps."

"Heaven" - Troy Sneed

"Heaven"
Troy Sneed
From the Emtro Gospel CD In Due Season
www.emtro.com

Gospel music is resplendent with pastoral images of the Great Beyond. "Heaven," the third single from Troy Sneed's successful In Due Season album, offers yet another hopeful vision.

Sneed's is a tunefully happy, anticipatory evocation of the place where the streets are paved with gold and the singer can seek out his relatives, but who does he really want to meet face to face? Listen to find out.

Towards the conclusion, Sneed off-handedly renders snippets of good old homegoing hymns to hammer home his point: death is not dying but a transition to the promised Great Day.