Reality - Lisa McClendon

Lisa McClendon
Reality
BluSoul Entertainment 2010
www.LisaMcClendon.com

Lisa McClendon wants to put her life on pause, and is pretty sure you do, too.

The uber-cool singer’s fourth CD, Reality, is about escaping the daily onslaught of perceived urgent/important issues and focusing on what really matters, including our spiritual lives.

McClendon’s musical palette, which she calls “inspirational soul,” is ideal for getting the message across. Her pillowy vocals contain shades of Sade, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Roberta Flack. In an orchestra of voices, she’s the muted cornet, conjuring wistful regret and unbridled optimism. Backing her are calming, liquidy sounds, like an aural zen fountain. All of this makes Reality a patchwork of cool-down tracks designed to move listeners from life’s interstate to the blue highways. Here they can connect with their identity and purpose, rekindle a spiritual relationship with God, and keep from losing their minds.

The current single, “Pause,” best expresses the album’s theme. Surrounded by shouting children and all matter of daily clutter, McClendon wishes she had a remote control to put life on pause and get back to “my space.” And I don't think she means the popular social networking website, though she does have a presence there.

On “Makeover,” McClendon likens the regeneration process to an internal makeover. We don’t spend “enough time on the inside,” she sings regretfully. As a working mother with an artist’s frenetic schedule, she knows whereof she sings. To this point, “Thank You” points out that God makes strong women to overcome these challenges. “Alright” teaches that the journey from stridence to silence is going to be alright, because God is in charge.

Reality is dreamy, atmospheric and personal, but not in a self-indulgent way. McClendon’s intent is to help her listeners move towards a richer life-spirit balance. We are God’s creatures after all, and deserve better. As she notes, gleam in her eye, on “Who I Am,” God made her, but “did I forget to mention, He took his time/When He made my kind?” Dear God, that was time well spent.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Pause,” “Please Help Me Now.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Final Notes from GMWA - 2010: Cincinnati

Some final photos and notes from the 2010 Gospel Music Workshop of America, held at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati, Ohio:

Legendary on-air personalities "Reverend Mother" Norma Jean Pender (Detroit) and John Phillips (Los Angeles) share a moment. Phillips has been on the air for more than 60 years and turns 90 on his next birthday. He was given the Pauline Wells Lewis Award by the Gospel Announcers Guild at Tuesday's first Crystal Mic Awards. Congratulations, Mr. Phillips!

The Truthettes (below, right) enjoy the GMWA Quartet Division program Wednesday evening.


The McDonald Sisters of Fayetteville, NC were part of Wednesday evening's quartet concert. They sang so hard, I wouldn't have wanted to follow them on the program!

Lowell Pye - Finally

Lowell Pye
Finally
Miralex Records/Overflow Entertainment 2010
www.LowellPye.com

Another Men of Standard alumnus steps out as a solo artist, and he brings a mighty team of producers, writers and singers with him.

On July 27, Lowell (pron. Lo-WELL) Pye released his debut CD, Finally. It is the first collaboration between Pye’s Overflow Entertainment and the Miralex label, the latter run by Asaph Alexander Ward, who also serves as producer. Ward is not alone: some of the most formidable talents in the biz contributed production to the CD, including Deitrick Haddon, PJ Morton, Chip Dixson and Marcus Devine.

The guest vocalist list is equally impressive, including Sheri Jones-Moffett, PJ Morton, and Detroiters Elder Rance Allen, Pastor Marvin Winans, and Damita Haddon.

The songs run the gamut of traditional to contemporary to quartet and hip hop, though Pye is at his best on the contemporary ballads because they allow him full range to flex his expressive, muscular voice. In addition to the current single, Fred Hammond’s melodic “Running Back to You,” Pye does a fine job on PJ Morton’s “Better,” and really shows what he can do on “Speak,” accompanied only by Eric “E Natural” Pruitt on piano. Acoustic piano continues to prove that it is a gospel singer’s best friend.

“He’ll Make a Way” is the churchiest of the traditional tracks. It’s an echo of Eugene Smith’s classic 1941 gospel blues “I Know the Lord Will Make a Way, Oh Yes He Will” with Winans and Allen lending old-school cred to a funky groove. “Jesus Never Fails” features Michael Bereal chirping on the B3 while Tim Mole’s electric guitar riffs weave around the organ chords and the background vocalists turn into a thunderous choir. “Good to Me” is a hand-clapping quartet rouser on which Pye multi-tracks his voice to become his own vocal group.

Female vocalist Minon Bolton deserves to be singled out for her lovely contributions to a number of songs, including the title track. Her voice is actually the first one you hear on the CD. Speaking of the title track, “Finally” deals with the emotional emptiness left by life on the fast track and the urgency to move to a spiritual level where the soul never hungers or thirsts. Pye repeats the “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul” theme later in the set.

Finally is an admirable solo debut with the right combination of sounds and messages to keep the listener engaged from beginning to end.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Running Back to You,” “Better,” “He’ll Make a Way.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

More 2010 GMWA Convention Moments from the Queen City

The Violinaires were one of seven awardees at the Gospel Music Workshop of America - Quartet Division banquet this afternoon. Here they are accepting their award from the Christianaires' Tyrone Porter. Afterwards, they did an acappella version of "The Lord's Prayer." Their top notes at the end of "The Lord's Prayer" tore up the room!

Spencer Taylor (left) and the Highway QCs were also among the awardees at this afternoon's luncheon.

Other honorees were Doc McKenzie and the Gospel Hi-Lites, McDonald Sisters, Jackson Southernaires, Williams Brothers, and the Caravans.

Tyrone Porter, Donna Creer and their team did a marvelous job honoring gospel's quartet soldiers, living and deceased.

Howard Riley (right), gospel announcer at Cincinnati's WAIF FM 88.3 was recognized for his commitment to keeping quartet music on the radio. Enthusiasts will remember Riley for his amazing lead vocals on the Mighty Pilgrims' "I Tried" (Finch, 1971), a quartet recording TBGB considers to be one of the finest on record.

More Notes from GMWA...

Here are some random notes from the Gospel Music Worshop of America - Gospel Announcers Guild:

-- Congratulations to Dr. Albertina Walker, Queen of Gospel, who has released a one hour documentary on her life and music. More info at www.albertinawalker.com.

-- Congratulations also go to Chicago's own Shirley Bell. She was named Traditional Female Vocalist of the Year by the Rhythm of Gospel Awards, which honors indie gospel artists.

-- James Robinson, a founding member of GospelFlava.com, was appointed president of Light Records.

-- Al "The Bishop" Hobbs and his team put together a wonderful luncheon this afternoon to inaugurate the Crystal Mic Awards, which celebrates media contributions to gospel. The annual Gospel Announcers Guild awards were also presented at this "Golden Globes"-style event, which was videotaped for potential airing by the Word Network.

-- Zie'l (photo above) rocked the Gospel Announcers Guild 40th Anniversary party last night with a new song, "Purify Me," which in my opinion is their best track ever. It blends contemporary gospel with sweet harmonies and 1970s power soul.

Ami Rushes - Testify

Ami Rushes
Testify
Ami Rushes Ministries 2010
www.amirushes.com

On her latest project, Testify, Ami Rushes sets out to “remove burdens and destroy yolks” – those of her listeners as well as her own -- through the cathartic and redemptive power of music.

The title, however, could just as easily apply to the Rev. James Cleveland protégé’s continued support of traditional gospel as the cure for what ails you.

As she has done time and again throughout her solo career, Rushes gives props to the legends by covering the classics on Testify. “Let’s go back to 1960,” Rushes announces at the start of Sidney Hason’s “There is Nothing Too Hard for God.” The organ chirps perfunctorily and a perky, handclap beat introduces a 1960s-era garage band-style workout.

Teaming up with her longtime friend and producer Kurt Carr, Rushes turns Testify into her best work yet. Much of the album has a high-spirited, celebratory, praise party feeling. For example, on “Didn’t It Rain,” a spiritual gospelized by Roberta Martin, Rushes serves as impassioned narrator and lead singer as the background vocalists chant with the precision of a Broadway chorus and Rick Watford delivers some saucy quartet-style guitar licks. “Determination” is a straight-ahead church wrecker, and on the title track, written by the late Reverend Timothy Wright, the entire company demonstrates some choral aerobics, including chiming harmonies.

Timothy Wright’s spirit hovers palpably over Testify, most poignantly in the closing medley, when Rushes reprises his hit, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,” as a way to relieve the dramatic tension of a solemn, prayerful reading of Andrae Crouch’s “Always Remember.”

Ami Rushes is a saved and sanctified power rocker whose soulful, rock-hewn voice can just a easily tear into a song as deliver a tender, emotional ballad with lullabye-like calm.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Determination,” “Didn’t It Rain,” “Testify.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

A Moment at GMWA...

Earnest Pugh ("Rain On Us") stopped by the Gospel Announcers Guild room at the Gospel Music Workshop of America in Cincinnati today to say thank you to radio for its continued support of his ministry.

TBGB Pick of the Week: July 25, 2010

“All That I Have”
Bishop Darrell D. Hines
From the album Darrell D. Hines Live
www.dhminfo.com

Talk about a message: in 1981, Bishop Darrell D. Hines was struck by lightning and lay at death’s door for 45 minutes until he was revived.

Subsequently, he dedicated himself to the church and established a formidable ministry, including leading the Christian Faith Fellowship Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was elevated to the position of Auxiliary Bishop within the Church of God in Christ by the late Presiding Bishop G.E. Patterson.

Hines’ new single, “All That I Have,” is a lovingly tender, melodic duet that simply says “what little I have, I give it back to Thee,” heart and soul. Literally.

"Blessin' Me" - Avery*Sunshine

“Blessin’ Me”
Avery*Sunshine
www.averysunshine.com
(available on iTunes)

A former member of the famed Wilmington/Chester Mass Choir, Avery*Sunshine is a songwriter and pianist whose services have benefited screen (The Fighting Temptations) and stage (Meet the Browns, Dreamgirls).

Steeped in the gospel-jazz-soul-hip hop blend that Lisa McClendon defines as “inspirational soul,” Avery*Sunshine’s “Blessin’ Me” is a head-bobbing, body-swaying outpouring of thanksgiving for things we take for granted, including “you didn’t let me sleep too late, you woke me right on time.”

Fred Hammond Talks About New Label, Gospel Music Industry

On July 27, Fred Hammond, award-winning singer, songwriter, producer and pioneer of urban praise and worship music, will add a new title to his CV.

Record label owner.

The founding member of Commissioned and his business partner, philanthropist Roy Campbell, will unveil fHammond Family Entertainment on the 27th with the release of Life in the Word, the label’s first project and his newest release. fHammond Family Entertainment projects will be distributed exclusively by Universal Music Christian Group. Hammond will function as president and CEO, and will focus on cultivating the label’s creative content.

“When we first started to come up as Commissioned, owning a record company was a dream,” Hammond told TBGB during a recent phone interview. “It was so far-fetched at that time. Since then, I’ve done everything as an artist that I can do. Now I want to create a place for others to do the same thing, to share their faith with others.”

Hammond acknowledges, however, that owning a label is not what it used to be. “Today, everybody has a label, but for me, having a label is not just to have a label. It’s the ability to give artists who understand gospel music a chance to share their faith with others. Not those who are just performers, but artists who have a heart for gospel and touch the people with their concern for everyday needs.”

Other artists fHammond Family Entertainment is working with at the moment include Steve Huff (“an urban recording artist with an amazing body of work”) and Mike Bethany. Hammond’s daughter, BreeAnn, is also working on a project. “My daughter has a pop thing going. She knows what twenty-two year old girls talk about.” In addition to music CDs, the imprint will work on audio-visual projects.

TBGB asked Hammond about the condition of the gospel music industry in which fHammond Family Entertainment is stepping. “It all starts with radio,” Hammond explained. “Radio is my home base and I’m proud of it. We need to make sure that gospel radio not only survives but thrives. It’s doing the best it can, but radio needs more advertisers. Things have to change; we need to come up with clever ways to draw in advertisers.”

Hammond is optimistic that this can be done. “Look at Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound [church choir competition]. They packed out arenas. We have to continue to connect businesses with the business of gospel and make it relevant so people will come to the programs.”

Meanwhile, gospel artists need to focus on the content. “Artists need to sing what people need to hear like never before. Their message must be simple, not just talking and preaching, but singing songs that are relevant, songs people want to hear.”

Rigid conformance to style and rhetoric is not the issue for Hammond. “God wants to know what your heart looks like. Jesus did not look like the church of his day. He looked like everybody else.”

Hammond’s new project, Life in the Word, is a “praise and worship devotional that you can listen to in your car. It’s scripture with song – some solemn, some comedic – but above all else, it’s praise and worship to lift Him up.”

While Hammond wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the album, he sings only two of them. Exemplifying the spirit of fHammond Family Entertainment’s mission, Life in the Word aims the spotlight on emerging solo artists such as Lowell Pye (Men of Standard), Michael Bethany and Dynna Wells.

A special feature of Life in the Word is a bonus DVD containing the first volume of “Warehouse Worship,” a gospel arts presentation that combines music, dance, drama and inspirational messages. Hammond created it to be a “YouTube type program, garage band style.”

Meanwhile, Hammond’s latest effort, Love Unstoppable, is still garnering brisk airplay and sales. “I love all my albums, but Love Unstoppable felt special. It captured exactly what I wanted to say.”

Is Fred Hammond still “radical for Christ?” “I’m not radical if you mean jumping around the stage, but I’m a radical thinker. I don't believe you can stand still. You have to keep on moving.”

"I'll Forever Praise Him" - Tim Spady & Inspiration

“I’ll Forever Praise Him”
Tim Spady & Inspiration, feat. Nneka Best
From the forthcoming album Songs From My Heart

Twenty-two year-old songwriter/musician Timothy Spady directs the Voices of Praise gospel choir at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he is studying sociology. A pianist inspired by the work of Richard Smallwood, Spady took formal music lessons as well as picking up bits and pieces from playing in and around Philadelphia with artists such as Nneka Best, who leads “I’ll Forever Praise Him.”

This song, from Tim Spady & Inspiration’s forthcoming full-length album, Songs From My Heart, is a superb introduction to the young talent. It’s a dramatic but restful choral piece that has a classical foundation with clear links to Smallwood's work. Best leads with energy and leaps effortlessly through her impressive vocal range.

Check out the song on YouTube:

PRo - Redemption

PRo
Redemption
Reflection Music Group 2010
www.mynameispro.com

During the first part of the 20th century, men and women evangelized on street corners to passersby, sinners and saints alike. Their songs were urgent calls to take immediate and swift soul-saving action. To press their point, the evangelists would base their ballad on recent events or current fads. They accompanied themselves on guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, and – at least in the case of Blind Mamie Forehand – finger cymbals.

Today, the musical descendants of streetcorner evangelists are not on streetcorners but in recording studios and in front of computers, spitting honest stories in rapid fire rhyme, accompanying their sermonettes with throbbing beats and electronic melodies. Like their predecessors, today’s Christian hip hop/rap artists use current popular music as their canvas to deliver a conversion testimony with such fervor that one imagines the stories will bubble out of them regardless of whether the tape is rolling.

One of these Christian hip hop artists is Derek Laurence Johnson, Jr., aka PRo (an abbreviation of “Prodigal”). Originally from Pontiac, Michigan, PRo grew up in a single parent/two child household without a father figure. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University and in the past four years has produced five mixtapes, was featured on Trip Lee’s number one album Between Two Worlds (“Covenant Eyes”) and just released his second album, Redemption, last week.

If you like Trip Lee's “Covenant Eyes,” you will like PRo's Redemption. It is packed with 20 tracks that contain the same confident swagger as Between Two Worlds and offer similar life lessons, in street speak, for those whose future hangs in the balance. On “Aye You,” PRo poses a question with a double-meaning that ties the project together: “Everybody’s hustling for something, so my question is, ‘What are you hustling for?’”

What indeed? Hopefully for redemption, PRo raps, which can happen on the streets, in the clubs, to the rich and poor. The important thing is to not be a slave to one’s old, sinful ways. PRo speaks as a living testimony. “If you liked the old PRo, sorry, he’s no longer there.” He’s also no longer listening to the “My Space gangstas and YouTube thugs” whose philosophy of life “can get you merked.” And, addressing those concerned about his penchant for using slavery as a metaphor, PRo declares on “Slave to You” that he is proud to be a slave...to God.

Some of the most lyrically intense moments on Redemption are during “Know You.” Featuring Rick Trotter, "Know You" is a recollection of a stepfather relationship that was dysfunctional. Now that the stepdad is dead, PRo wishes he’d spent time forgiving and hugging him. He wasted time “hatin’ like a fool” instead of “loving like Christ.” Or as he refers to agape on “Power to Die,” “a Sunday kind of love, call it the Etta James.”

Tracks range from musically intense (“Fight Music”) to lyrically intense (“Know You”), but featuring engrossing techno-dipped female singers such as Roslyn Welch on the melodic “Blow My Mind” sweetens the tough love. By the end of the CD, PRo offers his mission statement: “A follower of Christ till they put me in the grave…that’s who I be.”

Traditionalists may not be able to wrap their head around Christian hip hop/rap in the same way that they did the streetcorner evangelists of yore, but PRo’s Redemption is worth at least two listens: one to absorb the energy and the second time to absorb the message.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: "Hold Me Down," “Blow My Mind,” “Depend on You.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Lisa McClendon "Puts the World on Pause" to Speak with TBGB

While promoting her fourth and latest CD, Reality (BluSoul Entertainment), gospel artist Lisa McClendon spent time with TBGB reminiscing about her start in the music business and what makes her style truly distinctive.

McClendon grew up in Palatka, Florida, a small town about 45 minutes south of Jacksonville. Her family was very musical. “The thing to do in those days was to create a family choir,” she said. So she sang in her family group but also joined the various choirs at her home church, the Temple of God, where her father was assistant pastor (he now pastors a church in Tampa).

When McClendon was fifteen, she entered a gospel star talent search, performing “My Strongest Weakness” by the Christianaires. She did not win the competition, but took the first round and was a runner-up. “That is when I decided I wanted to sing professionally,” she remembered. It was as a young teen that she also began writing songs, a craft she continues to this day.

“My surroundings were always gospel, but there was a huge jazz influence on my singing,” McClendon noted. Her early influences ranged from Ella Fitzgerald – “her voice is timeless” – to the top gospel artists of the late 1980s/early 1990s, “when the music started changing.” McClendon especially recalled the day she discovered the music of Dawkins & Dawkins: “I didn’t think gospel could sound like that!” Meanwhile, she soaked up the sounds of the Winans, Commissioned with Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, Daryl Coley and the Clark Sisters.

McClendon’s first professional gig was at P. Diddy’s club in New York, where her fusion of gospel and jazz was well received. She parlayed this momentum into a first album, My Diary, Your Life, released in 2002. The inspirational project steeped in neo-soul led to more invitations to perform at clubs, “where I was able to reach people who would never have stepped foot in a church.”

McClendon refers to her distinctive style as “inspirational soul, which is embraced now but was really different when I recorded my first album.” She was not alone. Artists such as PJ Morton were also experimenting with jazz, soul and gospel fusion in the mid-2000s.

Despite McClendon’s popularity on the club circuit, her second album, Soul Music (2003), was more focused, musically and promotionally, on the church community. “[Soul Music] allowed me to get into doors that I couldn’t get into before.” In 2006, McClendon followed up with Live from the House of Blues, recorded in New Orleans. She also made guest appearances on other artist’s projects, notably on albums by popular Christian hip hop artists Da T.R.U.T.H. and Pettidee.

She describes her fourth album, Reality, as having a “more mature sound in terms of the writing and the production. It’s really a fusion of my first, second and third albums. Those who liked my first album really like Reality.”

A track that exemplifies the album's overarching theme of personal growth is “Now I Get It.” It tackles the mistakes the singer made early in her professional career by not taking seriously the sage advice offered to her by other, more experienced artists. She ended up learning about the music business the hard way. “Ten years ago, I was a singer-songwriter," commented McClendon. "Now I am also a businesswoman.” Her advice to emerging artists is to “know the business.”

McClendon said the track from Reality getting much of the attention these days is “Pause” (watch the video below). “[‘Pause’] was written one day when my children were frustrating me with their arguing. I happened to be on the telephone with my agent and said that I wished I had a remote control so I could hit the ‘Pause’ button and they would stop.” Her agent said that her comment sounded like the makings of a song. She wrote it, and it hit a universal nerve. "We get more responses for this song than just about anything we’ve ever done!”

When she is not performing, McClendon enjoys listening to emerging gospel artists such as Travis Greene and current stars such as Yolanda Adams and Hillsong United. She would like to do a jazz album that ministers specifically to couples, and is at work on her first Christmas album, scheduled for release this fall.

Lisa McClendon's style may be distinctive, but her themes are classic and straightforward. "What Christianity is all about is manifesting love, and we need love."

"A Praise Medley" - Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr.

“A Praise Medley”
Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr. & the Tabernacle Cathedral Choir
From the Alliant Music Group CD The Best of Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr.
www.alliantmusicgroup.com

Baptist-raised Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr. admits that he “slipped off to the sanctified church” for a little hallelujah praise and worship.

To prove his point, Davis and the Tabernacle Cathedral Choir launch into “A Praise Medley.” The exuberant medley is comprised of several old-school congregational gospels, such as “Jesus, I’ll Never Forget,” “This Little Light of Mine,” “Jesus on the Main Line,” and “Joybells Ringing In My Soul.”

“A Praise Medley” is a radio edit single from Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr.’s new “best of” compilation. It first appeared as a six-plus minute workout called “Church Medley” on the Bishop’s Today Is Your Day for a Miracle (2007).

"Hallelujah to the Lamb" - James Hall Presents Voices of Citadel

"Hallelujah to the Lamb"
James Hall Presents Voices of Citadel
Musicblend Records 2009
www.myspace.com/voicesofcitadel

James Hall and Voices of Citadel blew the gramophone horn off its couplings recently with their exciting, Pentecostal cover of the Davis Sisters' classic "Won't It Be Wonderful."

The choir's other single, "Hallelujah to the Lamb," is equally sonic vocally but lacks the high-octane lift of "Wonderful." It is virtually indistinguishable from other choir-driven performances of the last few years. Had a lead singer jumped in during the extended vamp and improvised with some joyful and colorful noise, it may have made a difference. Nobody shows up, however, and so the choir repeats the same line over and over in unrequited antiphony.

The McDonald Sisters: Fayetteville’s Fantastic Five

by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog

Next week, the McDonald Sisters of Fayetteville, North Carolina will be one of seven quartets honored at the Gospel Music Workshop of America - Quartet Division’s annual banquet in Cincinnati, Ohio. They will be celebrated along with other legendary quartets such as the Violinaires, Jackson Southernaires, Highway QCs and the Caravans.

Last week, TBGB learned more about the McDonald Sisters during a conversation with Priscilla McDonald, Pamela McDonald and Evelyn McDonald Miller via telephone from North Carolina.

The McDonald Sisters have sung from the north, south, east and west coasts of the U.S. Their singing ministry has spread globally from Switzerland to Portugal to Spain, but the quartet started modestly in 1963 when Priscilla McDonald, a young mother, overheard her pre-school daughters Valerie, Pamela and Evelyn singing along to radio hits by the Supremes and Love Unlimited.

Priscilla enjoyed gospel music growing up, so after she heard her girls harmonizing to Motown, she wanted to hear how they would sound as a gospel quartet. Baby sister Deborah soon joined the group. The McDonald Sisters made their debut at First Baptist Church in Parkton, North Carolina, where their cheek-pinching charm and sweet harmonies earned them local celebrity. “We received overwhelming support in and around the area,” Priscilla remembered.

At this point, neither Priscilla nor her daughters thought about singing professionally, or even performing outside of Parkton and Fayetteville, but Evelyn recalls that one of their fans knew otherwise. “There was a very wise old mother at an A.M.E.Z. church across the street from ours,” she explained. “One day, this mother spoke a prophetic word to us. She said, ‘Parkton will not be able to hold you. You will go into the world and spread the word of Jesus Christ.’ And that’s what we did.”

It was not until 1979 that the McDonald Sisters recorded their first single, “I’m Glad I Found the Lord”/”One Day Soon.” The record was released on K&W Enterprises, a local label run by the late Ken Wormack, who also served as the McDonald Sisters’ manager. Under his leadership, they made numerous recordings. One of their most popular recordings, even today, is “Prayer Changes Things.”

In 1985, the sisters were given the title “The Sweethearts of Fayetteville” from Leon Bryant, a disc jockey with WFSS Radio on the campus of Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, NC. The title has been associated with the McDonald Sisters worldwide ever since.

The quartet also recorded for Hoyt Sullivan’s famed HSE Records. “Our records played well on local radio,” Priscilla said, “and aired in Nashville on WLAC, on ‘Hoss’ Allen’s program.”

In 1993, the old mother’s prophetic words rang especially true when the group was invited to participate in the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. The following year, the quartet toured Europe for two months. Besides Switzerland, the McDonald Sisters sang to crowds in Germany, Lichtenstein, France, Portugal, and Spain. “Thirty-nine concerts in 54 days,” Priscilla exclaimed. “The audiences were wonderful. And in Europe, when the promoters tell you that you are going to start at six o’clock, the people are there!”

When the McDonald Sisters sang overseas, they performed their standard repertory. Of course, there was one compulsory song, the “Free Bird” of international gospel, which global audiences request of American gospel groups. “I say this in tribute to the Hawkins Family. Wherever we sang, we always were asked to do ‘Oh Happy Day’,” Priscilla said.

Other fond memories singing before audiences are connected with historic moments in the nation’s history. In the 1980s, the group performed with the Georgia Mass Choir and Willie Neal Johnson for a Savannah, Georgia program that was part of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s run for President. They have also sung in Selma, Alabama three times, commemorating that area’s Civil Rights activities. The quartet has appeared on Dr. Bobby Jones programs three times. In 2002, the sisters made their first appearance on a production of Dr. Bobby Cartwright’s Gospel Superfest held in Jacksonville, Florida, and hosted by Clifton Davis.

What is it about the McDonald Sisters’ singing that makes them so popular? Ask the sisters and they say it’s their traditional churchy style. “Wherever we sing, whether it’s in an auditorium or a city center,” Pamela said, “the audience feels the anointing and the power of God through the ministry of music. They feel like they’ve been to church.”

Speaking of church, the group remains members of Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Fayetteville, under the pastoral leadership of their father, Dr. Samuel McDonald, Jr. Three of the sisters, Valerie McDonald, Pamela McDonald and Evelyn McDonald Miller are licensed and ordained ministers.

In 2009, the McDonald Sisters took a leap of faith and started their own record company. Ra’Ola Music, Inc. is an elision of the sisters’ maternal grandparents’ first names: Ray and Ola Mae Fuller. They felt it was a fitting way to commemorate their grandparents, who played a pivotal role in their lives. The sisters have created and registered their own publishing company with BMI. The company name, “VDEPP,” is made up of the first initial of the first name of each lady in the group. The quartet’s upcoming latest CD and DVD project, The McDonald Sisters - Live, will be released this year on Ra’Ola Music, Inc. The single, “Yes, I Know the Man,” features guest vocals by Evangelist Dorothy Norwood.  The live recording also consisted of the angelic voices of the Mason Temple COGIC Choir from Conway, SC. Michael McDonald, brother to the sisters, is a featured vocalist on a selection called “Yes.”

The McDonald Sisters have garnered many honors over the years, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from their hometown of Fayetteville. Later this month, they will add one more honor to their CV when the Gospel Music Workshop of America Quartet Division fetes them at its annual banquet. Priscilla is grateful to the late “Mr. Malaco,” Roy Wooten, who was responsible for getting them involved in GMWA and helped the group at many a turn. “So many have been very helpful to us over the years,” she added.

Forty-seven years after their debut performance in Parkton, North Carolina, the town that couldn’t hold them, the McDonald Sisters are still going strong. What’s the secret? Priscilla didn’t miss a beat. “We stay prayed up and live what we sing about.”

To learn more about the McDonald Sisters and their ministry, please visit their website at http://www.mcdonaldsisters.com/ or e-mail your comments to www.mcdonaldsisters2003@yahoo.com.

Photo Credit: McDonald Sisters website

Jonathan Butler: So Strong...and So Inspirational

“You Got to Believe in Something” &
“I Can See Clearly Now”
Jonathan Butler
From the Mack Avenue CD So Strong (2010)
www.jonathanbutler.com

After a difficult year that marked the loss of his mother, the passing of his close friend Wayman Tisdale, and his wife Barenese’s battle with cancer, it’s no surprise that South African-born jazz multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Butler included inspirational tracks on his new album, So Strong.

Between smooth love songs and guitar-fueled jazz that are the ideal soundtrack to a sunny afternoon at the beach, the Grammy-nominated Butler inserts “You Got to Believe in Something” and a gospelized cover of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now.” These two in particular will resonate with the gospel crowd.

“You Got to Believe in Something” is bright, uplifting and indistinguishable
from contemporary gospel, while the lovely “I Can See Clearly Now” works as grin-inducing nostalgia and soul food for thought. About “Clearly,” Butler explains, “The song is a confirmation that seasons will change. We need to stand together in faith and prayer in spite of the numerous challenges we face.”

Both performances look to the sky – figuratively and literally – for assurances that life holds plenty of reasons for optimism. Meanwhile, the background vocalists perform as a small church choir and Kenneth Knight adds more gospel cred by squeezing B3-style chirps from the organ.

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

TBGB Pick of the Week: July 19, 2010

“You’ll Never Thirst”
Juanita Bynum
From the Flow Records CD More Passion (2010)
www.juanitabynum.com

Juanita Bynum hits another home run, this time with “You’ll Never Thirst,” written by Da’Dra Crawford, Nicole Coleman-Mullen, Brad O’Donnell and Roger Ryan.

Bynum delivers the contemporary ballad, based on the “woman at the well” story, with stadium-filling largesse reminiscent of Celine Dion. It’s a beautiful song, ideally suited for Bynum’s voice. Everything works.

Darwin Hobbs Hospitalized; "On Strict Bed Rest"

(Atlanta, GA – July 19, 2010) -- Gospel recording artist Darwin Hobbs was hospitalized last week with multiple large blood clots in both lungs. He is being treated at a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where he currently resides.

Hobbs recently had lap band surgery, which went extremely well. He has lost a considerable amount of weight, but is still working toward his goal. According to his wife, Traci Hobbs, doctors decided to keep Hobbs in the hospital because of the recent surgery, but his spirits are high and he hopes to be released soon.

The doctors have him on strict bed rest. The Hobbs family is very grateful and thankful for all the prayers, love and support. “Darwin is stable and they have started him on the blood thinners for the blood clots,” said Traci Hobbs. “Please continue to keep Darwin lifted up in prayer. We’re believing God that the blood thinners will work and dissolve the blood clots.”

Hobbs has been busy promoting his new project, Champion, which was released in June. He was on his way to a radio event in Indianapolis when he was diverted to the hospital by his doctor because Hobbs was having trouble breathing.

Harold Rayford: “Gospel and Jazz are First Cousins”

by Bob Marovich, The Black Gospel Blog

As a preteen, Harold Rayford stood before the congregation of his home church, the Pentecostal Assembly of Fort Worth, Texas, ready to render a song.

He had no intention of singing.

Instead, he put a shiny saxophone to his lips and let loose a jazzy rendition of Dottie Rambo’s “He Looked Beyond My Faults.”

It was his aunt’s favorite request from then on.

Gospel jazz has taken the young man far. Today, Rayford pastors Faith Hope and Love Worship Center in Madison, Wisconsin and is a Dove Award-nominated gospel jazz saxophonist. His latest CD, I Am the Instrument, will be released by Tyscot Records on August 3, 2010. It was recorded at the intimate Jazz Kitchen in Tyscot’s hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana.

TBGB spoke with Pastor Rayford by telephone from Madison.

“I grew up in Texas and was very involved in music and athletics,” Rayford reminisced. “When I was in the sixth grade, I decided that I wanted to be in the band. The day after I got my saxophone, I took it to church and since then, I have always played in church.” He played sax through high school and college, “but my passion has always been playing in church. I would sit in the corner and play during testimony service and with the choir.”

Rayford said Pentecostal Assembly of Fort Worth (now known as The Chosen Vessel Cathedral) gave him “a wonderful foundation. I was fortunate to grow up in a church where there were never any restrictions on being too jazzy or being too modern. I was able to express myself musically in church. I had some friends who were musicians at other churches that had restrictions. They couldn’t play in the jazz band or the marching band, but that was never the case with me. I was always challenged musically and surrounded myself with the best musicians that I could find, musicians who would push me not only spiritually but musically to be the very best that I could be.”

The pastor’s variety of influences are not limited to saxophonists or even musical styles, though many of his strongest influences are jazz giants such as Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, and Cannonball Adderley. He considers Dr. Vernard Johnson – like Rayford, from Fort Worth – “to be the pioneer of what we now call gospel jazz. He was the person who inspired me the most to use the gift that God has given me and play gospel music.”

He continued: “Gospel jazz is simply instrumental gospel music. It’s something that has been around for a while. In fact, I call gospel and jazz ‘cousins,’ because they were born on the same plantation! If they are not brother and sister, they are at least first cousins, because they have the same history. It’s all about improvisation.”

And gospel jazz is catching on. Rayford’s last album, Always There, was nominated for a Dove Award. “It was quite an honor to be in that awards ceremony,” he said. “But I’m really excited about [I Am the Instrument], and am hopeful that it will also be nominated for other awards, not for the sake of being nominated, but to bring attention to other instrumental artists who are aspiring to do the same thing I’m doing.”

I Am the Instrument is Rayford's first live recording. “I have always wanted to do a live recording. Some of my most memorable moments as an artist have been live. We talk about gospel and jazz sharing the principle of improvisation, and when you do something live, it definitely involves improvisation. So we wanted to make this a project where we grabbed some of the best musicians we could find, and the results were just as we expected: good quality musicianship from all of the participants, and a unique sound.”

He explained, “The historic jazz albums were never done in a recording studio. They were done live at the so-and-so, and so I wanted to do that. We wanted to lay our hearts out before God and allow the music to minister from the moment, so that the people who were there the night of the recording session will hear on the CD what they heard that night.”

Though I Am the Instrument is Rayford’s first live project, it will definitely not be his last. “To be honest with you, I enjoyed doing the live recording so much, I don’t think I’ll do another studio project. Maybe if I do a studio album, it will be a project like a Christmas album or a tribute album. I’d like to do tribute albums to Andrae Crouch and the Winans, but I suspect that everything I do from now on, outside of the special projects, they are going to be live.

"You can capture some things on the live stage that you cannot recreate in the recording studio.”

For more information about Pastor Rayford or I Am the Instrument, visit www.haroldrayford.com and www.tyscot.com.

"The Lord Will Make a Way" - Salvation Music Ministry

"The Lord Will Make a Way"
Salvation Music Ministry
Salvific Records 2010
http://salvationmusicministryco.com

Salvation Music Ministry is a six-member combo from the nation’s capitol that has been toiling in the vineyard for 21 years. On “The Lord Will Make a Way,” the group gives the Thomas Dorsey chestnut a soulful makeover, infusing it with a funky bass line, quartet harmonies and enough bounce to the ounce to make Rance Allen do his signature dance.

The group is planning to release its third CD, a live recording called The Journey, in January 2011.

"Help Me Now" - Lisa McClendon

“Help Me Now”
Lisa McClendon
From the BluSoul Entertainment CD Reality (2010)
www.myspace.com/mcclendonlisa

Stellar and Dove Award nominee Lisa McClendon defines cool in style and voice.

On “Help Me Now,” from her fourth CD Reality, Lisa is in a bit of a fix. She asks for support from The Man Upstairs, stat, in her neo-soul voice that sounds like Erykah Badu consumed in wispy but fervent prayer.

At one point during the song, Lisa enters a church and, using a metaphor, asks God whether it’s okay to commit suicide. In his snappy, eye-twinkling response, The Man Upstairs shows characteristically good-natured fatherly firmness. Great answer...He's just keepin' it real.

Landmark - Jasper Williams, Jr.

Jasper Williams, Jr.
feat. the Salem Bible Church Mass Choir
Landmark
Church Door Records (available July 20, 2010)

After twenty years, the voice of Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr. – the celebrated Son of Thunder – is back on record. His label, Church Door Records, is reactivated, sporting what looks like a stylish new logo. The Old Landmark, aka Salem Bible Church in Atlanta, is ringing with the din of traditional singing. All is well.

Gospel enthusiasts will remember Rev. Williams from his popular sermons of the 1960s and 1970s, sporting titles such as I’m Black and I’m Proud, If Walls Could Talk, and I Fell in Love with a Prostitute. His recorded sermons were among the first religious albums that Stan Lewis issued on his Shreveport, Louisiana-based Jewel Records. For his own label, Church Door, Williams recorded the eulogy he delivered for his friend and inspiration, the late Rev. C.L. Franklin.

Next week, Williams will release on Church Door a combination CD/DVD called Landmark, featuring the Salem Bible Church Mass Choir. The first single, “Down Through the Years,” is already making noise on radio. It’s a congregational song in the old time way. It recalls the old time prayer meeting songs of fellow Atlantan Dr. C.J. Johnson and Regina Belle’s nostalgic single, “God is Good.”

Landmark’s finest moment is its namesake track, Rev. Brewster’s “Old Landmark.” The meaty arrangement and mid-tempo flow makes for as well-crafted a version of this classic as I’ve heard in recent times. In addition to a string of bluesy gospel solos, Williams’ moody, minor-keyed “Calvary” is a highlight of the album. “I Am the Way” is a spirited hand-clapper led by explosive female vocalist Danetra Moore. Williams’ son, Dr. Joseph L. Williams, handles lead vocals on some of the tracks.

Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr. has always been a fan of the traditional sound. He said, "I grew up listening to James Cleveland, the Southern Wonders of Memphis. E.L. McKinney was my best friend and sang in that group. I heard that kind of music as a young man."

Landmark would have been even better had all the songs been from the traditional repertory, similar to what Bishop G.E. Patterson did on his Singing the Old Time Way collection. Nevertheless, Landmark is a delightful project to hear and to watch, truly pleasurable, a reminder of how much good clean fun gospel music, and church, can be.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Down Through the Years,” “Old Landmark,” “I Am the Way.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

"The Turn Around" - J.E. Jones

"The Turn Around"
J.E. Jones
From the forthcoming Ultimate Entertainment Records CD Fire
(available July 20, 2010)
www.jejones.net

During the 1990s, J.E. Jones moved his way up the urban music corporate ladder to be a celebrated songwriter, producer and eventually vice president of Russell Simmons’ Def Jam Records. Despite his success, Jones felt a nagging emptiness in his life and went to church to get to the bottom of it.

That was the tipping point. Soon thereafter, Jones transitioned from the corporate offices of Def Jam into the sacristy of ministry. He is now poised to release his first solo gospel CD, Fire.

Appropriately, “The Turn Around,” a declarative song Jones co-wrote about fighting back from life’s frustrations, is the first single to be released off his new project. The chorus has a radio-friendly hook that Jones obviously learned to craft during his days in urban music.

Fire will be released on Ultimate Entertainment Records and distributed by Sony Music RED LLC.

Homegoing and Musical for Bishop Walter Hawkins (1949-2010)

The following are statements from the Love Center Ministries website:

Homegoing Celebrations for Bishop Walter L. Hawkins is as follows:

˜Musical˜
Tuesday, July 20th at 7:00 p.m.

˜Homegoing Service˜
Wednesday, July 21st at 11:00 a.m.

BOTH services will be held at:
Paramount Theatre
2025 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94612-2303
(510) 465-6400

NOTE: Word has it that the Walter Hawkins All-Star Tribute Concert will premiere Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. ET on GMC (formerly the Gospel Music Channel).

Walter Hawkins, the Grammy Award-winning gospel music singer/composer and pastor of Oakland’s Love Center Church, died at 2:48 PST July 11th at his home in Ripon. For the last two years, Hawkins has been battling pancreatic cancer. He was 61 years old.

During the 1970s, Walter Hawkins personified a new wave of gospel artists such as his brother Edwin Hawkins of “Oh Happy Day” fame, and Andrae Crouch who brought a youthful contemporary vibe to gospel music. Hawkins cut a series of best-selling “Love Alive” LPs that remain gospel classics to this day. Hawkins’ songs have been recorded by a who’s who in music ranging from Aretha Franklin and “American Idol” champ Ruben Studdard to Vickie Winans and M.C. Hammer.

“The impact that Walter Hawkins had on gospel music was so profound and far-reaching that it is now, and forever shall be, part of gospel’s DNA,” says gospel music historian, Bob Marovich, who edits The Black Gospel Blog.

Hawkins was born May 18, 1949 in Oakland, CA. Reared in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination, Hawkins became a master pianist as well as a dynamic singer with an operatic vocal range. His brother, Edwin, had already made a name for himself in 1969 when “Oh Happy Day” became an international hit. While studying for his master’s of divinity degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Hawkins recorded his first LP “Do Your Best” in 1972. An October 1972 Billboard magazine reviewer wrote, “Walter Hawkins is a pianist of enviable accomplishments while his vocal prowess is in no way disputable. He’s gathered around him an exceptional crew of sidemen and vocalists and the total effect is completely invigorating.”

The following year, Hawkins became a pastor and founded the Love Center Church in East Oakland. After forming the Love Center Choir, he recorded their first album as a church family. He used $1,800 he borrowed from his mother-in-law to complete the project. It was the first in a series of LPs named “Love Alive” and it debuted on Light Records in 1975. The album featured his then-wife, Tramaine, leading “Changed” and “Goin’ Up Yonder” which became two of the biggest gospel songs of the decade. A runaway smash, the “Love Alive” album sold a staggering 300,000 copies. The five “Love Alive” LPs featured classic gospel songs such as “I Love the Lord,” “Be Grateful,” “I’m Goin’ Away,” “Thank You, Lord” and “Until, I Found the Lord.”

In the `80s, Hawkins recorded a number of solo LPs and produced a number of artists, including Tramaine.

Although, he had earned nine Grammy Award nominations during his career, Hawkins only won one for his performance on “The Lord’s Prayer” LP in 1980 (he also performed on the televised Grammy Awards ceremony that year). In 1990, Hawkins released gospel music album “Love Alive III” which became the biggest seller of the “Love Alive” album series. The radio favorites were gospel songs “There’s A War Going On”, ” I Love You, Lord” and “He’ll Bring You Out.” The LP spent 34 weeks at #1 on the Billboard gospel album sales chart during the almost 100 weeks it spent on the survey. The album went on to sell over a million copies. The 1993 “Love Alive IV” also peaked at #1 on the album sales chart and spent a year on the survey. In between projects, Hawkins was ordained a Bishop in October 1992.

As elder statesmen in gospel music, Hawkins become a favorite for cameo appearances in recent years. The Mississippi Mass Choir had a hit with him on “Hold, On, Soldier” in 1993 and Donald Lawrence & the TriCity Singers watched him steal the show on “Seasons” from their “Go Get Your Life Back” CD in 2002. The 2001 “Love Alive V” CD featured a huge comeback hit for Hawkins with the ballad, “Marvelous.” Hawkins’ final solo gospel music CD “A Song in My Heart” won a Stellar Award for Traditional Gospel Album of the Year in 2006. He was inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

After surgery for pancreatic cancer in late 2008, the Hawkins Family (Walter, Edwin, Tramaine, and sister, Lynette) staged a successful, multi-city Hawkins Family reunion concert tour. At the time of his death, Hawkins was planning a new “Love Alive” CD concert recording for this fall.

Hawkins relished being a pastor as much as he enjoyed singing. “Early on I thought my ministry and my music were apart from each other. But now I see they work hand-in-hand,” he once said. “I can go a lot of places with my music that I can’t go as a pastor and vice versa. The purpose of both is getting the message out to people. I’ve had some material blessings and it’s okay to have them, but to be blessed with peace of mind and joy in your life, that’s when you will be truly fulfilled.”

Hawkins is survived by his two children, Walter “Jamie” and Trystan Hawkins; daughter-in-law, Myiia Hawkins; two grandchildren Jamie-Daniel and Jahve; a host of nieces and nephews; the Love Center Church family and Choir; and his siblings Carol, Feddie, Edwin, Daniel, and Lynette.

"Mama's Cry" - F1 Diamond

"Mama's Cry"
F1 Diamond
From the CD Pastor of the Traphouse
www.f1diamond.com

Memphis's "Pastor of the Traphouse," F1 Diamond, is back with another Christian rap from the mean streets. This time, it's a paean to the power of a praying mother and a saving God.

Mama pulls her twelve year-old son out of a drug house, rescues him from the arms of kidnappers, and watches as he is surrounded by gun violence. She prayed, and God did the rest.

Whether autobiographical or not, F1 Diamond plays the role of the child who "heard my mama cry...back when I was getting high." Her prayers saved him, "She told me yes, I can. She was my first Barack Obama."

Watch the video below:

TBGB Pick of the Week: July 12, 2010

"So Good"
Holy Boy
RKD Music 2010
www.rkdmusic.com

Holy Boy's 2009 album Out of Time was resplendent with smooth, hook-laden urban contemporary gospel tracks, but on his latest single, "So Good," the Mobile, Alabama native is 100 percent country church.

"Well I hear y'all clapping your hands like you're from the country," Holy Boy (Herbert Woods) declares at the outset, as his musicians make it near impossible not to clap, laying down an infectious quartet two-step beat and performing blues-style guitar runs and cascades. With a delivery reminiscent of Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson, Holy Boy performs an autobiographical song of thanks "for all the things God brought us through...I just can't tell it all."

Rest in Peace, Walter Hawkins

TBGB joins the gospel community in mourning the loss of a great artist and brilliant talent, Bishop Walter Hawkins, who has "gone up yonder to be with his Lord."

Hawkins died today, July 11.

Walter and the Hawkins Family have had such a profound impact on gospel music that to call them the architects of the contemporary sound would not be at all an exaggeration. Songs like "Goin' Up Yonder" and "Changed" have become standards in churches throughout the world. The Love Alive volumes sound just as fresh today as when they were released decades ago.

TBGB will provide more information on Hawkins's homegoing as details are made public.

Photo Credit: Light Records.

Elaine Norwood - Released

Elaine Norwood
Released
Highly Favored Music 2010
www.highlyfavoredmusic.com

On the polyrhythmic first track of her fourth solo CD, Released, veteran vocalist Elaine Norwood sings about offering up undignified praise. Her praise may be undignified, but Released is anything but. In fact, it is one of the best gospel albums I’ve heard this year.

The album’s winning formula is Norwood’s outstanding singing, crisp production at the hands of 70's songster Leon Haywood and Sanchez Harley, well-selected songs and solid musicianship (bonus points for having a real brass section!). No matter what style Norwood sings in – and she covers quite a range on Released – she handles it equally well. Having said that, she is at her very best on the straight-ahead gospel song and her current hit, “He’s Still Working On Me.”

Other album highlights include Norwood's popular gospelization of Alicia Keys’ smash, “If I Ain’t Got You,” remade as “If I Ain’t Got You, Jesus.” A rendition of “Soon-a Will Be Done” (aka “Troubles of the World”) smacks of Mahalia’s own. “I’ll Say Yes” is announced as a “toe-tapper,” but it’s more like a sanctified-style hand-clapper.

Norwood, whose aunt is the great Dorothy Norwood, joins her father, Pastor
Charles Norwood, on a California contemporary gospel version of James
Cleveland’s “God Has Smiled On Me.” Pastor and daughter make a lovely duo
and ought to consider recording again in the future.

Elaine Norwood honed her vocal craft for many years backing artists from Mariah Carey to the Isley Brothers, as well as singing commercial jingles. All those years of hard work has clearly paid off. She is a stone singer and Released is how a gospel album should sound.

Five of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “He’s Still Working On Me,” “I’ll Say Yes,” “If I Ain’t Got You, Jesus.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

"Get Off the Pew" - Outreach 24/7

“Get Off the Pew”
Outreach 24/7
Outreach Productions 2010
www.outreach247.org

Outreach 24/7 sounds like a new group of superheroes. Based on their single, “Get Off the Pew,” they might as well be.

On “Get Off the Pew,” the mixed vocal group from Washington, CD tells stories of troubled souls at a crossroads (e.g., a teenaged father, an alcoholic). They order their fellow saved to not just sit there, but “get off the pew” and help them help these troubled souls. Amen to that!

The neo-soul anthem (the group calls their style “Gospel Groove”) reminds me of Arrested Development during its awesome 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of… years.

"Get There" - Modern Day David

“Get There”
Modern Day David
Fresh Entertainment 2010
www.myspace.com/mddmoderndaydavid

Like many Christian hip hop artists, Lawrence Williams started rhyming secular until he’d seen enough – his brother lost his life on the streets. Williams was determined to dedicate his craft to the church and working with troubled youth, and rechristened himself “Modern Day David.”

On his latest single, “Get There,” Modern Day David (MDD) announces the status of his journey: “I won’t turn back/I feel like I’m closer now than ever before.” Proof positive: he’s now an elder at Praise Tabernacle Ministries in Brooklyn, NY.

The fresh-sounding “Get There” has a club-ready bounce reminiscent of Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me,” which MDD interpolates a few times during the performance.

Deitrick Haddon's Blessed & Cursed (2010)

Deitrick Haddon’s Blessed & Cursed
Tyscot Films
Directed by Joel Kapity
Available exclusively on DVD July 27, 2010
www.blessedandcursedthemovie.com

Deitrick Haddon's Blessed & Cursed marks the gospel singer's acting debut and Indianapolis-based Tyscot's first foray into the world of theatrical film production.

Set and filmed in Detroit, Blessed & Cursed follows the journey of Dwight Hawkins (Deitrick Haddon), the musically talented son of a local minister. Hawkins is inadvertently “discovered” by Bishop Wright and asked to serve as Psalmist for his church. We learn that Bishop Wright’s ego is as large as the man and as fragile as his health. He exhibits brash behavior, jealousy and insensitivity to those around him, including his wife (played by Sheryl Lee Ralph) and his staff. As Hawkins’s musical talent begins to capture national attention, the Bishop becomes threatened, and at one point embarrasses Hawkins and his troupe (the Voices of Unity) in front of the entire congregation.

Much of the remainder of the story centers on Hawkins’s personal struggle with petty but destructive church politics and the challenge it poses to his faith, especially when trouble at home forces him to choose between his newfound position and loyalty to his family.

The musical sequences are quite good, and fans of Haddon, Detroit gospel, or power praise and worship music will enjoy them, especially the scene when Rance Allen (as himself) stops by the church to offer Hawkins and his singing group a few tips.

What prevents Blessed & Cursed from being a much better film is its dizzying array of subplots and incidental scenes. It is as if every completed scene was kept in the film whether it moved the story along or not. These sidebars include Hawkins’s amorous interest in the Bishop’s niece Patrice (Drew Sidora, who has a Beyonce-like million-dollar smile), the reappearance of an ex-girlfriend, a group member’s struggle between making music for the church or the world, conflict between Hawkins and a conniving deacon, and scenes where Hawkins is writing music, recording music, and rehearsing music. There's three films' worth of activity going on. In other (and more famous) words, less would have been more.

Had Blessed & Cursed focused its attention solely on Hawkins’s choice between working for his father, whose church still owed on the mortgage, and the imperious and rich Bishop Wright, AND how the tug-of-war and church politics influenced the young man's creativity and musical direction, the film could have been Haddon’s – and possibly contemporary gospel’s – Purple Rain. And he could still get the girl.

Perhaps the biggest victim of too many subplots and incidentals is the dramatic tension that every good film requires. The only tension we feel – and it is a superb scene – is when Hawkins’s mother falls deathly ill while the young man is attending one of the Bishop’s endlessly tedious staff meetings. The Bishop chastises Hawkins for leaving the meeting before it is over, but he has no choice. It’s his mother, for Heaven's sake, who, it turns out, played a central role in the family’s fortunes, though we hardly ever see or hear from her. You can feel the claustrophobia of the spot in which Hawkins finds himself. More scenes like that would have taken this film to a whole new level.

Still, I think it is great that Detroit’s gospel community – the Clarks and Moss’s and Allens and others – came together to make a movie. So many projects like this never make it off the idea napkin, but Blessed & Cursed was filmed, edited, distributed and will be in stores on July 27. And the soundtrack, incidentally, is sensational. It is available now.

Three of Five Stars

Phil Tarver - Place of Worship

Phil Tarver
Place of Worship
Kingdom Records 2010
www.kingdomrecordsinc.com

Those familiar with Phil Tarver as the successful, hit-making recording artist and praise and worship leader with the award-winning Shekinah Glory Ministry may find it hard to believe that in 1999, the man was homeless. He and his family shuttled back and forth between relatives and hotels when his wife lost her job and his didn’t pay enough to cover costs.

So today, when the six foot, seven inch gentle giant sings about Jesus being “bettah than that,” it’s an understatement for the ages.

And Tarver is not looking back. Late last month, he released his third U.S. solo CD, Place of Worship, and it’s his best work to date. Place of Worship is resplendent with memorable, singable songs, lively rhythms and almost flawless pacing, or as Tarver might call it, “setting the atmosphere.” The first half of the CD is jazzy, punchy and hard-hitting, while the second half drifts along on that hypnotic P&W wave, its apex the hit single “God Is Able” and the soothing, mantra-like “Commune With Me.”

The musicians are superb, as listeners have come to expect from Shekinah Glory Ministry and Phil Tarver recordings. The group is anchored by sizzling electric guitarist Isaiah Sharkey and percussionists Michael Weatherspoon and Otha Seals. The reprises to the anthemic “Warrior Nation” and “Because You Say So” feature mesmerizing polyrhythmic percussion – gospel’s version of the drum solo – a sound Tarver describes as “the gates of Hell falling at your feet.”

And here is where the thought struck me. The lyric theology and aggressive percussion of praise and worship artists such as SGM and Phil Tarver may well represent a new, third epoch of African American sacred song, at least in the evangelical church.

Recall that, with arguable exceptions, the spirituals (epoch one) were expressions that rest and gentle peace were to be found in the hereafter. Gospel songs (epoch two) were less patient, as were their composers, seeking solace not in the hereafter but in the here and now. A constant for both was man’s – and nature’s - prevailing inhumanity. Prayer was a defense against the inevitable. The soul’s solace, therefore, was dependent on God who interceded on behalf of the forlorn to resolve earthly issues and provided an eternal paradise to the faithful upon their last breath...because, like it or not, the devil and evil were still alive and running amok in the world.

But when SGM’s “Warrior Nation” and its kingdom worshippers "stomp on the devil’s head,” tear down the gates of Hell with the beating of drums and other musical pageantry, or otherwise employ military metaphors, they are communicating as fearless, self-assured people on the offensive. In the third epoch of African American sacred music, the Alpha Worshippers not only seek earthly intercession like their gospel peers do, they go one step further: they seek to eradicate evil completely from the surface of the planet. There’s no need for intercession if an empowered army of warrior worshippers can mulch the devil’s head and melt down the gates of Hell.

Perhaps all of this is a natural response to a world so out of control with terrorism and corporate and political oppression that complete eradication of evil is the only real solution. One can also argue that the third epoch of sacred hymnody is the product of a people who have come a long way and have much for which to praise and celebrate (i.e., praise and worship), even if the work of eliminating what are more insidious and sly forms of racism and human suffering is far from over.

No matter what your take might be, it's just as Dot Coates once sang: "Ninety-nine and a half just won't do."

Five of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “God Is Able,” “Warrior Nation.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

"I'll Praise Him" - Minister James A. Willis & Nu Praze

“I’ll Praise Him”
Minister James A. Willis & Nu Praze
Gospel Warehouse Records 2010
www.myspace.com/officialjameswillisnupraz

Minister James A. Willis from Oklahoma City wants to praise the Lord so powerfully that it will make the devil hopping mad.

And that’s just what the singer-songwriter and his choir, Nu Praze, set out to do on “I’ll Praise Him.” Willis gives “I’ll Praise Him” a muscular, Fred Hammond-ish reading, while the musicians put down a meaty, polyrhythmic beat and the choristers fill the room with robust, thunderous gospel harmonies.

The single also debuts the group’s new relationship with Herman Burroughs’ Gospel Warehouse Records. Those who enjoy the ministries of gospel artists such as JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise or James Fortune & FIYA will appreciate Minister James Willis and Nu Praze.

Introducing The Rhythm Road: Opportunities Abroad

From a press release:

The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, is presented by Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Cultural Affairs.

The Rhythm Road is a unique international touring opportunity for American musicians, designed to foster unparalleled cultural exchange with audiences worldwide. The program expands on the rich legacy of the legendary Jazz Ambassadors such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Each year ten professional quartets with demonstrated musicianship and superior educator abilities are chosen in the genres of jazz, urban/hip-hop, or American roots music --including blues, bluegrass, Cajun, gospel, zydeco, and country music. The international tours last for approximately one month, taking the artists throughout regions such as Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. By December 2010, 150 musicians from 39 ensembles will have toured with the program, visiting over 100 different countries on 5 continents.

This past season there was a remarkable influx of outstanding applicants from every corner of the United States. You, and your music community, can be the first to know when they announce the 2011 application period.

To receive updates and announcements, visit the official website at jalc.org/TheRoad/index.asp.

DVD: Elliott Chavers feat. Lisa Sinkford

Elliott Chavers featuring Lisa Sinkford
Gospel Jazz 4 the Soul – Live in Pasadena, CA
Hi Desert Records
www.ElliottChavers.com

A while back, TBGB reviewed the EP by old school California saxman Elliott Chavers, which featured the delightful gospel singing of Lisa Sinkford, “L.A.’s best kept secret.”

In addition to the EP, there is a DVD of Chavers and his band performing songs from the album during an outdoor festival in Pasadena, California. It’s a no-frills, amateur-produced video of the live performance, which takes place on a lazy afternoon with a handful of festivalgoers clustered near the park's bandshell.

Chavers entertains with his ‘60s-style, hard-hitting R&B and jazz interpretations of gospels and spirituals. The combo includes Michael Bishop on keyboards, who sets his electric keyboard to “B3” and rolls off one purring chord after another like it was a Stax recording session. On “Gospel Train,” Chavers plays two saxophones at once to approximate the sound of a locomotive horn, and otherwise punches out some unbelievably high pitched squeals. The band be-bops its way through each song, all to the delight of a small but nevertheless appreciative audience.

Towards the end of the jam session, the petite Lisa Chavers arrives like an angel from Heaven, rocking a black dress and performing “My Lord” – a sacred covering of Little Walter’s “My Babe” – in her disproportionately large voice. The DVD concludes with her extended version of “Mary Don’t You Weep,” which doubles as an extended blues jam.

Three of Five Stars

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

TBGB Pick of the Week: July 5, 2010

“Jesus You Are”
April Nevels
From the forthcoming 7 Places Indie Records CD
Krazy Praise (release date: July 2010)
www.7-places.com

April Nevels’ “Jesus You Are” is a praise song, but it's not "krazy." This time, April (of the Nevels Sisters) is dramatic, serious and introspective. Nevertheless, she sings the wrapper off this mellow, string-laden ode to the rescuing power of Jesus, giving us one more reason to eagerly await her full length solo CD.

"Jesus is Coming Back" - Eddie Ruth Bradford

“Jesus Is Coming Back”
Eddie Ruth Bradford
From the forthcoming CD Jesus Is Coming Back
(release date: July 13, 2010)
www.eddieruthbradfordmusic.com

The title track from Stellar-nominated singer Eddie Ruth Bradford’s forthcoming CD – her fourth – is a slow, soulful rumination on the Second Coming.

In her trademark smoky, world-weary alto, Eddie Ruth delivers a head-shaking critique of a world that doesn’t know “which way to turn.” No matter – she’s ready for Jesus when He comes back, and implies that everyone ought to consider following suit before it's too late.

Benita Washington - The Word Remains

Benita Washington
The Word Remains
Shanachie 2010
www.shanachie.com

In the album notes to her third CD, The Word Remains, Benita Washington is described as having a “diverse elegance.”

That is as good a way as any to sum up the talent of the former Gospel Dream winner. She can sing lithe and lovely or bluesy and brassy, but whether delivering a praise and worship ballad or a gutsy gospel, one thing is certain: Washington’s voice is elegant and expressive and never strays too far from its church roots.

Washington explores all of her vocal colors on The Word Remains, her first studio album in six years and first for Shanachie. Fans of her debut CD, Hold On (Light), will be pleased to know that the Benita they enjoyed then is the same Benita they will enjoy today, although the artist herself believes the new album features a “more mature and more confident artist.”

Gospel enthusiasts familiar with the work of Daniel Weatherspoon, who co-produces the album with Washington’s musical director/collaborator, Virgil Straford, will know without even hearing one note that The Word Remains will be jazzy and as up to date as last Thursday. And it is, though the songs run the gamut of moods: from bluesy on the title track and tender on “Repay You,” to bold and rhythmic on “Proverbs 31,” the latter an ode to strong, confident women.

Washington also provides a good old-fashioned “testimony service” on “What He’s Done,” complete with hand-clapping beat. She then teams with Weatherspoon and Darnell Levine on the R&B-flavored “Enough is Enough,” a litany of stories about people reclaiming their destiny after life’s wrong turns.

The production, songs and lyrics fit Washington perfectly. She wraps her gospel tonsils around each song – many of which she wrote or co-wrote with Weatherspoon or Straford – as if she were in church, not a recording studio.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “The Word Remains,” “Grateful,” “What He’s Done.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

The Rance Allen Group: An All-Star Tribute July 16

For more than four decades, the Rance Allen Group has inspired and energized people from all walks of life with its spirited, R&B-infused gospel music.

Rance Allen chatted with TBGB recently about his start in gospel music and the group’s upcoming live recording July 16 in his hometown of Detroit.

Allen was raised in the Church of God in Christ and recognizes the influence it has had on the direction of his music. “I can remember singing on the special state programs that the church would have in Detroit,” he said. “I actually remember having to stand up on the table tops in order to be seen by the crowd! It is a church that always allowed your gift to flourish, no matter how different you were. I was able to express and even hone my gifts while yet being in the church.”

He credits as early influences the well-known and not so well-known musicians of COGIC, “the people who were around me at the time, such as Dr. Mattie Moss Clark. And Brother Harris, Brother Foster, Brother Lewis, all of these guys played guitar, and they never reached a place of fame, but they were very influential to me.”

Allen appeared on record as early as the late 1960s, when he was invited to play guitar for the Original Church of God in Christ Radio Choir, directed by Michael Walker. Tessie Hill, the choir’s incomparable lead singer, had heard Allen play the guitar at a tent meeting and invited him to participate on the group’s live recording. “I don’t know how to describe how I felt,” Allen said, “but that was a super opportunity for me.”

The Rance Allen Singers’ first single was in 1970, on the Reflect label. “Larry, our manager at the time, was trying to take us to a noticeable place,” Allen recalled. “We recorded a single that I think had also been recorded by the Blackwood Brothers, a white gospel group, called ‘The First Day in Heaven.’ Larry also got us on a gospel show in Detroit, where we actually won first place.”

One of the show’s judges, Dave Clark, informed Toby Jackson about the prize-winning group he had just seen. Jackson was a fresh-faced, up and coming manager just out of college. They met and Jackson became their new manager. “We have been with Toby for all of these years.”

Although Andrae Crouch and the Hawkins Family are the ones most often credited with revolutionizing gospel music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Rance Allen Group also played an important role in gospel’s transition to a more contemporary sound.

“I would step outside of my modesty for a second and say that we did,” responded Allen. He added, “But Andrae Crouch was already out there, and Edwin Hawkins had the big hit, ‘Oh Happy Day.’ [‘Oh Happy Day’] was very inspiring and motivational to me. It made me want to hear my voice and my brothers’ voices on record. The style of our music leaned a little more toward the R&B style. I believe that it has truly had an effect on contemporizing gospel music.”


Today, a new generation of fans are grooving to the Rance Allen Group. “They are even excited over the music that we did decades ago,” Allen noted with wonder. “I never dreamed that I would experience this, but I am actually having fans of ours come to me now and say that they were introduced to our music by their moms and their grandmoms! And I say, ‘Oh my, how long have I been out here!’”

More than forty years. The Rance Allen Group is celebrating this milestone with an all-star tribute Friday, July 16 at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, where the host pastor is Bishop Charles Ellis.

The group will be recording its second live CD and DVD that evening. “We did our first live album [at Greater Grace Temple],” Allen explained, "and we had a great time, so we decided to do the second one there, too. While this is our second live album, it’s probably somewhere around our 20th or 21st album.”

Most importantly, the July 16 program will be “a coming together of God’s people to help us celebrate forty-plus years singing together. That’s why our record company, Tyscot, and the Rance Allen Group decided to make the concert very affordable.”

Among the guest artists likely to be in attendance will be COGIC Detroit’s own Vanessa Bell Armstrong, “one of the greatest voices in gospel today” and Paul Porter, formerly of the Christianaires, who Allen calls “an awesome singer.”

“Oh, man, I am looking for God to do some awesome things [that evening],” Allen exclaimed. “This is going to be a concert, but because I am a pastor and a preacher, even as a concert, I look for God to save, deliver and set free some people that night.”

Allen hopes that the CD and DVD of the Friday night program will be released by mid- to late October of this year.

“We have planned to do a few old songs and new songs, and I hope that the people who come are really tuned in to the Rance Allen Group. I feel like we attract a different kind of crowd, people who are really tuned into what we do. If I can get that place packed with those kinds of people, then it is going to be a night that none of us will ever forget. The people are going to be bountifully blessed.”

For more information on the July 16 program, call the number on the poster (right - click for better viewing) or go to www.tyscot.com.

NOTE: The audio version of this interview, complete with Rance Allen classic recordings, will be broadcast 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. Central Time on the Saturday, July 10 episode of "Gospel Memories" 88.7 WLUW Chicago. Not in Chicago? Go to www.gospelmemories.com for information on how to hear the show's live streaming audio.

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.