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| Veda Brown and Bryan Wilson. Photo by Bill Carpenter |
Dove/Stellar Award nominated singer Bryan Wilson congratulates entrepreneur Veda Brown at the 10th anniversary celebration concert for her BlackGospelPromo.com e-blast and marketing service at the Impacting Your World Christian Church in Cherry Hill, NJ, on July 25, 2011. Wilson has performed alongside other gospel heavyweights such as Vickie Winans, Kurt Carr and Lonnie Hunter & Structure.
Grammy Award winning producer, composer and recording artist Donald Lawrence and his dynamic support ensemble, Co., return to retail shelves with a new CD entitled, YRM: Your Righteous Mind (Verity Gospel Music Group/ Quiet Water), on August 9, 2011. Over the past two decades, Lawrence has dazzled audiences as the front man for the now retired Tri-City Singers, while carrying on a solo career that has produced radio hits such as the #1 smash “Back II Eden” and “Healed.”
On YRM, Lawrence blends the classicism of traditional gospel music and retro soul grooves with uplifting, messages of self-affirmation and practical exercises of faith. “Spiritual,” a bass heavy old school soul-styled groove is currently #17 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart. Among the collection’s highlights are the upbeat mantra “YRM (Your Righteous Mind)” featuring Dorinda Clark Cole; the smooth “We Agree” with Israel Houghton; The “I Am” Factor sermonette by Zimbabwe’s charismatic Bishop Tudor Bismark; siblings Tobbi White Darks and Tommi White’s rousing makeover of Chaka Khan’s 1984 hit “Through the Fire”; and a spirited update of Lawrence’s mentor – the late Bishop Walter Hawkins’ 1984 gem “When the Battle is Over.”
YRM is a continuum of what he’s been preaching for years. “This project really doesn’t differ from my past ones,” he says in a news release. “I want to continue to teach, through song, spiritual principles and laws based on scriptures.”
Lawrence and Co. are doing in-store appearances such as J&R in New York City on Friday, Aug. 12 and a Dallas performance at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Manpower conference on the Aug. 13. They will be joined by special guest artists for a full concert at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 14 on the main stage during Central Park’s Summer Stage concert series. Lawrence will also appear on BET’s flagship gospel television program, “Bobby Jones Gospel” and a special episode of TV One’s “One on One with Cathy Hughes.” There’s also a Sirius XM Satellite Radio in-studio concert in the works for the Praise Channel 64.The Chicago-based Lawrence began his career as a music director for R&B legend Stephanie Mills and vocal coach for En Vogue. In the mid 1990s, he made headlines as the leader of the Grammy-nominated Tri-City Singers choir that enjoyed a dozen radio hits such as “The Blessing of Abraham,” “The Best is Yet to Come” and “Encourage Yourself.” In 2004, Lawrence launched a solo career that has included signature songs such as “Back II Eden” and “Healed.” Since 2007, Lawrence has served as spokesman for Verizon Wireless’ “How Sweet The Sound” national gospel choir talent competition.
Jakes has now made another dream come true for Murdock. A while back, he launched a “Back to the Bible” conference. When Murdock’s husband and songwriting partner, Dale DeGroat, heard about it, he wondered if there was a theme song for it.
“Dale e-mailed Bishop one evening and shared some ideas with him about a song,” said Murdock, in a recent news release. (Murdock first collaborated with Jakes on his 1999 Sacred Love Songs set.)
“By 8 a.m. the next morning, Bishop had e-mailed Dale some incredible lyrics. If you’ve ever sat down and talked to Bishop … OMG, then, you know his words are so full of wisdom, knowledge and revelation.”
So DeGroat and Murdock took those lyrics, added music and crafted a new radio single, “Dream.”
“The song is anointed because it’s full of the word,” Murdock says of the inspiring ballad of hope and perseverance. “It’s like the voice of God speaking directly to your spirit, reminding you, that He’s not a man that He should lie…if He spoke it, will He not do it? This song will stir up and rekindle that word, that’s been spoken into your spirit and remind you that your dream can not…will not die.”
The song is one of 12 musical chestnuts that Murdock either wrote or co-wrote for The Journey, produced by Kevin Bond (who’s produced Yolanda Adams and Marvin Sapp) and recorded live at The Broadcast Group Complex in Charlotte, NC. R&B singers Kelly Price, Regina Belle and gospel powerhouse Beverly Crawford performed with Murdock on various tracks.
The Journey will be released Oct. 8, 2011, and is Murdock’s second gospel project with Tyscot Records. For more information on Murdock, go to www.tyscot.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/
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| Black Academy of Arts and Letters |
Dallas, TX – In October 2010, several renowned stars came to celebrate and help raise operating revenue for the Black Academy of Arts and Letters that was founded by Curtis King 34 years ago.
“In a bad economy the first thing that gets cut is arts funding,” says King, whose 250,000 square foot complex is adjacent to the Dallas City Hall, in a news release. “However, it’s the plays, concerts, poetry readings and other inspiring programming we offer that helps people get through rough times like these. So, we’re thrilled that these artists came together to make a CD that will raise money to help keep these programs going.”
The majority of the songs on the 13-track, Medicine – Live At The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (MCG Records/ $13.99 SRLP), were written or co-written by Sam “Shake” Anderson, a veteran bassist who has toured with the likes of Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield and Bruce Hornsby. It was recorded live at The Black Academy. Backed by the 80-voice Black Academy Choir, American Idol champion Ruben Studdard performed two of the album’s highlights. “Medicine For Someone Else” has a bluesy feel and shows off a raspier tone for Studdard, while the ballad “Teach Me to Love” boasts an unplugged groove.
The album is not a typical gospel set. On it, the songs range from a brash critique of parasite preachers on “PTYHOMP (Please Take Your Hands Out My Pocket)” to the bloody waters of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Jasmine Guy’s spoken-word recitation of Curtis King’s “My Language” poem. Ann Nesby (former lead singer for The Sounds of Blackness) wraps her big voice around the poignant anthem, “What Would You Have Me Do?” Yarbrough & Peoples, best known for their 1981 #1 R&B smash “Don’t Stop the Music,” deliver the funk on the percolating street jam, “Jump Til’ You Feel Something.” Tommie Young West, who recorded classic R&B sides for Louisiana’s Soul Power label in the early ’70s, rocks the house on the pulsating “Won’t Have to Worry” while Brenda Ellis’ full alto pulverizes the paean, “Bask (In the Presence of the Lord).”
“I look back on my days of the handling of such mega superstars as Phillip Bailey of Earth Wind & Fire, Leon Patillo of Santana, Helen Baylor, Shirley Caesar, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Denise Williams, and the incredible Al Green,” says James Bullard, president and CEO of Majestic Communications Group (MCG). “This project, in my opinion, is comparable to those superstars. My blood is pumping like never before. This is going to be a big project and is destine to go all the way to the top. I am excited beyond words about this project.”
Although, The Black Academy has been a fixture on Dallas’ local arts scene for over three decades, the organization also has a national standing. Its 1987 fundraising CD by Eartha Kitt entitled, My Way: Musical Tribute to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (Caravan of Dreams) sold over 250,000 copies. The Academy later funded national touring productions of “Black Music and the Civil Rights Movement,” “Symphony with the Divas,” and the musical, “Blues Bar.” For more information, go to www.tbaal.org.
According to a recent news release, Grammy Award nominated recording artist and producer Troy Sneed’s latest radio smash, “My Heart Says Yes” is continuing to hold steady at #2 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart for the second consecutive week. This summer, Sneed makes his first TV appearances in years on BET’s “Bobby Jones Gospel” and TCT’s “Dorinda Clark Cole Show.”
The public probably first noticed Sneed as a choir member in the film “The Preacher’s Wife.” He also coached the Georgia Mass Choir for the Whitney Houston soundtrack. He later recorded solo albums for Savoy Records before launching his own Emtro Gospel Records label in 2005. Ever since, the label has placed 18 songs by various artists on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart, including a half dozen by Sneed such as “Work It Out,” “The Struggle is Over” (#1 for 12 weeks) and ”Hallelujah.” His new Top 10 CD “My Heart Says Yes” is in stores now. For more info on Sneed, visit www.troysneed.net, www.Facebook.com/emtrogospel or www.Twitter.com/TroySneed.
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| (From left to right: Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves, Lizz Wright) |
According to a recent news release, Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs, New York, will present the U.S. debut of Sing The Truth!, a new production that honors the music and spirit of great women of jazz, folk, R&B, gospel and the blues. Featuring African-born songstress Angelique Kidjo, pre-eminent jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves, and genre-defying jazz singer Lizz Wright, this meeting of three critically-acclaimed, powerhouse vocalists will pay musical tribute to the legacies of three recently departed, iconic female artists: South African singer and civil rights activist Miriam Makeba, American jazz vocalist, actress, civil rights and political activist Abbey Lincoln, and “the Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” American folk musician and human rights activist Odetta. Sing The Truth! will also feature songs by other great women of music, ranging from Billie Holiday to Aretha Franklin, Joan Armatrading and Lauryn Hill, along with original songs.
The original Sing The Truth! premiered as a 2004 JVC Jazz Festival concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City, and celebrated the music of Nina Simone.
The all-star Sing The Truth! ensemble for the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival performance will feature Geri Allen on piano and keyboards, music director Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, James Genus on bass, Munyungo Jackson on percussion, and Romero Lubambo on guitars. This remarkable group of musicians will go everywhere and anywhere that Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves and Lizz Wright feel the music takes them. The audience will be along for a memorable ride.
Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center runs from Saturday, June 25 to Sunday, June 26, 2011. Other artists scheduled to appear include Michael McDonald, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Dee Dee Bridgewater, George Wein & the Newport All Stars, Donald Harrison, Jr., The Bad Plus, Ben Allison, Marcus Strickland, and many more. For the complete lineup of artists and performances, go to www.spac.org.
Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival is produced by SPAC and Absolutely Live Entertainment.
Located in scenic Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Performing Arts Center has been the site of the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival since George Wein established it in 1978. With an inside seating capacity of 5,200, lawn seating of 20,000, world class talent and just three hours driving time from either Boston or New York City, SPAC’s Jazz Festival draws thousands of jazz lovers from across the Northeast and the United States.
Bishop Alfred A. Owens Jr. and co-Pastor Susie C. Owens, founders and pastors of the Greater Mount Calvary Holy Church, celebrate the Greater Mount Calvary Recording Choir and Calvary Records’ new CD, Greater Mount Calvary LIVE As Told By The Music Ministry, for debuting at #7 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart in its first week sales. “I believe it’s truly a testament to the vision of the church and will give people another chance to experience Calvary,” Bishop Owens said in a recent news release.
According to a recent news release, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir will sponsor a holiday celebration for more than 1,500 homeless people at 3 p.m. Dec 18, 2010, at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, 17 Smith St. in Brooklyn, NY. The church that the choir is named for will rent buses and bring hundreds of men, women and children from eight different New York-area shelters to the historic church for a hot meal, a gift bag of toiletries, and a special performance of the choir‘s annual Christmas concert.
“We’re in the inner-city,” choir founder/director Carol Cymbala says of the church’s year-round outreach activities like their February benefit that raised $80,000 for Haitian relief efforts. “A lot of the people come from deprived neighborhoods. When they come in the church, it’s an oasis. It brings joy to their hearts. I think of that when we decorate the church for Christmas. The Word of God says we should reach out to the poor. When we go to prisons, Jesus is there to meet us. The poor are very special. We do a special Christmas production just for the people in the shelters and pack this place out with the homeless and they just love it.”
This year’s concert will feature songs from the choir‘s new CD, “A Brooklyn Tabernacle Christmas” (Integrity Music). The project consists of several tracks ranging from elegant Nelson Riddle-styled tunes such as “It’s Christmas Once Again” to festive pop tunes like “Amazing Love.”
The 300-voice troupe was founded by Cymbala (wife of The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir‘s Senior Pastor Jim Cymbala and daughter of the church founder, the late Rev. Clair Hutchins) with eight members in 1973. The ensemble is a blend of ethnic and economic backgrounds, with members ranging from lawyers and doctors to ex-drug addicts. Over the years, the choir has performed at major venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden. The ensemble has backed gospel artists such as CeCe Winans and Michael W. Smith. The choir’s musical legacy includes six Grammy Awards, seven Dove Awards, two #1 Billboard charting CDs and sold more than four million albums.
Photo: Take 6.
Festival organizers for the 31st Detroit International Jazz Festival recently announced artist additions to the 2010 lineup on Friday, Sept. 3, 2010, through Monday, Sept.6, 2010, in downtown Detroit. The newly added artists further underscore an already existing diversity of musical genres, including funk, gospel and R&B.
Yellowjackets, Salim Washington and the Harlem Arts Ensemble, Jason D. Williams, and gospel sensation James Fortune and FIYA will join the previously announced roster featuring Mulgrew Miller, Take 6, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Manhattan Transfer, Roy Haynes and Allen Toussaint.
“Soul” is the theme of the opening night, Friday Sept. 3. Performances by Take 6 and the Mulgrew Miller Trio will be followed by the urban soul music of Tower of Power. For over 40 years, this group has thrilled audiences all over the world with their unique brand of music.
The Yellowjackets have been cutting-edge purveyors of innovative, eclectic jazz for nearly 30 years. With every recording since their 1981 debut album, the Yellowjackets have pushed the boundaries of improvisational jazz and have been leaders in the music’s inescapable evolution. Hailed as the “most adventurous quartet in contemporary jazz music” by All Music Guide, this multi-Grammy Award-winning group features Russell Ferrante, Will Kennedy, Jimmy Haslip and Bob Mintzer.
Jason D. Williams has the same musical innovation and on-the-edge attitude as Jerry Lee Lewis. The fiery Memphis-born pianist covers boogie-woogie rock & roll, classical, country and jazz, in what has been described as an “enthusiastic, reckless and stormy” way.
ASCAP Award winner and Stellar Award nominee James Fortune and FIYA will headline the festival’s “Come MONday” gospel celebration on Sept. 6. The Houston artist made music history with “I Trust You” – the longest running #1 single in gospel music. The group’s rapid success in the gospel music industry has garnered international acclaim and opened the door to their sharing the stage opening for distinguished artists Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin, Kim Burrell, Fred Hammond, Smokie Norful and Donald Lawrence. Fortune was a featured guest judge for the 2009 Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound Competition.
The “Come MONday” gospel celebration will also feature Detroit’s own Second Ebenezer and Triumph Church choirs.
For the full 2010 artist roster, visit detroitjazzfest.com. The lineup of Detroit-based jazz musicians playing at the festival will be announced in mid-June.
For almost a year, Earnest Pugh‘s “Rain on Us” has been one of the most popular songs on gospel radio station playlists and in Sunday morning church services. Aside from reaching #1 on Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart, the track has established the veteran singer and stage actor as one of the most in-demand voices in Christian music today. Now, Abundant Harvest Entertainment is supplying the growing public demand for more Earnest Pugh music with the new radio single, “Why Should I Not Be Bound?”
There’s already an incredible buzz about Pugh’s mesmerizing and dramatic live performance of the song that was written by Detroit- based songwriter Rudolph Stanfield who composed gospel classics such as Vanessa Bell Armstrong’s “I’m Going Through,” Colorado Mass Choir’s “Stir Up The Gift,” and Rev. James Moore’s “Bread of Heaven.” It was originally released as “Perfect Peace” by Keith Pringle in 1984 and became a #1 gospel smash. Marvin Sapp and James Grear both covered it; but Pugh has made the song totally his own with awe-inspiring high notes, testifying, and the New Jersey-based Abundant Harvest Choir’s warm and luscious call and responses.
“First of all, I feel honored to have been asked by Bishop Evans and the producers – Gary E. Diggs and Lonnie Hunter to grace the lead microphone on the remake of `Why Should I Be Bound (Perfect Peace)?’ ” Pugh said in a news release. “This is sure to resonate in the hearts of people because it speaks to the current reality of many who allow fear, doubt, and unbelief to rob them of their joy and peace. Thankfully, the opening line of this song gives an assuring message of hope by where it says, `God will keep you in perfect peace if you keep your mind stayed on Him.’ We need this assurance amidst this terrible economic downturn.”
The soon-to-be hit is the third single from the CD, “Bishop David G. Evans Presents Automatic Praise!” The last single was the rousing foot stomper “This Joy” that was written and led by Tracy Shy with the Abundant Harvest Choir. The song spent twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart and peaked at #20 before moving to the Top 10 on the Billboard Recurrent chart.