“I Wanna Know You” Intimate Praise From the Downbeat Records CD I Wanna Know You (2018) https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/IntimatePraise By Bob Marovich The California gospel duo Intimate Praise, comprised of Allyson Ross Moses and Dennis Flannigan, lives up to its moniker on “I Wanna Know You.” From their album of the same title, this love song to the Lord has that cozy California sound, complete with delicate taps of cymbals and sound effects of chirping birds straight out of Minnie Riperton’s “Loving You.” The soft, alluring melody and arrangement evoke smooth soul/R&B duos of the 1980s, though the lyrics make it plain that ...

“Going” Christina Bell Malaco Music Group (2018) www.malaco.com By Bob Marovich When I first heard the Shreveport, Louisiana, female gospel group Zie’l singing a Ward Singers classic a cappella at the 2005 Gospel Music Workshop of America, I knew then it would be a group to watch. Though Zie’l tended to favor the smooth-and-sassy style of Virtue on their Genesis and Pronounced ZY-EL albums, their finest moments came when they worked within gospel’s firm foundations, such as on “Purify Me,” “Surely God is Able,” and “Is My Living in Vain.” Nevertheless, they always sounded better live. One of the principal ...

Will Downing The Promise Shanachie Entertainment (release date: November 30, 2018) www.shanachie.com By Bob Marovich Listening to R&B crooner Will Downing’s first gospel album, The Promise, is like hearing Peabo Bryson, George Benson, or Al Jarreau making a sacred album. It’s not surprising. Called “The Prince of Sophisticated Soul,” Downing has been melting hearts with interpretations of top-selling R&B songs since his debut self-titled album in 1988. For a long time, Downing’s mother had wanted him to make a gospel album, but when the singer was diagnosed with an illness called Polymyositis that almost took his life, he made the ...

Earl Bynum This Song is For You Lrae Entertainment / Tyscot Records / HBK Media (release date: October 5, 2018) www.EarlBynumMusic.com By Bob Marovich Gospel music enthusiasts can be forgiven if they are so accustomed to hearing Minister Earl Bynum appearing with the Mount Unity Choir of Chesapeake, Virginia, that they forgot he is also a solo recording artist. This Song is For You is Bynum’s third solo album and first in nearly a decade. It showcases his meaty, muscular male voice, a sound that dominated gospel music until recent years, though the trend among males now seems to favor ...

Vincent Tharpe and Kenosis Super Excited EmptyMe Entertainment (release date: July 20, 2018) www.vtkonline.com By Bob Marovich Recorded live at Hope Church of Memphis, Super Excited is the latest full-length project by that city’s Vincent Tharpe and Kenosis. For a decade, the rhythm and praise group and its singer-songwriter leader have worked within the high-spirited and dense choral sound of fellow Memphian the late O’Landa Draper. Super Excited follows the same extroverted musical path as the group’s 2012 Live in Memphis. The album’s eight songs are uncomplicated but their vocal and instrumental arrangements are anything but. The group’s singing is ...

By Bob Marovich Few gospel artists can claim to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Only one, to my knowledge, can also boast that a major prop from his former band is now on display in the Smithsonian. Calvin Simon can lay claim to both. As a founding member of the popular funk group Parliament Funkadelic, Simon is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. The P Funk Mothership, an iconic stage prop, is part of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Although Simon has laid those days to the ...

Bishop Leonard ScottJesus Love LegacyTyscot Records (release date: August 31, 2018)www.tyscot.com By Bob Marovich At times, gospel artists start their own independent record company to promote their talent. At other times, it’s the label owner who becomes the talent. The latter applies to Professor James Roberson of JDI Records and to Bishop Leonard Scott of Tyscot Records. Scott has stepped from behind the executive desk (and the dentist’s chair) to become the face and one of the voices of the Indianapolis, Indiana-based record company. On Scott’s latest project, Jesus Love Legacy, he surrounds himself with top-shelf singers, songwriters, and musicians, many culled ...

“Cycles” Jonathan McReynolds feat. DOE From the eOne Music album Make Room (2018) By Bob Marovich Jonathan McReynolds and DOE (Dominique Jones of Forever Jones) go together like bacon and eggs. Musically, they are the Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of Christian music. Their duet on the delicately acoustic and introspective “Cycles” has the simplicity of a living room jam session, though the presence of a live and engaged audience places a larger frame around the presentation. Lyrically, it is part prayer, part mantra, both seeking strength to overcome whatever life challenges the devil tries to throw at them. This ...

God’s ChosenGod’s ChosenDREAM Records (release date: June 22, 2018)www.GC3Music.com By Bob Marovich Zebrina Anderson, Nikeisha Whittier, and Sarah Benibo are God’s Chosen (GC3), a trio designed to appeal to a multicultural Christian audience through its evocation of female gospel groups like Witness and Virtue as well as of megachurch praise teams. Their latest release, a self-titled album, includes mostly new compositions written by the ladies and co-producer John Strandell (who cameos on “I Want You”). AyRon Lewis and Levi “Too” King also contribute their estimable production talents to the project. Songs such as the strong opener “We’re Ready,” as well ...

Brent Jones Open Your Mouth and Say Something JDI Records (release date: September 14, 2018) By Bob Marovich “Don’t you dare walk away from gospel music!” Brent Jones exhorts in the midst of his delightful new project, Open Your Mouth and Say Something. He certainly provides an excellent role model for sticking with gospel. On his new project, the former leader of T. P. Mobb and the architect of the Easter Sunday favorite “He Rose” offers nine selections, many rendered with the talented Waco (Texas) Community Choir. What distinguishes this project among others in rotation today is Jones’ honest and humorous repartee with his ...