The following comes to TBGB courtesy of ThinkTank Marketing in New York City. Incidentally, Nona Hendryx, member of LaBelle and attendee at last year’s Gospel Music Workshop of America/Gospel Announcers Guild sessions, wrote the musical score. LINK TO THE TRAILER FOR CAST BIOS, PRODUCTION STILLS AND MOREhttp://preachingtothechoirmovie.com/ SYNOPSISEstranged since the death of their parents years ago, twin brothers, Teshawn and Wesley Tucker, have taken radically different paths in life. Wes (Darien Sills-Evans) has become a minister in a Harlem gospel church while Te (Billoah Greene) perpetrates the gangster lifestyle as Hip Hop star Zulu. They are forced into reconciliation when ...

“Just Another Day”Lisa McClendonFrom the Integrity Gospel album Live From the House of BluesIntegrity Gospel 2005 In New Orleans, the city that witnessed the magical moment when young Louis Armstrong lifted the cornet to his lips for the first time, Lisa McClendon ladles her special gumbo of jazzy neo-soul gospel into “Just Another Day,” a song she says is based on a hymn “the old people used to sing.” Far from turning the hymn into a Nawlins workout, however, Lisa smoothes it into an after-church cool-down. “Just Another Day” is not as earth-shaking as her earlier single, “Move on Over,” ...

“Don’t Judge My Praise”Rodnie Bryant, featuring Wanda Nero-Butler and CCMCfrom the Tyscot album Change of SeasonsTyscot 2005www.tyscot.com “Don’t Judge My Praise” demonstrates why some of the most exciting music still comes from a gospel chorus in full sonic flight. It’s a church-wrecking workout with Indianapolis’ CCMC (Christian Community Mass Choir) hand clapping and singing the glory down for more than six minutes behind hard-singing lead vocalist Wanda Nero-Butler. By the end of the performance, Nero-Butler has just about sung herself into a musical frenzy. The CD from which this cut is taken, Change of Seasons, is worth a listen for ...

Ed. Note: A Billboard article reprinted in The Belle Report: NASHVILLE (Billboard) – Though mainstream corporations have become a major presence in Christian music as EMI, Warner Bros. and Sony BMG have staked claims on the Christian/gospel landscape during the past decade, independents manage still to enjoy a share of the pie. And even though the climate is difficult, new companies keep springing up. The Crabb Family recently launched a new imprint, Clear Cool Music, which will issue the group’s March 28 release, “Blur the Lines.” Another new venture recently bowed in Franklin, Tenn., Union Street Records, which is launching ...

Henry Green, featuring Melvin Williams“My Story”From the album Henry Green – Mr. Green’s SessionBlackberry 2006www.blackberryrecords.com Henry Green is an original member of the Williams Brothers, formed in 1960. After more than 45 years with the quartet, Green has released his first solo album: Mr. Green’s Session. On one of the tracks, “My Story,” Green is joined by a fellow member of the legendary quartet, the smooth crooning Melvin Williams. Together, they produce the traditional, funky, deep-South sound that we have come to love and expect from the good folks at Blackberry Records. The back-story of the singer’s testimony is heartbreaking, ...

Women of IntegrityGod is GoodGSP Records 2005 There is essentially nothing unpleasant on this eight-cut project by the Women of Integrity, but it’s not distinctive, either. The ensemble – Vicki Bright, Treva Jones, and Angela Moore – are obviously accomplished singers and pour their heart and soul into every song, but they don’t navigate any roads that haven’t already been traveled with greater aplomb and zeal by RiZen, Zi’el, Virtue, and a number of other contemporary gospel female groups. The only exception to the above is the first two minutes of the ladies’ version of “What a Friend We Have ...

Malcolm Williams and Great FaithWalking in My DestinyUnivocal 2006www.univocalrecords.com Having been wowed by Malcolm Williams and Great Faith live at GMWA in Milwaukee last August, I was eager to hear how the ensemble would sound on disc. I was not at all disappointed. Walking in My Destiny offers a smorgasbord of songs, all but one written by the Chicago-based Williams, with a host of special guest soloists who lift the project a magnitude or two with their stellar contributions. The finest moment on the album is the title track, a “faith walk” which is underscored appropriately by a propulsive, tight ...

Vickie Winans“It’s Alright”From the forthcoming album Woman to Woman: Songs of LifeVerity 2006www.verityrecords.com It’s alright, indeed! Vickie Winans’ new single “It’s Alright” melds the musical excitement of a dance club with the lyrical ministry of a church service. The Winans Family has left an indelible mark on gospel music because of the vibrancy, effervescence, and personality of its performances and recordings. Whole hosts of gospel artists proudly proclaim through their music that they are card-carrying Winans disciples. “It’s Alright” is cut from the same sacred cloth as other Winans outings, particularly Vickie’s, which will make her fans happy and earn ...

Already Looking Bettah!Bishop Larry D. Trotter and the Sweet Holy Spirit ChoirTyscot 2005www.tyscot.com Larry Darnell Trotter, International Presiding Bishop of the United Pentecostal Churches of Christ is one of the reasons Chicago remains the Mecca of gospel music. His Sweet Holy Spirit church is one of the go-to places to hear good gospel music in the city, and the church choir honors the tradition of gospel choruses that started more than seventy years ago on Chicago’s south side, not terribly far from Trotter’s pulpit. Already Looking Bettah!, the ensemble’s most recent release on Tyscot Records, features an all-star cast of ...

Zion Jubilees:In the Precious Name of JesusPrivate Recording One More River to CrossJubu Records 2004 In today’s perpetual search for The Next New Thing in music, we can overlook the value of experience and longevity. When we pay homage to grand old men of popular music – for example, the Rolling Stones or the classic Motown groups – we’re typically referring to ensembles that have been in existence between 40 and 50 years. In the gospel quartet world, however, a group with some 40 to 50 years under its belt is considered a relative newcomer. To prove this point, one ...