“Waiting” Carolyn Traylor Malaco Records (2012) www.malaco.com Carolyn Traylor (“There’s A Story Behind My Praise”) is waiting for her change to come. She knows it’s on the way, too, because whenever she gets discouraged, “I pull out the resume and I see how you always brought me through.”  If that isn’t enough, she adds, “I’m not going to let you go until you bless me.”  So don’t get between Traylor and her blessings! Hailing from Greenville, Texas, Traylor is a traditional gospel singer who has sung with the likes of Dorothy Norwood, Ambassador Bobby Jones, and the late Albertina Walker.  Her gospel blues ...

  The Virginia Aires Live Dove Records, Inc. (2009) href=”http://www.myspace.com/thevirginiaaires”>www.myspace.com/thevirginiaaires By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog The last time TBGB reported on the Virginia Aires was in 2008, when the Chesapeake, Virginia quartet was waging war on drugs with their single, “Drugs are a Trick of the Enemy.”  Their cautionary tale about addiction as a devil’s deal had a hopeful ending: “You’re gonna be free.” The single is included on the Virginia Aires’ recent CD, Live.  Recorded at TCC Roper Performing Arts Center in Norfolk, Live includes another warning song, “Part Time Christian.”  In a retreading of the “what’s ...

  Wincey Time to Say Winceyco Music (2012) www.winceycomusic.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog. “I’m musically inclined to sing the songs that glorify.” So croons singer-songwriter Wincey Terry-Bryant on the title track of her self-produced Time to Say, an album she began recording in 2008. The songs, she writes on her website, were birthed out of a time of “heartbreaks and disappointments in and out of the music industry” that led to a disillusionment that sounds straight out of Emily Dickinson: “Resigning myself to accept the consolation prize that I considered to be my life.”  Wincey continued to ...

Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago The Best of Both Worlds EMI Gospel/Inspired People (2012) www.emigospel.com By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog. It could not have been easy for Charles Jenkins to succeed the iconic Rev. Dr. Clay Evans as Pastor of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago. Evans, a Civil Rights leader and founder of “The Ship,” had taken his church from very humble roots to one of the nation’s most significant religious institutions. Fellowship’s radio choir was no less celebrated than the church it represented. Directed at the beginning by Willie Webb and later by Evans’ sister, ...

“The Only God” Livre’ Glory2Glory Records/PRODIGY Entertainment Group http://livreofficial.blogspot.com/ Available on iTunes On their single, “The Only God,” Livre’ (pron. liv-ray – it means “free” in Latin) praises in tight, bright harmonies evocative of foreverJONES.  Theirs is a gentle, pretty sound that blends CCR and gospel. While singing at the Bronx Mass Choir Reunion program, this twelve-member group (seven singers and five musicians) from New York City caught the attention of Alicia Keys’ managers Jeff and J. Conrad Robinson.  They subsequently backed Keys on her “How Does it Feel to Fly,” and she will reciprocate on their debut CD, currently ...

  “I Remember” Wincey From the CD Time to Say (2012) www.winceycomusic.com “I Remember” is an uncomplicated, smooth-as-caramel contemporary gospel song with cheerful vocals by Wincey Terry-Bryant. The Newark native sings praises to the one who has “always been there for me,” in good times and bad, for the hurt and for experiences “too good to be true.” Wincey brings to the table a professional and eclectic vocal resume that includes the church choir as well as work with Grover Washington, Jr. and Sesame Street.  In 1988, she founded a performing arts troupe called WinceyCo that educates audiences about serious ...

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Preashea Hilliard Live Out Loud Blacksmoke Music Worldwide (2010) www.preshmusic.com To Preashea Hilliard, “LOL” means Live Out Loud. And loud – in energy, enthusiasm, volume and message – is exactly what her debut project, Live Out Loud, exudes. The Houstonian vocalist is the youngest daughter of Bishop I.V. and Lady Bridget Hilliard of Houston’s New Light Church, where the CD was recorded live in April 2010. Preashea smartly assembles songs from talented writers such as Deitrick Haddon, Israel Houghton and Kurt Carr, and contributes a few of her own compositions, to create an impressive debut album, produced by Grammy Award-winning ...

“He Walked Alone (The Story of Jesus)” Chris Jasper From the forthcoming Gold City Music CD Inspired http://www.goldcitymusic.com/ Isley Jasper Isley alumnus Chris Jasper is no stranger to writing and singing sacred music. “He Walked Alone (The Story of Jesus)” is Jasper’s brief musical biography of Jesus from birth to crucifixion. A tender James Taylor-style ballad with a soulful conclusion, “He Walked Alone” gets Jasper’s high tenor treatment throughout. Available as a download on CDBaby and other media outlets, the song is a good choice to play during the Easter Season.

“Surrender” Carla Martin 5:11 Music Group (2011) http://www.amartinproduction.com/ With a rocking beat that speeds along like a brakeless freight train, “Surrender” riffs on the irony that in the midst of trials, it is in surrendering that life begins. Don’t give up, she sings, give in. First place winner at the 2002 McDonald’s Gospelfest, Evangelist Carla Martin now lives in Orlando, Florida and is married with seven (!) children. Her voice is reminiscent of Cher’s no-nonsense alto, which is appropriate to the content and message of the single.