Releasing the Spirit – Jonathan DuBose, Jr.

Jonathan DuBose, Jr.
Releasing the Spirit
JoBo Records (2007)
http://www.jdubose.com/

Jonathan DuBose, Jr. is the Hal Blaine of gospel music.

Known as “The Prophesying Guitarist,” DuBose has played a supporting role, supplying the guitar parts for dozens of recordings you hear on the radio and on CD.

For Releasing the Spirit, DuBose takes his turn on center stage. His solo album is an instrumental collection of beloved gospel hymns and songs, where the guitar is the lead voice. It’s a relaxed jam session on church classics where the jazzing does not obliterate but adds flavor to the melodies.

DuBose is an accomplished musician, his skill forged in the crucible of studio work, which he now handles mostly from his home studio (see his interview with TBGB). On “Blessed Quietness” and “Solid Rock,” his guitar produces big-body resonance a la Joe Walsh, but on James Moore’s “Joy,” the licks turn downright funky. DuBose coaxes a more contemplative sound out of his guitar on “Come to Jesus,” an altar call that by the end has such bright flourishes, you’d swear someone came forward.

The two-part “His Eye’s On the Sparrow” is the album’s apex, taking “I sing because I’m happy” to a new level of exuberance. Other tracks include Andrae Crouch’s “Soon and Very Soon,” which at risk of sounding like a Yogi Berra quip, is so popular you hardly ever hear it anymore. “Come By Here” is dedicated to Willie Edmund, DuBose’s uncle and personal guitar hero.

DuBose concludes the album with an appropriately meditative version of the Church of God in Christ “Yes, Lord” chant.

Releasing the Spirit sprinkles jazz on church songs without turning them into smooth jazz pap.

Three of Five Stars

Pick: “His Eye’s On the Sparrow.”