James Cockerham – Reflections of the Heart

James Cockerham
Reflections of the Heart
Copro Record Company 2008
www.coprorecords.com

James Cockerham is a Berklee College of Music graduate who sings, composes, produces and plays piano. His Reflections of the Heart, a full-length CD released on his own Copro label, distills the musician’s talents into a tranquilly pleasant, well-produced listening experience.

The album’s ten songs tie praise and worship lyrics to a smooth jazz/R&B soundtrack supported by a coterie of talented vocalists who back Cockerham as a group but also take turns individually as lead vocalists. Notable among them are Tiffany Anderson and Josiah Martin for their contributions to “For He is Good,” Tiffany White on “Thinking of You,” and Michelle Carter on “Thank You Jesus.”

Two tracks on the album are particularly paradigmatic of James Cockerham’s classically-influenced musicianship, which, if you can imagine it, comes as close as I’ve heard to a sacred Steely Dan. “Rejoice” and “My Prayer for You” feature interesting lyric lines and confirm that Cockerham’s soft, crooning baritone works best when participating in call-and-response with the vocalists.

“Joy in the Presence” is a simple, repetitive melodic piece tailor-made for a church choir.

The best written composition on Reflections of the Heart, “Oh That Men Would Praise the Lord,” is presented as a Cockerham piano and vocal solo with strings. With such a thin arrangement, the dynamic, anthemic track comes across as a songwriter’s demo crying out for swooping choral lines, female leads, and instrumental crescendos. Had the piece been arranged more fully and dramatically, it would have been comparable to some of Richard Smallwood’s finest work. I would encourage Mr. Cockerham to re-record this song at some point with full choir and orchestration so the world can hear it in all of its magnificent glory.

Three of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Rejoice” and “My Prayer for You”