Keep Stepping – Perry Parker & the Gospel Jubilaires

Perry Parker & the Gospel Jubilaires
Keep Stepping
P&D Starlight Productions
(release date: November 14, 2009)

Once veteran quartet singer Perry “Big Country” Parker organized the Gospel Jubilaires in Fayetteville, NC in 2007, he didn’t waste any time getting his group prime visibility. In the past two years, the quartet has toured beyond its hometown, appeared on programs with major artists, and earned a “Quartet of the Year” award. The group is now ready to release its debut CD, Keep Stepping.

Keep Stepping is a quartet program in a jewel case. It captures the continuity and musical serendipity of the live quartet experience, which in this case was recorded January 3, 2009 for an enthusiastic audience at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in Clinton, NC. Tracks blend into one another with ease, and the listener has a chance to hear the Gospel Jubilaires stretch out on several numbers. Special guests on the program are the talented Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church Choir and gospel VIPs Paul Porter and Bishop Neal Roberson. Roberson lends a particularly fiery lead on “Home at Last.”

The Gospel Jubilaires possess that quintessentially southern quartet ability to sound soulful and energetic – complete with hard-singing leads – but laid-back and easy at the same time. Like Hank Aaron hitting home runs, the Gospel Jubilaires make performing gospel quartet look and sound effortless, but you know it isn’t. The musicians play no small role in this dynamic, offering a steady rhythm, with the electric guitarist letting loose on several killer leads during the program.

Among the album’s highlights are the church rouser “Glory Land” and the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church Choir’s strong singing on “All You Need” and “Great Things.” Fans of George Dean and the Gospel Four and Lee Williams and the Spiritual QCs will enjoy Perry Parker & the Gospel Jubilaires.

Four of Five Stars