Gospel Music

Jamarien MooreI’ll Go (EP)http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jamarienmooreBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogI can understand why Jamarien Moore made it to the finals on BET’s Sunday Best.  He has a versatile, elastic tenor, an almost effortless delivery, and his display of melisma evokes Smokie Norful.  According to his website, Moore was influenced by [...]

Rev. Roy Reed & the Zion JubileesLet Him InSharp Records (2014)By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogCrate diggers will know the Zion Jubilees from their 1970s singles on Stan Lewis’s Jewel label.  Others will simply know the quartet as the Zion Jubilees of Bryan, Texas who have been on [...]

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogToday, James Fortune is one of gospel music’s best-selling artists.  In addition to recording a string of radio hits and launching his own record label, FIYAWorld Music, Fortune helped introduce singer Zacardi Cortez to a wider audience.  Cortez’s “One On One” is now [...]

“I’m Climbing Up” wrestling Lady VJillian EllisFrom the Positive Message Music CD The Journey (2013)www.jillianfaithmusic.comOpening with a piano riff straight outta Ladytron, Cincinnati’s Jillian Ellis, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter, offers “I’m Climbing Up.”  It's a brisk, delicious pop-flavored inspirational song with crossover potential.  To a pulsing EDM backdrop, Jillian sings about [...]

Donnie McClurkinDuetsRCA Inspiration (released March 4, 2014)www.rcainspiration.comBy Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel BlogDonnie McClurkin got the idea for Duets from a conversation with Fred Hammond on how to invigorate gospel music.  Citing the strength and popularity of multi-artist collaborations in secular music, Hammond suggested that one way to maintain gospel’s vigor [...]