J Kingdom Reconciled Reshift Music Group By Bob Marovich J Kingdom’s new album Reconciled bristles with bright, optimistic melodies and lyrics of unfettered praise and gratitude to God for everything He has done, even when we don’t deserve it. J Kingdom, aka Pastor Michael J. T. Fisher of Greater Zion Baptist [...]
Curtis Fondren You Are My Everything (EP) GreCur Entertainment (2017) By Bob Marovich Those who know the Chicago gospel scene know Curtis Fondren. A percussionist who has worked with untold numbers of gospel artists, the Reverend Dr. Clay Evans’s Fellowship M.B. Church Choir in particular, Fondren has participated in more [...]
Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green. By Jimmy McDonough. Da Capo Press, 2017. 432pp. (hardcover). Index, illustrations. ISBN 978-0-306-82267-4. $28 By Bob Marovich “This was a very challenging project,” journalist and biographer Jimmy McDonough concedes in the acknowledgements of Soul Survivor, his biography of Al Green. You can almost hear [...]
“Go Tell It On the Mountain” Dr. Ray Berryhill & the Celebration Choir of RLCI KNEntertainment LLC (digital release date: Dec 19, 2017) By Bob Marovich The Celebration Choir of Resurrected Life Church International on Chicago's North Side gospelizes this cheery Christmas spiritual with powerful doses of 1980s church choir energy. Dr. [...]
Various Artists Family Bonded: Musical Stage Play Soundtrack Sea Fields Productions (release date: October 6, 2017) http://seafieldsproductions.wixsite.com/2013 By Bob Marovich In October, theatergoers in Sacramento, California, were treated to a gospel musical called Family Bonded about four siblings who, being abandoned by their mother, are raised by their sister. Not [...]
By Bob Marovich If you think the story of music in Detroit begins and ends with Motown, think again. Detroit's gospel music legacy goes back many decades, way before Berry Gordy started Hitsville, USA. The contributions that Detroiters have made to gospel music continue to enrich the genre today. The story of gospel music in Detroit [...]
“Silent Night” Pastor Alyn E. Waller From Christmas with Pastor Alyn E. Waller (release date: November 27, 2017) By Bob Marovich Don’t let the introductory avalanche of synthesized sound stop you from hearing Pastor Alyn E. Waller’s affecting take on this timeless carol. He improvises skillfully—not too much, not too [...]
“I’m Saved” Dexter Walker & Zion Movement (release date: December 1, 2017) Available from Amazon.com By Bob Marovich Chicago is a choir town. Always has been. One of Chicago’s current crop of choir stars is Dexter Walker & Zion Movement. Crowned the best church choir in America at the 2012 [...]
Norris Garner / Szymon Markiewicz God Created: Musical Oratorio (DVD) Norris Garner Music (2017) norrisgarnermusic@gmail.com By Bob Marovich Several years ago, singer, director, and songwriter Norris Garner (“He’s Blessing Me”) wrote “God Created” while teaching gospel music workshops in Poland. His Polish colleague, conductor Szymon Markiewicz, suggested he turn the humble [...]
Liz McComb Merry Christmas GVE (release date: November 24, 2017) www.lizmccomb.com By Bob Marovich Liz McComb is one of the finest exporters of American soul and gospel to Europe. For her first-ever holiday album, Merry Christmas, she has mined traditional carols as well as Christmas songs from the African American [...]
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