CD Reviews: The Zion Jubilees

Zion Jubilees:
In the Precious Name of Jesus
Private Recording

One More River to Cross
Jubu Records 2004

In today’s perpetual search for The Next New Thing in music, we can overlook the value of experience and longevity.

When we pay homage to grand old men of popular music – for example, the Rolling Stones or the classic Motown groups – we’re typically referring to ensembles that have been in existence between 40 and 50 years. In the gospel quartet world, however, a group with some 40 to 50 years under its belt is considered a relative newcomer. To prove this point, one need only consider the endurance of male quartets such as the Dixie Hummingbirds, Fairfield Four, and Blind Boys of Alabama, whose musical resumes run between sixty and eighty years.

Given this premise, the Zion Jubilees of Bryan, Texas, with their 46 years of gospel quartet singing, are newbies, but not really: of course they remember the gospel highway. The Zion Jubilees recorded for Stan Lewis’ Jewel label in the late 1960s and continue to sing in a style best described as, “like we used to sing back home.”

In the Precious Name of Jesus and One More River to Cross are the quartet’s latest projects and both offer quartet lovers a hearty and delicious helping of “like we used to sing.” While River is more professionally produced than Precious Name, the latter is the more authentic sounding of the two.

Check out Precious Name for a languid, bluesy version of the Soul Stirrers’ classic mid-50s “Jesus, I’ll Never Forget,” complete with a heartfelt testimony from Roy Reed. The album also includes another nod to the Stirrers with a superb arrangement of “We Will Understand it Better By and By.” Again, the quartet makes this track their own.

“One More River to Cross” from the album of the same name is the standout on this project, with all the unbridled emotion that one expects from quartet recordings.

Longevity and experience mean a lot in quartet singing, and the Zion Jubilees have both. For anyone who rues the state of gospel music, try these two projects on for size. The traditional sound is alive and well in Bryan, Texas.