Pastor Gregg Patrick & the Bridge Project – CrossOver (tbgb review)

Pastor Gregg Patrick & the Bridge Project
CrossOver
Tyscot Records 2008
www.tyscot.com

CrossOver may be Pastor Gregg Patrick and the Bridge Project’s debut CD, but make no mistake: Patrick has been in the choir biz for some time. Fact is, he was among the early members of the Gospel Music Workshop of America and cites the late Thurston Frazier, choir director legend, as his mentor.

CrossOver is, like many current choral projects, an admixture of contemporary and traditional presentations. The strength of the album, however, belongs to the Bridge Project’s strong bullpen of female lead vocalists who soak each track on which they sing with soulful energy and emotion. Many will be familiar with Rhonda McLemore’s impassioned lead on “I Am a Witness,” the current single and apex of the album. Other outstanding female contributors include Nikita Clegg, Nikki Ross, Zacardi Cortez, Alvaneeda Nelson (the great Bettye Ransom Nelson’s daughter who clearly inherited her mother’s gift), and the late Rosalyn Brunswick McDuffie.

McDuffie’s recent passing, by the way, is particularly tragic because she was young and in the prime of her career. Like Bernie Mac, we can only wonder what wonderful body of material she would have produced in the future, had she lived.

In addition to the spirited performances, CrossOver benefits from the creativity of several of gospel’s top songwriters, including Darius Brooks, Ted Winn, V. Michael McKay, Myron Butler, and Joel Britton. And no less than Ambassador Bobby Jones provides the CD’s introduction.

Fans of the traditional sound will enjoy “Just Like That” and “Dance,” on which the Bridge Project gets in touch with its inner power choir, delivering double-time tempos and backbeats plucked right out of the Chicago Mass Choir’s charts.

Besides his musicianship, Patrick shepherds the 8,000+ member Southwest Community Christian Center (The Bridge) in Houston, Texas. No surprise, then, that CrossOver is essentially a praise service packed into a jewel case.

Three of Four Stars