The Lee Boys – Live on the East Coast
The Lee Boys Live on the East Coast M.C. Records (release date: April 19, 2019) www.mc-records.com By Bob Marovich Live on the East Coast, the Lee Boys’ first album since 2012’s Testify and the group's first for Mark Carpentieri’s M.C. Records, is a smoking hot sanctified-meets-steel workout. Recorded in late [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: April 15, 2019
“You Don’t Know” Zacardi Cortez Black Smoke Music Worldwide (2019) By Bob Marovich “You don’t know my story,” is a frequently uttered church aphorism. “I don’t look like what I’ve been through” is another. On the appropriately-titled “You Don’t Know,” the popular gospel singer Zacardi Cortez (“Oh, How I Love [...]
Marie Knight – The Gospel Truth Live
Marie Knight The Gospel Truth Live M. C. Records (release date: March 23, 2018) www.mc-records.com By Bob Marovich On a rainy October 19, 2007, in North Adams, Massachusetts, after a passel of church choirs appeared at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Gospel Fest, the audience warmly received the headliner, [...]
Rezurected – The Prodigal Son
Rezurected The Prodigal Son Dubbstarr LLC (release date: March 19, 2019) www.rezurected.org By Bob Marovich The Prodigal Son is an appropriately titled album for Rezurected. It depicts, in nine bite-sized tracks, his personal story from the consequences of an early life of bad decisions to salvation and victory. The Christian [...]
“There’s No One Like You” – Kelontae Gavin
“There’s No One Like You” Kelontae Gavin From the Tyscot album The Higher Experience www.tyscot.com By Bob Marovich Success couldn’t happen to a nicer guy than Kelontae Gavin. Part of Gavin’s appeal is his genuine spirit, which shines through in his singing, such as on the P&W ballad “There’s No [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: April 8, 2019
“All That I Have (One God)” Lamont Sanders DarkChild Gospel / Bear Tag Entertainment By Bob Marovich In his muscular yet flexible baritone, Lamont Sanders delivers this pop-influenced rhythm ballad about giving back to God, who has given so much to us, especially his only begotten son. The background vocalists [...]
Powerhouse Fellowship Soul Choir featuring Shawn Cotterell – It’s Not Over LIVE
Powerhouse Fellowship Soul Choir featuring Shawn Cotterell It’s Not Over LIVE Impact Gospel (release date: September 21, 2018) www.powerhousefellowship.net By Bob Marovich Canada has been, and continues to be, home to some very solid gospel choirs. The Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir, the Quebec Celebration Gospel Choir, and Sharon Riley & [...]
Apostle Thomas – The Resurrection (EP)
Apostle Thomas The Resurrection (EP) T&T Ministry Records (release: December 20, 2017) https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/apostlethomasthesanktifi By Bob Marovich Unlike the doubting Apostle Thomas of the New Testament, the Christian rapper Apostle Thomas of South Carolina is fully certain who Christ is. Apostle Thomas, born Thomas Leroy Morrison and also known as “The [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: April 1, 2019
“Reach”DOEIndependent (release date: March 17, 2019)www.doejonesmusic.com By Bob Marovich “Reach,” the new single by GRAMMY-nominated gospel artist Dominique Jones (aka DOE), represents her finest work to date, amidst a string of quality songs. It’s simply and gently direct, a prayer rising from an anguished soul that builds in intensity and [...]
“Freedom” – Quamid feat. Christina Prophet Shorter
“Freedom” Quamid feat. Christina Prophet Shorter From the independent EP Bold as a Lion (release date: December 25, 2017) By Bob Marovich Augusta, Georgia, Christian rap artist Quamid Green (aka Quamid) teams with Christina Prophet Shorter on “Freedom,” a piece that redirects the freedom journey from the traditional trajectory of [...]
“Strength” – Brieaunna Ling
“Strength” Brieaunna Ling From the BPA Music Group EP Answering the Call (release date: October 27, 2017) By Bob Marovich Tucked lovingly in an EP of extroverted electrified worship music is a stripped-down melodic prayer ballad called “Strength.” Sounding as if she is at wit’s end, indie gospel artist Brieaunna [...]
“Selfie Song” – Jada Redmond
“Selfie Song” Jada Redmond From the 4Red Music EP My Season (release date: January 4, 2019) https://tpministries.wixsite.com/jada By Bob Marovich For decades, gospel music has mined spiritual metaphors out of the latest technology. Bessie Griffin sang about Heaven’s radio, Charles Taylor about God’s television, and the Friendly Brothers called Jesus [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: March 26, 2019
“Moving Forward” Ken Heath & the True Disciples Keep Hope Music (release date: March 29, 2019) By Bob Marovich I’ll admit it: when I first heard Ken Heath shout “Move! Get up out of your seat!” on “Moving Forward,” I did immediately as commanded. The optimistic song about the joy [...]
Sanctified Soul – Joyful
Sanctified Soul Joyful Rampart Street Music (release date: 2018) www.rampartstreetmusic.com/cd-joyfulss.htm By Bob Marovich Gospel saxophonist Harold Rayford once said that jazz and gospel are first cousins. If that's so, New Orleans produced some of the first cousins' earliest progenitors—from King Oliver and Louis Armstrong to Mahalia Jackson and Bessie Griffin. [...]
“Strong Name” – Darius Paulk
“Strong Name”Darius PaulkAIR / Malaco (2019)www.malaco.com By Bob Marovich Darius Paulk, perhaps best known for penning Vashawn Mitchell’s number one hit “Nobody Greater,” demonstrated facility as a singer on his own 2012 EP, Lyrics and Melodies (which included his own interpretation of “Nobody Greater”). “Strong Name,” Paulk’s debut single for [...]
Roberta Martin Singers: 1947-1962
Roberta Martin Singers Didn’t It Rain / Only a Look / The Old Ship of Zion: 1947-1962 Fremeaux & Associes (release date: February 2019) www.fremeaux.com By Bob Marovich Roberta Martin is to today’s enthusiasts of gospel music what writers like James Joyce and Henry James are to today’s enthusiasts of [...]
The Recording Collective – Yes and Amen
The Recording Collective Yes and Amen (release date: February 8, 2019) www.therecordingcollective.com By Bob Marovich The Recording Collective is a largely (perhaps intentionally) anonymous ensemble created by MultiTracks.com, a company that has for more than a decade provided churches with Clicks, Loops, and multi-tracks to give their amateur musicians a [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: March 18, 2019
“I’ll Do It For You” The Fantastic Bibletones BTones Music (release date: January 29, 2019) www.thefantasticbibletones.com By Bob Marovich Not the Buffalo, New York, group of yesteryear, this Fantastic Bibletones is a female gospel quartet from St. Louis, Missouri, that sounds like a church-honed Sister Sledge. The ladies’ new single, [...]
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