Curtis Fondren – You Are My Everything (EP)
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 (Jimmy McDonough)
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 [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: December 11, 2017
“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
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 [...]
Check Out the Trailer for “Detroit: The Gospel Journey”
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
“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 [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: December 5, 2017
“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 / Szymon Markiewicz God Created: Musical Oratorio (DVD) Norris Garner Music (2017) [email protected] 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
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 [...]
Dr. Clarence Eggleton and the Singing Ecclesiastics (s/t)
Dr. Clarence Eggleton and the Singing Ecclesiastics (self-titled) Clareton Music (2015) Available from Amazon.com By Bob Marovich Dr. Clarence Eggleton, a GRAMMY-nominated songwriter who wrote for artists from the Reverend James Cleveland to Sara Jordan Powell, convened several talented vocalists to breathe life into a dozen compositions from his catalog of more [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: November 27, 2017
“I Am Triumphant” Michelle Brooks-Thompson (2017) www.michellebrooksthompsonmusic.com By Bob Marovich On her new single, “I Am Triumphant,” gospel songstress Michelle Brooks-Thompson and her background singers console those who feel defeated by letting them know they are already winners. Their victory is already in the bag, through Christ Jesus. After the collective establishes the [...]
“Don’t Take Christ Out of Christmas” – Angelo and Veronica
“Don’t Take Christ Out of Christmas” Angelo and Veronica www.angeloandveronica.com By Bob Marovich Many Christmases ago, while driving through a suburb of Chicago, I passed a house with a giant lighted plastic Santa on the back deck. On the ground, in Santa’s shadow, was a miniscule Nativity scene. For me, Enormous [...]
The Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio: Moving Up – The Early Years 1956-1965
The Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio Moving Up – The Early Years 1956-1965 Gospel Friend (release date: November 17, 2017) www.gospelfriend.com By Bob Marovich The Gospelaires of Dayton, Ohio, were one of the hardest singing quartets on the gospel highway during the genre’s storied golden era. The quartet was part of [...]
“Not Alone” – Eric Maurice Clark feat. Minister Tim White
“Not Alone” Eric Maurice Clark feat. Minister Tim White From Songs from the Heart (release date: October 2, 2017) https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/ericmauriceclark By Bob Marovich For his album Songs from the Heart, emerging songwriter Eric Maurice Clark gathered together seasoned gospel singers and musicians to interpret his compositions, which range from Praise [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: November 21, 2017
“Come Too Far” New Golden Crowns of Louisville, KY Sharp Records (release date: June 1, 2017) Available from Amazon.com By Bob Marovich Organized in 1940 as the Golden Crowns, an a cappella quartet, the New Golden Crowns of Louisville, Kentucky, are comprised of a mixture of new members and a [...]
Ruth La’Ontra – I Got You
Ruth La'Ontra I Got You ALJR Music Group/Tyscot Records (release date: September 22, 2017) www.tyscot.com By Bob Marovich To the best of my recollection, the last time a Ruth Jones was in gospel music, she was a teenager singing with Sallie Martin. Finding it difficult to keep boy-crazy Ruth in [...]
Cheryl Fortune – Simply Cheryl
Cheryl Fortune Simply Cheryl LuDawn Music / Tyscot Records (release date: October 13, 2017) www.tyscot.com By Bob Marovich On a selection from her album Simply Cheryl, gospel singer-songwriter Cheryl Fortune sings: “You don’t know the half of it, and I just can’t tell it all.” Cheryl, a background vocalist for Kirk [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: November 14, 2017
“Sweet Beulah Land” Eddie Ruth Bradford (release date: September 25, 2017) https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/eddieruthbradford3 By Bob Marovich The gospel songbird of Clarksdale, Mississippi, is at it again, this time with a mournful hymn about the eternal home. Backed by minimal instrumentation and the producer’s voice multi-tracked to simulate a male quartet (and a [...]
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