Christopher Williams – Stepping Out
Christopher Williams Stepping Out (private release, 2015) www.cdbaby.com/cd/christopherwilliams24 By Bob Marovich Stepping Out by Christopher Williams, a Jacksonville, Florida, singer, songwriter, worship leader, and Rhythm of Gospel Award nominee, showcases a contemporary gospel stylist with more than a dash of smooth jazz in his veins. Most of the album's ten songs contain pop melodies [...]
Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir: God Be Glorified
Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir God Be Glorified (self-produced; release date: May 14, 2016) www.ndcgmwa.com By Bob Marovich Gospel choirs trained under the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA) umbrella possess a certain style that non-GMWA choirs do not necessarily have. It’s spit-polish combined with passion, thunderous voices that [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: September 19, 2016
"I Give You Praise, Lord" Chicago Mass Choir From the New Haven Records CD I Give You Praise (2016) www.chicagomasschoir.com On their latest single, "I Give You Praise, Lord," the celebrated Chicago Mass Choir delivers P&W with P&D (power and drama). The song begins with the sopranos singing delicately, like [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: September 12, 2016
“God’s Got My Back” TaMyya J MM Music Group (release date: September 2016) www.tamyyaj.com Set to an urban AC arrangement, “God’s Got My Back,” the thought-provoking single from radio host and gospel singer TaMyya J of New Jersey, is about flipping one’s thinking from negative to positive. It’s a call [...]
Puchi Colon – Forever I Will Worship (EP)
Puchi Colon Forever I Will Worship EP Jovi Music (2016) www.puchicolon.com By Bob Marovich To my ears, Puchi (pronounced POO-chee) Colon is the reigning king of Latin Praise & Worship music. He established this position in the P&W field 20 years ago with his Spanish-language Christian albums and Salsa Worship [...]
Lift Me Up: Chicago Gospel Keyboard Masters
Various Artists Lift Me Up: Chicago Gospel Keyboard Masters The Sirens (release date: July 11, 2016) www.thesirensrecords.com By Bob Marovich Those who think traditional gospel music is dead, hapless victim of today’s P&W and urban AC influences in sacred music, The Sirens’ new release, Lift Me Up: Chicago Gospel Keyboard Masters, [...]
Joel Houston and Director Michael John Warren Discuss Hillsong Film “Let Hope Rise”
By Bob Marovich Hillsong - Let Hope Rise, the music documentary about the history and phenomenon that is Sydney, Australia’s Hillsong, "the biggest band you've never heard of," hits U.S. theaters September 16. JGM spoke by telephone recently with Joel Houston of Hillsong UNITED and the film’s director, Michael John [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: September 5, 2016
“Faith Can” Debbie Cochran From the album Faith Can (single released September 2, 2016) www.cdbaby.com/cd/debbiecochran5 There’s nothing like country music to evoke the angst of heartbreak. When combined with spirituality and faith, country music can turn heartbreak into inspiration. That’s what you get with “Faith Can,” a country ballad composed and [...]
Crowns of Joy – Back to the Basics
Crowns of Joy Back to the Basics (private press – 2015) www.cdbaby.com/cd/thecrownsofjoy By Bob Marovich The Pheba, Mississippi-based Crowns of Joy’s Back to the Basics album promises “old school—new flavor.” It delivers on its promise, largely through its “Trumpology” medley of drive-tempo hits of the past. The Rhythm of Gospel [...]
Denise Josiah – Songs For the Heart
Denise Josiah Songs For the Heart JoDah Ministries, LLC (2016) www.jodahministries.org By Bob Marovich Denise Josiah titled her debut album Songs For the Heart, but it could easily have been titled Songs From the Heart. The ten lovingly intimate sacred selections on the CD were penned or arranged over a [...]
“Favor of God” – K’metris Hunt
“Favor of God” K'metris Hunt Available from digital media outlets www.kmetrishuntmusic.com The debut single of Chicago’s K'metris Hunt showcases a controlled, confident voice delivering a lovely and melodic P&W ballad with deliberation but without unnecessary embellishment. Her sound has that unimpeachable genuineness that you hear in singers such as Janice [...]
Gretchen Keskeys – Walking in the Spirit
Gretchen Keskeys Walking in the Spirit Creative Soul Records (released June 27, 2016) www.gretchenkeskeys.com By Bob Marovich For singer-songwriter Gretchen Keskeys, her debut album Walking in the Spirit is not only a vehicle for sharing her religious commitment, it is also a vehicle for personal catharsis. As a teen, Keskeys, the [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: August 22, 2016
“I Am Blessed” Kevan Peabody and Dayanna Griffin Twinkem Productions www.twinkemp.com Leave it to veteran Bay Area gospel artist Kevan Peabody to keep the traditional style alive. Teaming with Lady Dayanna Griffin, Peabody extols the wonderfulness of being blessed and highly favored with a cornucopia of blue notes, while Griffin [...]
Dayna Caddell – Push
Dayna Caddell Push Forty Entertainment / eOne www.daynacaddell.com By Bob Marovich Without knowing Dayna Caddell’s story, a listener can pick up some truisms just from listening to her debut full-length album, Push. First, the music has such a sunny, breezy disposition, it must have been crafted in Southern California. Indeed, Push, [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: August 8, 2016
“He Chose Me” Chadwick (released March 4, 2016) www.therealchadwick.com Chadwick Johnson, known simply as Chadwick, is an indie gospel artist from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His single, “He Chose Me,” is a balladic declaration of gratitude for forgiveness. Speaking as a former Prodigal Son, Chadwick sings in his high tenor that [...]
Eloho – Unrestrained
Eloho Unrestrained (self released, 2016) www.elohoefemuai.co.uk By Bob Marovich Americans might be surprised to learn that there is a vibrant gospel music community in the UK. Given the way in which the music was introduced there, and when, the UK style—indeed the mode of gospel music throughout Europe and Scandinavia—has [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: August 1, 2016
“The Master’s Calling” Deborah Joy Winans Malaco Records www.malaco.com “The Master’s Calling” by singer and actor Deborah Joy Winans is at turns haunting, electrifying, and inspiring, and quite possibly one of the best gospel songs of the year. Written by Thad Cockrell, the song opens with a solemn piano and organ [...]
Kierra Sheard’s Bridges Tour Closes Gap between “Faith and Real Life”
Photo: Robert Marovich, Journal of Gospel Music By Bob Marovich The intimate Mayne Stage theater on Chicago’s North Side reverberated with blasts of EDM, raucous drums, snarling electric guitar, thumping bass, chiming keyboards, and an Apple computer churning out beats like a jukebox. The vocalists had the standing [...]
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