“God Has a Blessing” – Sha’Quan Welch
“God Has a Blessing” Sha'Quan Welch Believe Music Works www.shaquanwelch.com Set in 12/8 time and featuring a traditional-style vibe, complete with bluesy vamp and piano, “God Has a Blessing” riffs lyrically on the church aphorism, “God’s got a blessing with your name on it.” The song comes from the pen [...]
Pastor David Wright & the N.Y. Fellowship Mass Choir – Clap Your Hands
Pastor David Wright & N.Y. Fellowship Mass Choir (Next Generation) Clap Your Hands Godfather Records (release date: April 19, 2016) www.godfathergospel.com By Bob Marovich When Pastor David Wright speaks of his father on the second of the two-CD N.Y. Fellowship Mass Choir recordings done in June 2013, he is referring [...]
Todd Dulaney – A Worshipper’s Heart
Todd Dulaney A Worshipper’s Heart eOne Music (release date: April 15, 2016) www.todddulaneyland.com By Bob Marovich Todd Dulaney is among the new-ish crop of male gospel tenors who croon rather than shout their praises aloft. His latest album, A Worshipper’s Heart, is his first live project and as good a demonstration as [...]
Conversations with the Gospel Legends – The Barrett Sisters
Check out the first episode of "Conversations with the Gospel Legends," a new program on Rev. Harold Bailey's PCC Broadcast Network. Our guests for the debut show are the world-renowned Barrett Sisters: Rodessa Barrett Porter and Billie Barrett Greenbey. JGM's Bob Marovich is the host. The next program will feature [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: May 2, 2016
“Oh How We Love YOU” Tiff Joy From the Tyscot Records CD Tiff Joy www.tyscot.com The second single from Tiff (“Amazing”) Joy’s eponymously titled album from 2015, “Oh How We Love YOU” finds the award-winning singer-songwriter leading an exuberant group of background vocalists on one of those rigorous praise pieces [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: April 25, 2016
“Glorify” The Gospel Starlights (released March 2016) www.gospelstarlights.com The Gospel Starlights of Tifton, Georgia, have been on the gospel highway since 1990. What is distinctive about the quartet is that it is comprised of four women and one man, as opposed to the more typical single-gender quartet structure. It makes [...]
Various Artists – Halo: The One-Derful! Collection
Various Artists Halo: The One-Derful! Collection Secret Stash Records (release date of CD: April 15, 2016; LP available since February 2016) www.secretstashrecords.com By Bob Marovich During the 1950s and 1960s, Chicago record men and brothers George and Ernie Leaner helped transform South Michigan Avenue’s famed “Motor Row” (of auto dealerships) [...]
R.E.V. – Beyond Armageddon
R.E.V. Beyond Armageddon (2016) www.revgospel.com By Bob Marovich R.E.V. and Beyond Armageddon are the brainchildren of Detroiter Dennis M. Schultz. A lead and bass guitarist who for years balanced his day job with his passion for music, Schultz has had the notion to do this album since the 1990s. Some of the [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: April 18, 2016
“To Be Loved By God” Kimberly Palmer-Blackwell From the Thornewell Records album The Best of Kimberly Palmer-Blackwell, Vol. 1 www.cdbaby.com/cd/kimberlypalmer14 It’s Kimberly Palmer-Blackwell’s soaring, soulful vocal that sells “To Be Loved By God,” a heartfelt melody and just-right arrangement reminiscent of early 1980s R&B balladry. To depict God’s love as [...]
The Volunteer State Mass Choir – The Gospel of Tennessee
Jeff Wilford Presents The Volunteer State Mass Choir The Gospel of Tennessee www.VolunteerStateMass.com By Bob Marovich Ten years after their establishment by gospel music industry and retail professional Jeff Wilford, the Volunteer State Mass Choir makes its debut on CD with The Gospel of Tennessee. Waiting to gel in tone [...]
Ysabella – Help Me Out
Ysabella Help Me Out Sharper Brothers (2016) Available on Amazon By Bob Marovich Ysabella, formerly known as the Jenkins Sisters, is a contemporary gospel sister trio. Jentry, Aja, and Armani Jenkins have been singing for some time: in 2008, the group won the Word Network's Gospel F.O.C.U.S. competition. Help Me [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: April 11, 2016
“Old Ship of Zion” The Gospel Sensations From the MCI Music Group album Everybody www.gospelsensations.com This may be the first time a gospel group has landed two Picks of the Week with their first two submissions to the Journal of Gospel Music. And for good reason. “Old Ship of Zion” [...]
Renaissance Movement Music – Lions in Suits
Renaissance Movement Music Lions in Suits (release date: February 26, 2016) Available digitally By Bob Marovich On the fifteen-selection Lions in Suits, Christian hip hop collective Renaissance Movement Music (RMM) joins forces with a handful of special guests to deliver a parcel of messages. The messages are mostly about the [...]
Christon Gray – The Glory Album
Christon Gray The Glory Album Fo Yo Soul Recordings / RCA (release date: March 11, 2016) By Bob Marovich Christian hip hop artist Christon Gray announces that he’s “spittin’ the real, not the auto tune” on The Glory Album, the major label follow-up to his solo independent release and Billboard-charting School of [...]
Rev. Roy Reed & the Zion Jubilees – Jesus Is All I Need (Live)
Rev. Roy Reed & the Zion Jubilees Jesus Is All I Need Sharp Records (2016) www.sharprecordsusa.com By Bob Marovich The Zion Jubilees remain the flagship artist for Sharp Records. The quartet’s new CD, Jesus Is All I Need, recorded live in the group's hometown of Bryan, Texas, proves there is [...]
Robert Horton with The Voices of Many Waters: “People All Over the World Need Jesus”
“People All Over the World Need Jesus” Robert Horton with The Voices of Many Waters Gold Leaf Records https://www.reverbnation.com/roberthorton5 This lo-fi funky gospel single was written in 1979 and recorded in 1982 but not released until last year. At first blush, “People All Over the World Need Jesus” sounds like [...]
Carl B. Phillips & Friends – Great Rain
Carl B. Phillips & Friends Great Rain Prove Me Productions (release date: January 29, 2016) https://www.reverbnation.com/carlbphillips By Bob Marovich The photo on the back of the CD booklet for Carl B. Phillips & Friends’ Great Rain shows an Ivy League-attired Phillips standing next to a clock, a briefcase and umbrella [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: March 28, 2016
“Living for Jesus” Sophiya Rocktown Records (2015) http://praiseworldradio.com/sophiya-living-for-jesus What makes “Living for Jesus” special is the robust elegance with which singer, songwriter, worship leader, and TV personality Sophia Ariba (aka Sophiya) delivers the lush, melodic worship ballad. Given the multicultural popularity of P&W today, the Nigerian singer’s style can fit in [...]
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