Article: Music

You know everybody doesn’t have to write the ghetto or what is going on and everything is everything. Would it be nice to get off the bootie for one minute? I’m just bored now, I’ve gone through all the stages of being mesmerized by the bootie, looking at the bootie and needing to work out, all of that. But now I’d really to see some kids with instruments. That’s one of my rules, I have this site on myspace.com and if your profile picture has an instrument, I accept you right away.

“When It Was Music,� features renditions of classic love ballads such as “Who Can I Turn to,� by Dionne Warwick and “I’ll Never Stop Loving You,� by the Carpenters. Small is returning Rhythm and Blues to what it used to be so don’t plan on hearing any I’m-waiting-for-my-man-on-the –corner-and-he-dissed-me type of songs, she warns. She will reach the hearts of many so they feel encouraged, inspired and entertained.

Caption: The lovely Charlotte Small

The songs that stand out must be "Got to make it," featuring twista, where he sings about getting him and his partner out of the ghetto, to a better existence. It’s a song that offers hope and inspiration. Another song that is quite refreshing is "From a woman’s hand," a song that begs the question why fathers don’t stick around to raise there children. "Coming for you" grabbed me not because of the lyrical content but from the vocal delivery and the music—
it is very reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield, in tempo, rhythm, vocals and use of orchestra.
The final verdict? The album leans more towards the classical soul tag, but hard drum programming and intelligent use of samples provides the street edge.

Early on, the bandleader seemed to be having too much fun conducting to play himself, keeping his back to us, waving his arms animatedly while pointing to this or that accompanist.
But eventually, he entered the fray, distinguishing himself during such numbers as Conservation by Bobby Watson, and Public Eye, his own evocative tune. Equally-impressive improvisation came courtesy of Messrs. Williams, Blake, Marshall, and Clayton, while Mr. Griffin was downright delightful scatting right along with one of the group’s elaborate charts.

A virtuoso guitarist, vocalist and blues harp player, he heads a quintet whose sound might best be described as a mix of funk, rock, R&B, reggae, ballads and jazz. The Boston-based brother’s impressive resume’ reveals a trio of well-received CDs, plus he is currently on the faculty at Berklee College of Music. His fourth album, Live at Bose, was sponsored by Bose as part of the launch of the company’s new Personalized Amplification family of products

Sometimes I get home and go back in the bed other times I’m rushing to do things. And a lot of times it’s in the bed and talking on the phone. And then I do the radio show, which is like second nature at this point. It doesn’t require me to get their like 11 or 10’o clock in the morning to get it together. It’s more of a lifestyle rather than going to the office to plan. And then I get in and I talk.

I started out singing at 13, and I’ve been in and out of studios ever
since. And American Idol was the one thing that I’ve done in the 16 years that I’ve been doing this that actually launched me. That got me out there and allowed me to get into acting. What I wanted from it was to get recognized and to get exposure, to get a deal, maybe a TV show, or whatever was going to come from that.

The songs that populate Bravebird are a breed unto themselves, a hybrid of genres flowing effortlessly through each other in a post-modern reverie. Which is not to say that the careful listener won’t identify some unifying themes: a tribute to those who have endured suffering, a plea for immersion, a call to humanity.

They were playing the songs within their new CD Mystikal. And indeed, an aura of the mystical was apparent as the music struck upon the essence of form without form in search of the enigma that is true jazz. The blissful faces of the musicians were enraptured by some musical high that elevated their souls beyond time.

Although he didn’t record under his own name until 1998, Olu Dara enjoyed a reputation as one of the jazz avant-garde’s leading trumpeters from the mid-’70s on. Early-’80s records and performances with the David Murray Octet and the Henry Threadgill Sextet revealed Dara to be a daring, roots-bound soloist, with a modern imagination and a big burnished tone in the style of Louis Armstrong and Roy Eldridge. Dara was born Charles Jones III in Louisville, MS, in 1941.