Coheed and Cambria

Coheed and Cambria, for whom the extremes of time and space hardly seem to be enough.The band, led by singer-guitarist Claudio Sanchez, is all high-concept sci-fi of intense melodrama and a war across the stars, but the music rarely gets lost there.

Fans intrigued by the complicated story arc of its first four albums can turn to a series of published comics for guidance. At the Wiltern on Sunday, the focus was on epic sound and fury.The band stepped out to a genuine roar from the crowd, which immediately began singing along to the title song from the new album, "No World for Tomorrow" (complete title: "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow").Within C&C's hurricane of prog can be heard pieces of metal, emo and the graceful pop hooks that have landed this complex mix on rock radio. Sanchez's massive tangle of curls is the biggest hair in the Top 200.Somehow, the band rarely gets bogged down in the fantastic and mystical, which might otherwise relegate it to the overkill of early Styx or (more alarming) the comical excesses of Tenacious D. While the music may be a storm of complicated noise, it is usually built on a solid melodic core, with flashes of fitting Pink Floyd-sized guitar heroism. No noodling.Coheed and Cambria is often seen as this prog generation's Rush, but the new album pulls back from the cosmos for some ground-level drama. Sanchez warns of global warming on the title track and contemplates a mercy killing on the brooding, anxious "Justice in Murder." It's mind expansion on a human scale.Much of Sunday's 90-minute set was delivered at a typically breathless, frantic pace, as fans joined in on air guitar.Things slowed down long enough for lighters to rise above the crowd for "Mother Superior," which began at a quiet, delicate pace on Sanchez's guitar before soaring again with the full band.There were big hooks in "The Suffering" (from 2005), another of the band's unlikely pop hits. Behind Sanchez was a pair of female backup singers, who never once came close to interfering with his icy, emotional wail.For Coheed and Cambria, self-indulgence means never holding back.

First Creation - Nobody Like Jesus

Jerry Boose, Jesse Coleman, Ron Hogue, and William (Redd) Crooks combine their respective talents and take you back to the days of gospel harmonies that led to a hand-clapping, foot-stomping good time on a Sunday morning. Opening the album is the spectacular "Come Into This House," in which each member soothes the soul with an invitation "to worship and have our time with God." Following that is a throwback to 80s era Temptations with the guitar-heavy title track, which will have listeners on their feet in no time. "Great Change," with it's up tempo vibe and catchy chorus could easily find a home on the radio. Also impressive are the cuts "Jesus You're My Everything" and "Message to the Lord," each sung with such conviction that the listener is compelled to give his or her undivided attention. The pressures of daily life can definitely take its toll and a project such as Nobody Like Jesus, with it's positive message, can make the load on your shoulders just a bit lighter. The quartet that is First Creation has proven with their latest offering that gospel music is still the good news.

Look Directly into the Sun: China Pop 2007

Venture into a city to record unsigned bands, and what you get is a whole lot of nothing in no particular order. Don't assume this one is different because the talent scout is PiL drummer Martin Atkins — who is also, after all, Pigface major-domo Martin Atkins. The reason is the city: Beijing, 15 million strong, a hub of the kind of thrilling, contradictory upward mobility that gets kids rocking. Most of the songs are by English-singing guys with guitars whom we'll call garage punk because that can mean almost anything cheap and catchy. Lament the three-song dip toward gothy sludge near the end. But get off on Hang on the Box's kiddie-femme "Shanghai," TooKoo's pushy "Take Me Home," Demerit's bish-bashing "Fight Your Apathy," even Snapline's pop-goth opener, "Close Your Cold Eyes." These eighteen bands are too excited to explore their contradictions yet. But that too will come.

ButterSoulFly - But Her Soul Flies

Tanesha C real talent is in her stunning poetry, as she displays on her self-released spoken word debut, But Her Soul Flies. With sparse but smart musical support from friends like Gerry Butterwick and Bilal Malik Mutawassim, she let's loose on an album that alternatingly speaks of heartache and triumph, but with a common message of independence and empowerment that is squarely aimed at African-American women. So the striking lover's ode for meaning, "Wish It Was Political," fits nicely near the more traditional message in "Emancipation of Barbie." But Her Soul Flies is particularly impressive because Tanesha's message, whether militant or spiritual, is always accessible. A nice beginning to a recording career.
By Chris Rizik

Bruce Springsteen: The Boss is Back

Despite the hurricane force he and the E Street Band frequently mustered during their two-hour show, plenty of fans cheering them on no doubt recall the nights of yore when this fabled group was just starting to break a sweat at the two-hour mark.

Still, what this outfit does on stage each night remains fairly daring, and the older they get, the greater the risk of the without-a-net abandon with which they administer the sacrament of rock 'n' roll.The invigorating thing about the New Jersey bard is the way he and his merry band embrace their coming of age. For all the kudos Springsteen's new "Magic" album is earning for the joyful rocking it delivers, it's rife with self-doubt, disillusionment, anger and acceptance of the disappointments and compromises life inevitably presents the thinking person."I'm trying to find my way home," Springsteen sang as he opened the show with his latest single, "Radio Nowhere," a song that taps into the classic-rock musical lexicon of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," as well as Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny."Over the course of the night it became more apparent that the search he's on -- and he's intent on bringing those who will listen along with him -- is for the core values he took for granted once upon a time, in less-conflicted days.Springsteen's too observant to look back with simple nostalgia on the glory days of a different era. He knows the difference is the result of individual experience and growth, not the societal changes around him. Following "Radio Nowhere" with "No Surrender" put the youthful purity of that 23-year-old song into high relief against the picture of alienation felt by a man closing in on 60."Girls in Their Summer Clothes," a pop confection crafted on the Spector-Shirelles-Brian Wilson blueprint, could be sung by a man half Springsteen's age, but it would lose the melancholy of the recognition that those girls, and time, are passing him by. He's no longer a participant in that moment of life, but an observer looking in.Throughout the show it was less about individual performances than the context Springsteen places his songs in. "Girls" came between "Badlands" and the very early "Thundercrack," a celebration of raging hormones that's now virtually a distant memory for him and his peers.Much of his music in recent years has wrestled with the dilemma of reconciling reality against youthful fantasy of how the world ought to be. And with real-world examples of fading ideals and loss of faith all too easy to spot, it's a dilemma with no quick fix."We've seen things happening that shouldn't be happening," he said as he introduced another of the "Magic" songs, "Living in the Future," "and tonight we're going to do something about it. We're going to sing about it. That's what we do because we're musicians. But it's a start."That start clearly is a source of liberation for the members of the mighty E Street Band, especially in light of the treatment they were afforded on "Magic" by producer Brendan O'Brien. This band has a sound that's bigger than a Cadillac, but O'Brien has compressed them into a sonic Subaru on most of the tracks.Clarence Clemons bides most of his stage time tapping tambourines or valiantly rattling maracas between infrequent sax solos, most of which allow him only to recreate for the umpteenth time a classic riff from a long-ago recording session. Guitarists Steve Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren got considerably more opportunity to enter into the musical dialogue with their Boss, spinning out searing solos that elevated the dialogue ever higher.As if to tease those who bypassed his "Seeger Sessions" album and tour because it jettisoned the E Street Band to explore old folk songs rather than new Springsteen tunes, he closed with the E Streeters' take on that sound for the final number, "American Land," which toasts this nation's defining immigrant history and quickly scolds those who would monkey with the melting-pot tradition.The phalanx of electric guitars, swirling keyboards and pounding piano gave way to dual accordions, acoustic guitars, mandolin and Clemons wrapping his meaty fingers around a tiny tin whistle for the Irish-rooted tune. It was Dylan in reverse, Springsteen reviving the power of folk music after an evening of electric mayhem. The kind of thing you'd expect from a daring young man.

Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard's toughest song may be his 1968 country hit "I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am." Despite the title, it's not about a working man — he sings in the voice of a hobo loner, drifting from place to place. "I keep thumbin' through the phone books/Lookin' for my daddy's name in every town," Hag sings — the way he picks up that line, cuts himself deep on it and sets it back down is the essence of his hard-boiled vocal genius. This could be the guy Bob Dylan sang about in "Tangled Up in Blue," except he doesn't even have a redheaded woman in his past — just empty roads. It's the song they played at the funeral of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant, and you can still hear why.
Haggard's work is spread around more than a few labels, but The Original Outlaw is the most comprehensive Haggard compilation yet. The three CDs range from his hell-raising Sixties days ("Mama Tried," "Sing Me Back Home") through his Eighties tomfoolery ("I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink") up to his 2005 anti-Bush protest, "America First." It unerringly plucks the best of his later hits — "I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall," "Let's Chase Each Other Around the Room." Any Hag fanatic can note missing faves ("Living With the Shades Pulled Down"), but the sheer range here is amazing.

Hag's Bakersfield country dust is still a revelatory sound: sweet acoustic guitar up top, mean drums below. His songs are full of God's lonely men: crooks, fugitives, bar-brawling drunks, death-row convicts requesting one last song on their way to the electric chair. He doesn't sing as much about husbands — no great country singer has ever had less interest in his own love life, mainly because his only true love is the road. Hag knows it will never love him back — you can hear that in his voice from the beginning, the way he feels the cold wind hit him in "Branded Man." But on The Original Outlaw, it's a lifelong passion.

Garth Brooks

After prevailing upon an arena full of fans Tuesday to sing the chorus to his 1990 ballad "Unanswered Prayers" without accompaniment -- twice in a row -- Garth Brooks sat back against his drummer's kit and murmured into his signature headset microphone. "This is so cool," he said.He'd been relentlessly pumping up the audience during this second of nine sold-out performances at the Sprint Center, telling fans that the previous night's crowd had been amazing, assuring them they'd know every song because "it's all the old stuff," bounding around the stage, distributing winks and waves. It's part of Brooks' shtick to act like every show is the best he's ever given, and he'd been working it. But for a moment, he really seemed to suspect this was the ultimate night.

It wasn't. Because tonight he'll do it again, filling this arena with more joy than anybody else will bring to any big room this year. There will be more surprises and surefire favorites, more overwhelming fan love, more backslapping with his spotlessly polished band. Only two shows into his first extended round of concerts since 1998, Brooks has already reclaimed his title as the people's pop champ, and grown restless enough to start mixing things up.He brought out his wife (and opening act), Trisha Yearwood, for their duet, "In Another's Eyes," and he accompanied her on guitar as she sang her 1993 hit (with Don Henley), "Walkaway Joe." Though the second show was shorter than the previous night's, he closed it with a treat for enthusiasts: his excellent cover of Billy Joel's "Shameless," which he recorded in 1991.Who knows what trick Brooks will pull next? That he'll strive to surprise is as guaranteed as the rowdy singalong to "Friends in Low Places" that happens nightly, right before he gets everybody weepy with his philosophical number, "The Dance."His talent for being spontaneous and full of hokum in equal parts is one reason Brooks is the most commercially successful solo artist in recording history. (He was just declared such, again, by the Recording Industry Assn. of America, reclaiming the title from Elvis.) Only a few other artists -- maybe Frank Sinatra or James Brown -- have been able to command a stage so comfortably.Brooks also shares much with Bruce Springsteen, including a gift for making every live show a celebration of itself. In fact, with his hearty drinking songs and sentimental ballads, Brooks might be the Springsteen that the characters in classic Springsteen songs would actually like.Yet Brooks doesn't often get the respect these titans do. His music is slick, and embedded in a genre -- country -- that tastemakers tend to prefer more rough-edged. Many of Brooks' hits were written by others, a markdown, especially for male superstars, since the rock era. And unlike many great interpreters, Brooks isn't blessed with an exceptional voice; on Tuesday, he strained off and on, sometimes leaning toward a bellow, and momentarily losing his way when matched with his more vocally accomplished wife.Yet when it comes to selling a song, Brooks is a master. He knows just when to make a broad vocal gesture, and when to pull back; he can make the most hackneyed phrase ring like a true confession. Melodramas such as "The Thunder Rolls" and the rodeo ghost story "The Beaches of Cheyenne" swelled to heavy-metal-worthy proportions Tuesday, tempered by romps including "Two Piña Coladas" and those soul-baring outings in which Brooks stood alone, playing guitar.Whatever the song's mood, Brooks maintained command by staying just a little bit distanced, building the drama with relish and boisterous style. Like a mega-church pastor, he guided the night's mood, letting the music and the crowd's delight lift him up, but not overcome him.When he retired seven years ago, Brooks said his main motivation was the desire to be closer to his three daughters, the youngest of whom is now 11. In a consummately sappy flourish, Brooks announced at show's end that his daughters, who'd been too young to see him perform before he retired, were there cheering him on. He must have been delighted to give them that gift. But he was also surely thinking, the PTA's going to seem awfully dull now.

Artic Monkeys

Several hours before he is scheduled to take the stage, Alex Turner, the guitarist and lead singer of the Arctic Monkeys, enters his dressing room and sits on an ice chest filled with water and energy drinks. It is not at all drafty inside, but Turner is wearing a jacket zipped to the neck and a blue knit cap. Like his three bandmates, Turner has bad skin, looks about fifteen -- he's actually twenty -- and still lives with his parents.

These facts have not stopped the Arctic Monkeys from becoming a major sensation in their native Britain. When the band's first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, was released in the U.K. earlier this year, it sold more than 350,000 copies its first week, becoming the fastest-selling debut in British history. Rock icons from David Bowie and Mick Jagger to Oasis and the Strokes are all fans.
In the U.S., Whatever People Say debuted in the Top Forty after its February 21st release; the single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" had already been in the iTunes Top Ten for a month. The band will launch a major U.S. club tour on March 13th in San Francisco -- all dates are already sold out.

The Monkeys themselves -- Turner; guitarist Jamie Cook, 20; bassist Andy Nicholson and drummer Matt Helders, both 19 -- seem to be wisely recoiling from the hype. They have declined offers to appear on the BBC's Top of the Pops and, pleading already scheduled tour dates, they skipped the Brit Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys. Tonight, playing a college campus in the sleepy English town of Norwich -- most famous export: mustard -- they are sandwiched in the second slot of a four-band bill, beneath the much-lesser-known indie band Maximo Park. Asked about the upcoming U.S. tour, Cook shrugs and says, "It's pretty hard to break America, innit?"

The band hails from Sheffield, an old steel town in northern England, best known, musically, for producing the unholy trinity of Pulp, Human League and Def Leppard. "We all sang 'Let's Get Rocked' every morning at school," Turner notes drily. The son of a secondary-school music teacher, Turner took piano lessons as a kid but hated theory and practice. ("My dad teaches me more stuff now," Turner says. "I'll be home, messing about with a song on the piano, and he'll say, 'What are you trying to do?'") The Monkeys formed in 2002; friends since high school, Turner and Cook had received guitars the prior Christmas and taught themselves a few chords. They began rehearsing every Tuesday evening. "Our early songs were bollocks," says Turner. "A lot of them had the word 'doobie' in them."
Because you smoked a lot of pot?

"No. Because it was a funny word for spliff."

In Norwich, the hangarlike, unadorned venue is packed with true believers when the Monkeys take the stage. The band's hook-filled songs are both taut and sprawling, often packing funky breaks, metallic crescendos and weird pop flourishes -- e.g., the falsetto backing vocals on "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" -- into a single song. Turner favors long, literary-sounding titles: "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Looking Straight at Me," "Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But . . ." He's most often compared with Mike Skinner, a.k.a. the Streets, and rightly so. Like Skinner, his lyrics deal with the pedestrian realities of ordinary dudes who hang out in bars and clubs, get hassled by doormen and have trouble making time with stuck-up chicks.

Before signing with Domino Records, the indie label that broke Franz Ferdinand, the Monkeys built up huge grass-roots buzz by passing out free CDs at shows to fans, some of whom began posting the songs online. When "Dancefloor" debuted at Number One last year, it blindsided many in the British music industry and wildly excited others looking for a way to use the Internet to save the record business. "It was completely accidental," Turner says. "We never posted any songs ourselves."

Shelby Lynne

Grammy winner and rebel country star Shelby Lynne isn't one to take it easy, however, as she proved Tuesday at the Ivar Theatre in Hollywood.Lynne's upcoming release, "Just a Little Lovin'," is a tribute to Dusty Springfield, whose power, nuance and warmth made her one of the indelible voices of the 1960s and perhaps the greatest white soul singer ever. The English pop legend is a natural role model for the Virginia-born Lynne, who began her career in country two decades ago but has followed Springfield's path toward greater and greater eclecticism.

What made Springfield great was a rare combination of vocal power and emotional subtlety, and an achingly tender tone that made even the hokiest pop into a private communiqué. Could Lynne come close? This evening was her first public try.Standing on the spare stage of this vintage theater, whose acoustics exposed every shift of a guitar pedal or misspent breath, Lynne focused mightily, clutching her fist and casting her eyes downward. She carefully took on Springfield favorites "Breakfast in Bed," "Anyone Who Had a Heart" and "I Only Want to Be With You" -- but, wisely, no "Son of a Preacher Man."Spare arrangements, which mirror the tone of the Phil Ramone-produced album slated for February release, left no room for Lynne to hide. Early on, she noted the difficulty of the melodies and said she imagined Springfield "hanging out, going, 'Girl, you missed that note!' " Springfield's ghost must have very good ears. Beyond some very occasional line swallowing, to this mortal, Lynne sounded spot on.Emphasizing Springfield's most intimate side, Lynne played down other aspects of her oeuvre: This solemn set featured no shiny pop camp and little brassy big-band soul. Guitarist Mark Goldenberg took some hot solos, but mostly the four-piece band laid back and let Lynne coach herself through tricky numbers including Randy Newman's "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore" and Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "The Look of Love."Eventually, Lynne relaxed, visibly enjoying the challenge of reaching for Springfield's high marks. Yet for all her grace on the more familiar songs and spunk on the few rarities, one of the night's most thrilling moments came when she performed "Pretend," the only song Lynne herself wrote for her tribute album. A cry of romantic abjection executed in a loving whisper, it lived up to the Springfield legacy. Lynne may prove to be a good spiritual daughter to the great Dusty, but she still has some stories of her own.

Chris Jasper - Invincible

Two decades removed from his significant but often underappreciated role with the Isley Brothers, Chris Jasper continues to soldier on as a solo artist. One could argue that as the writer of some of the funkiest jams and sweetest soul ballads of his generation, Jasper has nothing more to prove. But the man who wrote about making love "Between the Sheets" has spent his post Isley Brothers career singing a very different tune -- one of Christianity and the power of faith, a theme that continues on his 8th solo album, Invincible.
Lyrically, Invincible is another step forward for Jasper, as he pulls the foundation for each of the ten tracks directly from scripture, even citing his inspiration for each cut. As expected, Jasper demonstrates on Invincible that he is still a quality songwriter. Hooky tracks like the title cut, "Come On And Testify" and "Keep Reaching Higher" are among his finest solo compositions. Even more surprising is that, at age 56, Jasper's voice sounds stronger and more assured than ever, now increasing resembling Daryl Hall's (especially on cuts like "Thank You Lord") and even better representing his compositions.
The biggest challenge on Invincible is that it doesn't always play to Jasper's strengths. He's created so many memorable funk cuts and ballads, it is surprising that this disc spends so much time in-between -- mild mid-tempo numbers dominate the album. And with Jasper acting as a one man band, with a heavy dose of programmed electronics and an underrepresentation of real instruments, there is a sameness to the sound of many of the tunes that takes away from the power of the compositions. So when a true dance cut like "Come On And Testify" arrives, it is like a breath of fresh air and gives a new, more exciting feel to Invincible that makes the listener wish for more variation on the rest of the disc.
It's a great thing to see Chris Jasper still writing and singing so well as he approaches his 5th decade of recording, and there is no indication that he will be slowing the pace soon. And while it would be more powerful with expanded instrumentation and a bit more funkiness, Invincible is undoubtedly a worthy release and another solid addition to Jasper's discography

Rick James

Three years since his death have seemingly flown by. Fans of the late soul funkateer will revel in the fact that the Stone City Records has now released Deeper Still, his final studio album.
The music of Rick James has always elicited some level of shock value. A song could contain a lyric that made you rewind and take a second listen just to be sure that what you heard was exactly what you thought you'd heard. Be advised -- there are several instances of "shock" on Deeper Still. However, the sting of the highly biographical nature of the lyrics is bittersweet because it reveals a departed soul who was terribly misinterpreted by the throng of outsiders that viewed his life from seemingly blurred exteriors.
The title track is currently receiving airplay on urban stations across the nation. Rightfully deserving of the attention, this mid-tempo mellow groove shines as it draws you into a committed relationship about which James sings that is built on a forever love. It also sets the stage for a project filled with songs that exhibit a transformation and separation from the flamboyant, carefree persona that James made infamous over the years.
"Taste" is biographical in nature, and speaks of some of the pitfalls that befell James over the years, as he sought happiness in the name of love. The realization of all that is really important seems to have become evident to James a little too late. "Stroke" is another song that peels away the layers of the personal challenges that led James, as he describes his visits, to "hell and back," finding "lots of crack" and spending time inside the penitentiary. During this entire period, inevitably in a rehabilitative nature, James spent his time doing what was near and dear to his heart: creating and composing music.
"Do You Wanna Play," the strongest song on this collection, is a wonderful ballad that features guest appearances from two mature male R&B heartthrobs who are not heard from often enough (Howard Hewett and Johnny Gill) and reinforces that this album was meant to become a powerful comeback vehicle for Rick James. Closing in classic Rick James style is "Funk Wit Me," a song filled with risqué language that makes you wonder if he really sang what you'd thought you heard.
Deeper Still is a strong posthumous release that, in its diversity and in James' strong, sincere delivery, reminds us of the broad talent that Rick James possessed and why, years after his commercial peak, he was still an artist of importance. Highly recommended.

Amel Larrieux - Lovely Standards

The former lead singer of Groove Theory has done everything from R&B and soul to hip-hop and folk. On her fourth solo endeavor, Lovely Standards, Amel again steps out the box with perhaps her most intimate project to date. The 10-track disc opens with "If I Were a Bell," which has a very Thelonious Monk-type feeling to it. Listening to this cut, you get the sense that pianist Yakir Benhur channeled the spirit of the late, great Monk while Amel's honey-coated vocals takes you to a time and place when straight-ahead jazz dominated the music scene.

"Try Your Wings" is so smooth that if you closed your eyes and concentrated on the music, you could swear you were transported to Harlem circa mid-1940s. With production from her husband and musical collaborator Laru Larrieux, the Rodgers and Hammerstein composition "Something Wonderful" is given a new, fresh spin. "If I Loved You" is so profound that it captivates you from beginning to end. Closing out the album is Edward Kennedy Ellington's "I Like the Sunrise," on which Amel sounds so rich and pure against a backdrop of superb musicians that it would make "Sir Duke" more than proud. Amel Larrieux continues to march to the beat of her own drum. As she forges her path and shatters stereotypes along the way, it won't be long before we hear a foreign language project or her moving in the direction of a different musical genre.

Earl Klugh: Ultimate

This is just the latest in a veritable conveyer belt of incredible collections Mosaic Contemporary has delivered this year and is part of its mission to showcase definitive career highlights of some of the most respected artists around. It has done this by recognizing that nearly every important artist in contemporary jazz has recorded seminal material for more than one record company. By licensing the most important tracks from various labels and then arranging them into chronological compilations Mosaic has created something very special and, in this respect, there is none more so than ‘The Ultimate Earl Klugh'.

The album opens with the Klugh signature ‘Angelina' and immediately it is difficult not to feel the excitement that heralded the 1976 self titled debut release from which the tune is taken. Laid back yet captivating, the record was produced by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen who shortly afterwards went on to set up GRP Records. Later in 1976 Klugh again hooked up with Grusin and Rosen for ‘Living Inside Your Love'. The haunting title cut is completely indicative of the period yet here sounds brand new. It was co-written by Klugh and Grusin, included Patti Austin on vocals and proved so popular that three years later it was covered by George Benson. Klugh had played in Benson's band from age 18 so this, and the fact that in 1987 they recorded the CD ‘Collaboration' together, makes the connection so much more memorable. From that later album comes ‘Brazilian Stomp' which is one of three numbers that finds Klugh in decidedly Latin mode. ‘Dr Macumba' from his 1977 ‘Finger Paintings' zings with a compelling Brazilian vibe and perhaps even better is the title track from the 1990 ‘Midnight In San Juan'. More groove driven that much of his work it has the same melodic magic that time has made all his own.

By 1979 Klugh had evolved into an almost exclusively self produced artist and the title tracks from his albums ‘Heart String' and ‘Wishful Thinking' superbly demonstrate the sumptuous touch he was developing over this period. The catchy ‘Rainbow Man' from his 1984 ‘Soda Fountain Shuffle' is nothing short of being a joy and when, in 1989, he switched gears to record the CD ‘Solo Guitar' his rendition of Johnny Mandel's ‘Emily' proved to be a spellbinding standout.

The nineties found Klugh maintaining standards and further extending boundaries. ‘Jo Ann's Song' from the 1993 ‘Sounds & Visions' project is a case in point where, backed by none less than the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, he turns this Dave Grusin composition into a moody masterpiece. Klugh's subtle use of Lenny Price on soprano sax is but one facet of the sensitivity he injects into ‘Maybe Tonight' from the ‘Sudden Burst Of Energy' album. Recorded in 1996 it shows just how in tune he has remained with the developing trends of contemporary jazz but perhaps most noteworthy is the track ‘Movin' On' from his 1992 collaboration with Bob James, ‘Cool'. Following on from ‘One on One' in 1979 and ‘Two Of A Kind' three years later it proved to be the last of the three projects that Klugh and James worked on together. With the common denominator of James' sophisticated arrangements and unmistakable keys dovetailing to perfection with Klugh's melodic guitar they jointly deliver music that dances like light on water and brings truth to the expression ‘less is more'.

Contemporary jazz has evolved tremendously over the last thirty years and Earl Klugh has been with it every step of the way. Now, courtesy of ‘The Ultimate Earl Klugh', you too can relive that journey.

Jaheim Hoagland

Jaheim Hoagland has become one of the brightest R&B stars of the 21st century, infusing the sounds of classic Chicago and Philly soul with a hip-hop attitude and in the process gathering a huge following of fans of both modern and traditional music.

Raised in the projects in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Jaheim lived a life where music was his first love and often his escape from trouble and personal tragedies. Jaheim experienced his first major personal loss at the age of two, when his father died. Over the next decade his single-parent mother (who tragically died in 1996) exposed him to the classic soul sounds of Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye, and he began to take to the sounds of the emerging hip-hop culture. The amalgamation - even struggle - of the two genres would become the centerpiece of future musical career.

By his mid-teens Jaheim began winning local talent competitions with his gruff, Teddy Pendergrass-like voice and word about this young talent spread. At age 17, his demo tape came to the attention of producer and Naughty By Nature member Kay Gee, who ultimately helped Jaheim obtain a contract with Warner Brothers.

With Kay Gee at the production helm and with both self-penned tunes and material contributed by a number of notable songwriters, Jaheim released his debut album, Ghetto Love, in 2001. It was a monster disc, spawning three major hits, "Could It Be," "Anything" and "Just in Case." Jaheim's affinity for old school sounds combined with his hip-hop sensibilities made him a bit of an anomaly, an almost contradictory character who would sing about "shorties" and "playas" over lush string sections and classic soul arrangements.

Jaheim's second disc, Still Ghetto, was even better than its predecessor, and boasted his biggest hit, the wonderful cautionary tale "Put That Woman First." It also made him a sought-after guest vocalist throughout the hip-hop world, his rough baritone providing soulful interludes to the album cuts of a number of rap artists.

Nearly four years passed before Jaheim released his third album, 2006's Ghetto Classics, which debuted at #1 on both the Pop and Soul charts. With perhaps Jaheim's biggest nod to classic soul, the disc sampled melody lines from classic pop and soul writers ranging from Gamble & Huff to Thom Bell to Gerry Goffin. As with its predecessors, Ghetto Classics was extremely uneven lyrically, often tritely covering the usual modern R&B loverman stuff, but also including moments such as "Daddy Thing," a fantastic tale of a man who becomes attached to his girlfriend's daughter only to have the bond broken when the child's Dad comes back from prison. While an awful lot of the music on the disc is borrowed from 30 year old soul songs, it is tough not to like great cuts such as "The Chosen One," "I Ain't Never" and the uber-infectious "Like a DJ."

Jaheim followed two years later with the more mature, critically acclaimed disc, The Makings of a Man. Again, it debuted in the top 10.

Jaheim may not be the savior of soul music that many people want him to be, but he is an exceptional vocal talent - one of the best pure soul singers in modern music - and has done a credible job updating some classic soul sounds for younger urban audiences. And frankly, he's just fun to listen to.

Speeka - Bonfire

Matt Smooth and Rob Mac are back with their second album under the alias Speeka and it makes me wonder how they have time with all the other projects they've got under their belt. With the guys known more for their hip-hop roots than their jazz or funk, they take all those influences and turn them into a wonderful folk style album. This is a beautiful album that will have you wanting more after each play. My copy arrived in the middle of the postal strike, so I was able to give this album the attention it deserves. One of the catchiest tracks I've heard this year is "Better Inside", which has all the elements of a hit, if only the nation wasn't so obsessed with reality TV music shows. With a good balance of instrumentals and vocal productions, this will more than keep you happy through the dark winter months. Yet another excellent release from Wah Wah 45s.

Black i

With a strong electronic drum-n-bass groove throughout For You, Black I manages to infuse the brand of soul with which many of Omar's fans have fallen in love.
Lyrically, For You runs the gamut of expressing love and contemplating the meaning of life. On "Peace of Mind," the struggle for prosperity becomes a little daunting, so the singers hope and pray for relief. It's an emotion-filled ballad complete with rocking-chair-esque guitar licks from beginning to end. "Please U" is a mid-tempo track that elicits a smooth nod of the head with its flamboyant hip-hop-centric language. "No More" is one of the many cuts full of multiple elements from jazz to electronica to R&B. The live saxophone and trumpet compliment this cut very nicely. There's a female backing vocal with a texture reminiscent of underrated-R&B-singer Tweet's angelic tonalities.

Omar lends his vocals to the project on the remake of Sly & the Family Stone's signature song, "Family Affair." The track also features Kenny Whitehead, who was part of the R&B duo The Whitehead Brothers. Unfortunately, this number is nothing more than a glorified jam session amongst longtime friends. This version of the ultimate African-American barbeque classic doesn't bring anything new to the original recording. In fact, this cut is endemic of this generally strong album's one notable weakness: For You does at times come across a bit dated in its approach and sound, and is perhaps too traditional in its presentation of the neo-soul genre.
While not earth-shattering, Black I's debut album For You is a solid effort that the average neo-soul fan can enjoy, in the vein of music by such notables as Omar, India.Arie and Raheem DeVaughn. Displaying the artistry of Eric Brown and Michael Griot, it is a disc that works well in its precision and the artists' technical prowess, even if sometimes at the expense of breaking new ground.

Soccoro "Loves Experience"

A modestly dressed singer or somebody wearing kinte sends a subtle message about the performer's artistry, lyricism or whatever - or at least that's what a lot or record executives think. But every singer wearing a head wrap ain't Erkayh Badu and every artist pictured with a guitar on the CD cover ain't Anthony David. Likewise, the presence of a drum machine doesn't mean a musician is making copy cat, bubble gum R&B. The Georgia born singer Soccorro makes the case that the tools of modern pop music making can be put to use to make good soul and R&B music on her album Love's Experience.
Love's Experience is not a perfect album. A couple of songs in the middle of the CD, "Friends" and "Stay Encouraged," don't measure up to the quality on the rest of the album. It's not that they are terrible songs, it's just that they interrupt the flow of the narrative Soccorro has going on the rest of the disc, which tells the story of the hopeful beginning, conflict in the middle and devastating ending of a relationship, as well as the protagonists efforts to pick up the pieces.
Love's Experience works best when Soccorro stays true to the narrative. The disc has a contemporary, radio friendly sound. A song like "Tell Me" has a mellow feel that could make it a fixture on adult radio stations and stations geared toward younger listeners. The standout track, however, is "Whatcha Gon' Be," in which Soccorro expresses frustration that the man with whom she is involved can't seem to decide where he wants the relationship to go. The lyrics give the song an old-school feel even as those programmed drums give "Whatcha Gon' Be" a beat that will go easy on young ears. "Watcha Gon' Be" also has the one element that any modern R&B song must have - a catchy hook. And "Are you my man/Are you my friend/Don't need another one of them/Can you tell me what the deal is/Cuz I ain't feelin' this," ranks right up there with Beyonce's "to the left."
Soccorro channels her inner Toni Braxton on the next two songs, "The Truth" and "Too Late." Another standout is the up-tempo song "Let's Go Dancing." This is the song where Soccorro goes clubbing with her girlfriends to forget her problems. That inevitably leads to "Get To Know You," a nice mid-tempo tune that would have been even better without the guest rap. Whenever an artist puts one of the rap interludes in a song, I usually mute the rap part to see if the song would be just as good without it.
Soccorro is clearly an artist who rejects the belief that using technology condemns music to sounding overproduced or mechanical. Soccorro isn't using technology to hide lyrics that are cliché or a substandard singing voice. Soccorro grew up with this technology, and she clearly has the skill and confidence to make all those bells and whistles work to her advantage.

Seven: Home

Take a jumbo stewing pot, mix in Tamar Davis and Conya Doss on lead vocals, James Poyser, Rahsaan Patterson, Keith Crouch and Carvin Haggins on the production end, and the talented musicianship of Sheila E. and John "Jubu" Smith to name only a few, while sealing the blend with the soulful sounds of Swiss singer Seven, and you have a musical feast, otherwise known as Home. This treat of an album should satisfy the taste buds of those eager for something drawing upon but being distinctive from what has already been left behind by other blue and brown-eyed soul predecessors of the lighter-skinned persuasion. With this all-star cast of modern soulsters behind him, Seven himself stands out on this project as not only the featured singer but also impressively as songwriter.

Home is the perfect musical introduction of Seven to international audiences. Most of the songs on Home rely on lyrics that speak about the realism in relationships, the good and bad times, trust, intimacy, infidelity, confidence and lack thereof. "Wake Up," while drawing you in with its infectiously funky beat, presents the challenge to step out of your dream and create your destiny -- otherwise things for you will always remain the same and never grow. Whoever dreamed of the pairing of Seven with Tamar Davis (Prince) on "Brother & Sister" should be commended. The song is not a typical ballad, but is certainly a beautiful duet that draws you straight to the heart of all about which this duo sings. The track "Yes" opens with a beat reminiscent of Stevie Wonder's "Masterblaster," so immediately you're hooked and eager to hear more. And "On & On" is a particularly strong cut, ending with a dose of reality as the voice of a young boy leaves a message of hope for Seven before running off - "Hey Seven, hope you get that on the radio!" - a reminder that good music often lacks mainstream airplay these days.
Featuring an array of solid tracks, ranging from the exceptionally upbeat to mellow grooves, along with the slow and sensual that call your ears to attention as you listen closely to the risqué lyrics, Home is worthy of your time.

Jill Scott - The Real Thing: Words And Sounds Vol. 3

There’s no denying that Jill Scott is one of the most significant artists to have emerged in the past decade but since her classic debut ‘Who Is Jill Scott?’ she has never quite captured the same sense of magic. That’s not to say her subsequent releases haven’t featured some great moments, they have and ‘The Real Thing’ is no different. ‘Let It Be’ and ‘Only You’ are strong cuts on a funky mid-tempo tip but my personal favourites here are the rich down-tempo arrangements of ‘Insomnia’ and ‘My Love’. Well worth investigating for these tracks alone.