Tag: Traditional

"Open Your Mouth and Say Something" – Brent Jones

“Open Your Mouth and Say Something” 
Brent Jones (2018)
JDI Records

Brent Jones Open Your Mouth and Say Something artBy Janie Sheeley-Torain
GMF Special Contributor

All right now!  Get ready to tap those toes, clap those hands, get your body in motion, and definitely “Open Your Mouth and Say Something.”  

Grammy and Stellar Award winner Brent Jones should’ve added an advisory label to this uptempo traditional choir jam because if you are driving, you will positively need to pull over to get out of the car and take a praise break–like back in the day when you heard “your song” on the cassette and stopped the car and–

Oh yeah, I did go there. 

Driven by the vocal hype of Waco Community Choir and a brass-punctuated music line, “Open Your Mouth and Say Something” will not only make you do just that, but it may very well become “your song” of the day.  So turn up the volume, get your shout on, and holler, “Hallelujah!”

______________________

Janie Sheeley-Torain, Ed.D, is a gospel music enthusiast, author, National Board Certified Teacher, and lifelong educator. She is an advocate of invigorating gospel music that inspires, elevates, and encourages the listener. She has published and is currently working on manuscripts that embolden the musicians of gospel music.

“Lord, You’ve Been Good to Me” – Tim Woodson & The Heirs of Harmony

“Lord, You’ve Been Good to Me”
Tim Woodson and the Heirs of Harmony (2017)
Peacock Music Group 
https://www.facebook.com/timandtheheirs/

Tim Woodson and the Heirs of Harmony cover artBy Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Tim Woodson and the Heirs of Harmony pay homage to a pioneering gospel quartet-styled group with the current single, “Lord, “You’ve Been Good to Me.”  The number was popularized over 50 years ago by the legendary Five Blind Boys of Mississippi.

Sticking to the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Woodson pounds this toe-tapper with the same vocal intensity as Henry Johnson, who is heard on the Blind Boys’ version as this Heirs’ remake begins. 

Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Woodson and the Heirs have been spreading the good news since 1992.

“I Am Confident” – Dr. Charles Diggins ft. Queen with High Praise & Worship

“I Am Confident”
Dr. Charles Diggins ft. Queen with High Praise & Worship
From the CD, The Secret Place “Live” (2018)

Charles Diggns cover artBy Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Despite what many of today’s gospel and inspirational playlists might imply, traditional choir music is alive, thriving, and kept at the forefront by artists such as Dr. Charles Diggins ft. Queen With High Praise & Worship.

The aggregation’s current single, “I Am Confident,” is from the full-length CD, The Secret Place “Live”, and is centered squarely on Philippians 1:6.  High Praise & Worship fervently punctuates the biblical assertion in a staccato manner as the song moves along unhurriedly.  Diggins’ verve and phrasing on the Roland Perry composition are occasionally reminiscent of gospel great Douglas Miller–certainly not a critique but rather a nod to the popular era of choirs fronted by robust voices like Miller, Cleveland, Brunson, Biggham, and Kee.  Diggins is solid at the helm of the High Praise & Worship Chorale.  Additionally, the minister of music and Alabama native has presented his own compositions and arrangements all over the country to include GMWA, NCGCC, and the National Baptist Convention.

The full-length CD features Diggins’ wife and music partner, Queen.

“I Can’t Afford” – Lowell Pye

“I Can’t Afford”
Lowell Pye
From the CD, The Master’s Will Project (2015)
www.masterswillmusic.com

Lowell Pye_The Master's Will Project cover artBy Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Lowell Pye appears on The Master’s Will Project with “I Can’t Afford,” a brisk traditional hand-clapper that hearkens to his New Life Community Choir days with John P. Kee.

A standout feature of “I Can’t Afford” is the way in which Lowell skillfully allows ample breathing room within its verses sans a grunt, moan, or riff in every cranny.  The Stellar Award-winning singer seems to focus squarely on delivering the song’s straightforward message: God’s love and goodness continually exceed Lowell’s faults and frailties.  In return, he “can’t afford to let [his] Savior down.”

The Master’s Will Project, executive produced by husband-wife team Dale and Carla Conaway, is the debut release from Master’s Will Music.  Both the full-length CD and “I Can’t Afford” were nominated for Radio Alliance Awards in 2017 for CD of the Year and Traditional Song of the Year, respectively.

"The Train" – The Torain Family Singers

“The Train”
Torain Family Singers (October 2017)
www.facebook.com/groups/torainfamily

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

cover art

The Torain Family Singers of Roxboro, NC salute their group’s former lead singer with the spirited single, “The Train,” produced by Demetrius Ledbetter.  As its title suggests, the song incorporates gospel music’s often referenced train metaphor into its rollicking invite for the Heaven-bound ride.

Frances Torain, whose rustic, churchy singing style and non-showy stage presence frequently left congregations craving more, long after she and her group took their seats, boarded the train herself in 2016 (see related story).  

This October, the Torain Family Singers released “The Train,” one of Frances’ most recognizable and requested songs with the group.  Thanks to the magic of digital audio recording and a three year-old amateur live performance archive, Frances rejoins her family on this single for the number’s opening call, “Come on, come on, come on,” to which the family responds, “Don’tcha wanna go?”  From that point, Victor Torain moves the song forward with the family in tow, enthusiastically affirming, “Yes, I want to go!”  The family ultimately charges into the bass guitar-driven vamp with a recurring interjection of “ooh-hoo,” but not before eight year-old Makiyh Allen makes his own affirmative assertion (“Oh yeah!”), echoed by his elders. 

To ride, Victor sings, “You’ve got to be holy / you’ve got to live right / no matter what the people say / you’ve got to live right…”

"Prayer Changes Things" – Adriann Lewis-Freeman

“Prayer Changes Things”
Adriann Lewis-Freeman (2017)
Daf Entertainment Group
Available at iTunes
 

Prayer Changes Things Adriann Lewis-Freeman art workBy Libra Boyd

Gospel Music Fever
 
If you don’t have a tambourine, you’re going to want one for Adriann Lewis Freeman’s current single, “Prayer Changes Things.”
 
Known by many as the lead singer for RiZen, Lewis-Freeman has returned from a recording hiatus—which included earning a pair of degrees, getting married, and teaching middle school—to deliver this enthusiastic proclamation.  The singer and pastor’s wife sings “Prayer Changes Things” like she knows it, because she does.  (Among other challenges, Lewis-Freeman has endured a cancer diagnosis.)  Throughout the foot-stomping number, Lewis-Freeman vocally teeters between song and sermon.  In the drive, she summons a trio of the Bible’s notable witnesses—Daniel, Paul, and Silas—to affirm the power of prayer.  “Prayer Changes Things” is produced by Ay’Ron Lewis.

"We Praise You" – Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir

“We Praise You”
Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir
From the CD, God Be Glorified (2016)
 
Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir cover artBy Libra Boyd
 

“We Praise You” is the lively single from the Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir’s project, God Be Glorified.

It doesn’t take long to hear the choir handing out a lot of what we’ve been missing as a result of choir music’s diminishing radio presence: robust, bold, dynamic section harmonies; crisp hand-clapping; prominent organ and piano riffs; and the overall “Sunday morning” vibe.

Minister Wayne E. Carter, Sr. leads the Northern Delaware GMWA chapter and choir and is the project’s executive producer. 

"It is Well" – Joe Pace Presents: Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir

Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir cover art

“It is Well”
Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir
From the CD, Joe Pace Presents: Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir (September 23, 2016)
Shiloh Worship/360MusicWorX
www.Shiloh.church/music

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

The sacred hymn “It is Well (With My Soul)” is two years older than the 141 year-old Shiloh Baptist Church, shepherded by Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr.  Nevertheless, Joe Pace’s arrangement of the hymn staple, as featured on the project, Joe Pace Presents: Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir, melds the tune’s enduring lyrics with modern musical and vocal stylings to refresh the morning worship standard for a new generation.  

The Shiloh Church Choir’s contemporized version of “It is Well” is characterized by an uptempo rhythmic bounce and a vamp in which they emphatically affirm, “It is well with my soul / It is well with my soul, it is well!“

Pace is a Grammy, Dove, and Stellar-nominated songwriter, producer, and choir director.  The music industry veteran presently serves as Shiloh’s pastor of worship and arts.

“Come On Everybody” – Greater New Hope Mass Choir

Greater New Hope Mass Choir cover art

“Come On Everybody”
Greater New Hope Mass Choir (2016)
Touch One Musiq
Available at CD Baby

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Greater New Hope Mass Choir in Oxford, NC is having some foot-stomping church, and they don’t intend to do it alone.  They issue an exuberant invitation to “praise the Lord…for He is good, He is good, He is good” with their current single, “Come On Everybody,” recorded live during a spiritual service.

“Come On Everybody” has all the hand clapping, horn stabbing, organ riffing, and tambourine shaking you’d expect in a traditional church choir song.  Punctuated by pulsating bass and the lead vocal of the song’s writer and producer Brian Foster—who is Greater New Hope Baptist Church’s minister of music and co-founder of the North Carolina Community Choir (Malaco)—”Come on Everybody” has Sunday Morning written all over it.

"God's Grace" – Rev. Luther Barnes and the Restoration Worship Center Choir

Luther Barnes The Favor of God cover art

“God’s Grace”
Rev. Luther Barnes and the Restoration Worship Center Choir
From the CD, The Favor of God (2016)
www.shanachie.com

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever 

“God’s Grace” is the current single from Rev. Luther Barnes’ full-length release, The Favor of God, his first choir project in ten years.

“God’s Grace” adheres to Barnes’ characteristically uncomplicated vocal approach and traditional genesis, sauntering from his mild opening verses to the choir’s passionate refrain.

The singer/songwriter/producer/pastor is backed by the Restoration Worship Center Choir, which sounds like a compact version of the Redd Budd Gospel Choir that he recorded with for years. Barnes is the senior pastor of Restoration Worship Center.