Category: Music

RIP Nicholas Ashford

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

According to news reports, Nicholas Ashford of Ashford and Simpson passed away yesterday here in New York.

Ashford, who was born in South Carolina grew up in Michigan. He moved to New York City in the early 1960s and met his future wife, Valerie Simpson in Harlem’s White Rock Baptist Church. They began collaborating musically with Ashford writing most of the lyrics, Simpson composing. They also recorded together. But it’s their work as songwriters for performers such as Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson and others that made them legendary. They also received writing credit on Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry On Their Own.”

They also co-owned the Sugar Bar where live performances are a big part of the menu.

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Soulful Sundays – Ernest Ranglin

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

For most people, reggae is Jamaican music. But before there was reggae, there were other types of music, most notably ska. Guitarist Ernest (Ernie) Ranglin is one of the musicians credited with creating ska.

In addition to his involvement with ska, Ranglin created the soundtrack for the Bond film, Dr. No, which was

Jazz Guitarist, Ernest 'Ernie' Ranglin
Jazz Guitarist, Ernest 'Ernie' Ranglin

filmed in Jamaica. Born in Jamaica 79 years ago, Ranglin started playing at an early age after listening to his musician uncles play the ukelele and guitar and practicing with their instruments. His style is a fusion of jazz and reggae. Ranglin’s worked with several musicians and recorded more than thirty albums.

A few years ago, I saw Ranglin perform at Aaron Davis Hall in Harlem. For most of the show, I felt absolutely giddy with excitement, a huge smile plastered on my face. Take  s listen to one of my favorites, Below the Baseline.

 

Enjoy!

 

Soulful Sundays – Damian Marley

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

The youngest son of the reggae icon, Bob Marley, Damian Marley seemed to explode on to the music scene with

Damian Marley
Damian Marley, image from the Internet

his double Grammy Award Winning CD, Welcome to Jamrock, which was recorded in 2005. But these weren’t his only Grammy Wards. Marley, who’d been singing since he was thirteen, also won in 2002 for his second CD, Halfway Tree.

Damian Marley was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1978. His mother, Cindy Brakespeare, is a jazz singer and a former Miss Jamaica.

I was pleased to hear Marley showcasing the unmistakable ‘old school’ reggae vocabulary on several tracks on this CD. One of my favorites and the featured song for today’s Soulful Sundays is There For You. Most of reggae is protest music, and songs about poverty and social injustice. It’s always a pleasant surprise when an artist slips in one that isn’t. There For You reminds me of the turn his father took with a little love song, which interestingly, was penned for Damian’s mother.

Take a listen to There For You.

Soulful Sundays – Kem

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Last week, I mentioned a friend who had pointed out a certain phrase in one of India.Arie’s songs. A few

Kem from musicbykem.com
Kemistry

days later, I got a text that he was going to be visiting New York City. I mention this friend because he also introduced me to Kem. We have the same taste in music and when we get together the conversation usually veers towards books, movies, wine and food.

I hadn’t thought of Kem until my blog buddy, Tosh Fomby, featured him in a post last week. I’ve been listening to him again and again.

The first time I heard Kem, I though he sounded very much like Al Jarreau. My friend and I have been longtime Jarreau fans. I couldn’t believe when he said it wasn’t. The more I listened, though, the more I realized that it wasn’t Jarreau. Different phrasing, different sound all together but just as enjoyable. Kem can sing for me any day of the week.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Kem was raised in Detroit where he still lives. He’s a self-taught musician who began playing the piano at age 5. Unfortunately, Kem got into drugs and hit rock bottom several years after high school, but thankfully pulled himself together.

In 2002, he produced his first CD, Kem Kemistry, which sold 10,000 copies and got Universal Motown interested. His latest CD is Intimacy.

Take a listen to Kem’s Why Would You Stay. [youtube]X-H8xf-gtME[/youtube].

Bonus track, Love Calls [youtube]9Pl_Y5A-ieI[/youtube]

Good news: if you’re in the New York/New Jersey area, Kem will be performing at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark on August 12th.

Enjoy!

 

 

Soulful Sundays – India.Arie

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

My blog buddy, Elizabeth’s post yesterday at Mirth and Motivation had me straining to remember a song, a fragment of which floated tauntingly just outside my consciousness. Each time, I thought I had it, it floated further away from me.

India.Arie from connect.in.com
India.Arie

I stayed up quite late listening to Jill and Macy, getting more and more frustrated because it wasn’t either of them and worse, I was no closer to finding out than when I began. No point doing an Internet search since I couldn’t even remember the words.

Sometimes, when I can’t solve a problem or remember something, I put it to bed and by the next morning, I’d wake with the answer.

I chuckled when I realized how quietly the information had slipped into my memory. The song, Brown Skin, by neo-soul, R&B singer,India.Arie, had been my personal anthem. How could I have forgotten it? There was a time when I played it so much, I was sure I had damaged it. Then, as one of my best friends who’d met a new love raved ceaselessly about Acoustic Soul, the CD that brought her to our attention, I listened again and heard things I didn’t realize were there.

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Soulful Sundays: Maysa

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

My wonderful blog buddy, Tosh Fomby who blogs at Totsy Mae, introduced me to this singer, Maysa Leak. I’d never heard about her

Maysa Leak, photo courtesy of YouTube

before but right away, I felt like I ‘knew’ her. She reminds me of someone else, though I can’t remember who. It’ll come back to me when I’m not trying so hard.

Mayas was born in 1966 in Baltimore, Maryland. She’s been a lead singer for the British jazz/funk/R&B band, Incognito, and counts Chaka Khan as an inspiration.

Besides her work with Incognito, she has several solo albums to her credit.

Here’s her interpretation of All I Do.

Enjoy!

Soulful Sundays – Cassandra Wilson

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

I could listen to Cassandra Wilson all day and not get bored. Her voice soothes, cajoles and stirs something deep within. I’ve been a fan for years but I’ve only seen her once in concert.

Cassandra Wilson photo courtesy of allstarshots

A jazz singer, songwriter, producer and vocalist with an incredible range, Cassandra Wilson blends blues and country easily into her music. She has recorded more than 20 albums and soundtracks and has won several awards, including two Grammys. In 2001, Time Magazine named her “America’s Best Singer.”

Cassandra Wilson was born in Jackson, Mississippi on December 4, 1955.

Give a listen to Until, one of my favorites.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sources: Wikipedia and allstarshots.com.

Soulful Sundays: Nina Simone

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Even though I’ve never heard her perform, I have a great deal of respect for Nina Simone, a woman who lived her

Nina Simone - photo from the Internet

convictions and didn’t seem to give a hoot what anyone thought. I admired her strength, her courage, her activism. Mostly, though, I loved her music.

Mississippi Goddam, to me, is all Nina. I believe it sums her up as the civil rights activist she was. She was also a singer songwriter, pianist and arranger.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, she adopted the name Nina Simone in 1954 so that her mother, a strict Methodist minister, wouldn’t know she was singing “devil music.”

Simone recorded several albums. Her 1972 single, To be Young, Gifted and Black, became my personal anthem. She has influenced musicians from Mos Def to Cat Stevens. Her music has been covered by artists from Aretha Franklin to David Bowie and Janis Joplin.

Simone lived in Barbados, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Liberia before settling in France in 1992, remaining there until her death in 2003.

I never got to see her perform but her voice, her energy, are unmatched. The day of her memorial service, I started to get dressed to go but got sidetracked by something that now is insignificant and unmemorable.

A movie based on Simone’s life, starring Mary J. Blige, is scheduled to be released in 2012.

Here’s her version of Ne Me Quitte Pas (in English, If You Go Away.)

Nina gives a shout-out to Jacques Brel. Here’s his version.

Jacques Brel, Ne Me Quitte Pas

Enjoy!

 

Soulful Sundays: Adele

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

Every summer, a song captures my imagination and becomes my personal anthem. Adele’s Rolling in the Deep did it for me this year.

The song is catchy and soulful.

Singer songwriter Adele, was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins in England in 1988. Like several singers today, she was discovered after XL Records found her songs on MySpace. Since then, she’s won several awards including Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Take a listen to Rolling in the Deep.

[youtube]rYEDA3JcQqw[/youtube]

 

Songwriters: EPWORTH, PAUL / ADKINS, ADELE

Rolling in the Deep

There’s a fire starting in my heart,

Reaching a fever pitch and it’s bringing me out the dark.

Finally, I can see you crystal clear,

Go ahead and sell me out and I’ll lay your ship bare,

See how I’ll leave with every piece of you,

Don’t underestimate the things that I will do.

 

There’s a fire starting in my heart,

Reaching a fever pitch and it’s bring me out the dark.

 

The scars of your love remind me of us,

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all.

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless,

I can’t help feeling,

 

We could have had it all,

Rolling in the deep,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

You had my heart inside of your hand,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

And you played it to the beat.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

 

Baby, I have no story to be told,

But I’ve heard one on you and I’m gonna make your head burn,

Think of me in the depths of your despair,

Making a home down there as mine sure won’t be shared,

 

The scars of your love remind me of us,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

I can’t help feeling,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

 

We could have had it all,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

Rolling in the deep.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

You had my heart inside of your hand,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

And you played it to the beat.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

 

Could have had it all,

Rolling in the deep,

You had my heart inside of your hand,

But you played it with a beating.

Throw your soul through every open door,

Count your blessings to find what you look for.

Turn my sorrow into treasured gold,

You’ll pay me back in kind and reap just what you’ve sown.

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

We could have had it all,

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could have had it all.

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me),

It all, it all, it all.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could have had it all,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

Rolling in the deep.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep

You had my heart inside of your hand,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

And you played it to the beat.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

Could have had it all,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me)

Rolling in the deep.

(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

You had my heart inside of your hand,

(You’re gonna wish you never had met me

But you played it,

You played it,

You played it to the beat.

Rolling In The Deep lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group

Courtesy of www.lyricsmode.com

 

Soulful Sundays: Diana Krall

Posted on by Marcia Mayne

The first time I heard Canadian singer/songwriter Diana Krall, her voice made me think of someone from another generation not someone who was born in 1964. I loved her voice and phrasing — I was hooked. I bought her CDs as soon as they were released and played them over and over.

Diana Krall photo from the Internet

Ms. Krall has recorded about a dozen CDs. She’s had nine Grammy Award nominations and won three.

Take a listen to her performance of Wonderful, Marvelous and let me know what you think.

It\’s Wonderful

Enjoy!