Omar:Soul Singer

In the beginning of Omar’s professional recording career he was a hot new London underground soul singer with a song on his father’s Kongo label, “Mr.Postman/You And Me.” A decade plus and six albums to date Omar is still a hot new underground singer to most of the world. His rich layered soul is shared among his fans like a vintage for hipsters. “There’s Nothing Like This” was a hit in his homeland and established him as the Father of Nu British Soul. Breezy falsetto weaved into curtains of copacectic funk samples, carefree courtship, strings, organs and gentle romance give all of his songs the feeling of a spring day. Somewhere within the buffered masculinities of Luther, Ron Isley and Stevie a preference for writing songs softly approaching romance gives Omar’s music love optimism. His self-contained sound has attracted soul notables on both sides of the Atlantic. Common’s musically daring Electric Circus secured a guest appearance from the singer who also collaborated with eminent soulsters David Frank, Lamont Dozier and Leon Ware.

Sy Smith: Ambient Soul

Sy Smith’s ambient soul owes itself to the singer’s background of chorale study, avid listening of modern music and gigs supporting the likes of Whitney Houston, Brandy, Usher, Macy Gray, Eric Benet, Ginuwine and Meshell Ndegeocello. East Coast roots in New York and Washington D.C. exposed Ms. Smith to everything from go-go to rock in her family’s home and the melange of acts playing in the city. The Syberspace Social is the first album of her unfettered trippy funk to make it to print.

Natalie Cole Interview By Kelley Carter

On November 5th it will be the 50th anniversary of Nat King Cole’s television program that ended December 15th 1957 because no advertisers would pay for a show hosted by a Black man. Salt aside, Mr. Cole racked up a lot of pop hits without his innovative drummerless jazz trio. Bo Diddley even counts Cole as a major rock influence. Natalie Cole’s status as a performer is not overshadowed by her dad’s accomplishments as the many years worth of pop, soul and jazz recordings have shown. She has a new one now called “Leavin.” Kelley Carter of the Detroit Free Press had a candid talk with the singer that most people assume is a one-dimensional smooth jazz star. Cole makes clear her intentions to explore music first and a market secondary.
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Raheem Devaughn: Soul Singing Hippie Rock Star

Male soul singers in a post-Luther world have the added weight of his silver-like voice being elevated to ancestor status instead of the former one as living legend. His example of soul set the standard for all male singers after him and fans are careful to give anyone the same level of love given to Mr. Vandross. Raheem Devaughn is one male singer who observed Vandross’s subtle touch and tenderness beside hip-hop and classic soul from the ’60’s and ’70s. These artistic approaches which include a liking for rock has categorized singers like Devaughn as being “neo-soul.” Stevie Wonder’s individual soul ethic may be at the heart of Devaughn’s exploration but it’s Luther’s strong but delicate intonation steering Devaughn’s style and others like him in contrast to the Omarions and John Legends of the R and B spectrum.

Leela James: Singing Soul Food

Leela James’ small stature and slight speaking voice shocks first-time listeners because her singing voice soulfully bellows then registers a temperate huskiness with a power that seems too big for her frame. These traits resemble bits of ’70s/’80s jazz and R and B singers Randy Crawford and Angela Bofill. Crawford’s fire and Bofill’s earthiness surface in the music on James’s first album A Change Is Gonna Come. The album’s title refers to the mantra and album she needed to complete after years of stair-stepping in her hometown of Los Angeles. A former wannabe track star with R and B genes running in the family, she took her talent for granted and only became a full-time chanteuse when an injury ended her athletics. Years before she procured her deal with Warner Brothers she sang in talent shows around her hometown. After her gigs people would tell her that she had something a little more than average and that she might want to really consider taking it serious.Their words encouraged her especially during the times when she was a dreaded temporary employee.The petite brown woman with big bushy hair that can Afro-challenge Diana Ross’s and Tina Turner’s grand manes, has convinced a large and growing audience that soul music can be made again without thousands of guest rapper appearances, half-naked costumes and a big name producer to validate the source. Although the names of Kanye West and Raphael Saadiq appear on the album, you know you are hearing all Leela because you do not immediately hear their contributions. One cooperative effort with Wyclef Jean for the testy “Ghetto” transplants the carnival feeling to the urban mecca where a meddling ex girlfriend seeks reattachment to James’ boyfriend. The album may be a communal effort but the sum is all Leela. Judging the reactions to her debut CD and touring, consistency is all she needs to keep the favorable change of taste her music gives.

Incognito: JazzFunk Fun

“People that make music feel transparent…”

Twenty-seven years ago Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick and friend Paul “Tubb” Williams changed their Light Of The World band into Incognito, a jazz funk group known as eminent players of London’s acid jazz scene. The music paid respect to the festive and funk elements of such masters as Earth, Wind, and Fire, Rufus and Herbie Hancock. Plush horns and rollicking rhythm arrangements could change into subtle grooves within the same song. After Maysa Leak’s sensuous delivery of “Still A Friend Of Mine” and “Deep Waters” the band attracted the reputation of being one of the best sources of the chill out. The Baltimore, Maryland singer’s deep unruffled tone and chemistry within the group draws comparisons to the classy melancholia of Sade. As much as the band articulates the awesomeness of cool pretention is never in the mix. It is the sum of cool, funk and soul that distinguishes them from as Bluey says “the smooth jazz crowd” as much as programmers want to throw them into that box. Dance music lovers constantly remix the Incognito catalog for deep house pleasure, a populist contrast to the wine-sipping crowd that is supposed to listen to their music.

Talking With Hill St. Soul

Hilary Mwelwa’s telephone voice is smart Black cockney capable of transcending clipped pronunciations of words like “threw” instead of “throw,” to access the church-ribbed ad-libs of American soul. The UK nestled but Zambian born singer has three albums this year with Soulidified. She and partner Victor Redwood Sawyer have worked as partners under the nom de plume of Hill St. Soul since the late ’90s. Their 2000 debut Soul Organic introduced them as authors of a style fused from urban London and classic soul. The follow-up, 2004’s Copasetik And Cool stayed the course of UK Black rhythms and a diasporic connection to stellar R and B. Spunky original songs rooted in styles of jazz, reggae, soul and hip-hop took space alongside congenial cover songs by the Isleys and Aretha. Soulidified shapes itself as a confident stride of polished melody, street beats and high-spirited vocals. BET and smooth jazz radio gave the first single “Goodbye” a nominal amount of rotation causing a newer group of people to ask Who is Hill St. Soul? Crate-digging soul devotees already know about the duo’s fire and splendor but when will everyone else find out?

What is Soulidified about?

It’s just basically a continuation of where Copastekik left off just in terms of the kind of songwriting but I think it’s a bit more intimate more personal. The songs don’t actually fit what’s going on in my life right now I wrote those songs a couple of years back at that time that was what I was going through but obviously I’ve moved on with that now. A lot of the songs are based on what I was going through at the time how I felt.