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Together In Unity: DC Gospel Artists United
Thursday, November 1, 2012 2:51
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Various ArtistsTogether In Unity: DC Gospel Artists United
Sounds of Victory Ministries (2012)
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.
Next week, all eyes will be on Washington, DC, and the impending presidential election, but in September, all ears were fixed on the Nation’s Capitol as Phillip Carter and his Sounds of Victory Ministries issued a sounds-of set called Together In Unity: DC Gospel Artists United.
Project participants celebrated the release of the CD and companion DVD September 19 at a special program at Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland.
The two-disc set features eleven different artists contributing two selections each. Some of the artists are familiar and others less so, and some of the tracks are brand new and others are reissues from the past several years. A nice surprise was being introduced to the vocal elasticity and emotionality of Rob Mercer, whose solo on “Holy God” is superb.
Songs of praise, worship, and thanksgiving dominate the collection. Highlights are Stephen Key and Co.’s “Watching Over Me,” a reverent ballad of thanksgiving with a contrapuntal coda; Kendall King’s “Holy God,” featuring another DC-area artist, Earnest Pugh; “Over There,” Phillip Carter & SOV’s dynamic and heartwarming evocation of the reunion in the great beyond; and “Every Time I Think About,” a congregational sing along from Jimmy Russell and BOC led by the effervescent Dr. Betty Minus.
Allyn Johnson and Divine Order’s selections are among the set’s most distinctive. Johnson is an amazing modern jazz piano player whose ensemble weaves a tapestry of complex harmonies on “Give Thanks.” They also deliver the jazziest “Amazing Grace” you are ever likely to hear.
Together In Unity makes me wonder whether there is a distinctly Washington gospel sound. It is hard to tell, although the eleven artists clearly demonstrate some level of fealty to the classical-jazz innovations of Richard Smallwood, arguably DC’s best known gospel artist. The ensembles and choruses also share a loud, muscular vocal quality with dense, contemporary harmonies. Food for thought.
Phillip Carter deserves plenty of credit for choosing an appealing and musically rich combination of songs that showcase the best every artist has to offer.
Four of Five Stars
Picks: “Watching Over Me,” “Every Time I Think About.”
2012-11-01 02:40:38
Source: http://www.theblackgospelblog.com/2012/10/together-in-unity-dc-gospel-artists.html
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