Onyx World Class Events » Featured CD’s

Maysa Motions of Love

Stanley-Stain — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:55:34 +0000

Motions of Love is the latest 2011 album from the acclaimed R&B/Jazz vocalist Maysa. As featured vocalist of the UK supergroup Incognito, core member of Stevie Wonder’s Wonderlove and of course through her own albums and concerts, Maysa has been thrilling R&B and Jazz audiences for decades. Motions Of Love represents the pinnacle of Maysa brilliant recording career. Some of the many highlights include: Stevie Wonder, one of Maysa’s most dedicated fans, coming to the party as producer of exquisite ballad he and Maysa have written especially for this album Sweet Dreams and R&B heartthrob Dwele’s soulful guest vocal on the hit single “Flower Girl”. An exciting video of this song features Dwele as well.

……Lalah Hathaway…… Where It All Begins

Stanley-Stain — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 09:45:33 +0000

Her name is legendary.
Her music is timeless.
Her lyrics touch you at the core.
Her voice possesses rich warmth that soothes your ears and holds you close.
She is Lalah Hathaway.

Born to R&B/soul music royalty, most people know her simply as the daughter of late soul music legend, Donny Hathaway. But there is more to her than that. A trained pianist and vocalist, she is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and her career has spanned two decades.

Twenty-one years after the release of her first LP, her career continues to thrive. It was 1990 when Lalah made her music debut on Virgin Records with the self-titled album Lalah Hathaway, effortlessly fusing elements of R&B, jazz and pop. In 1994, Lalah released her much-anticipated second album, 1999 brought the release of the critically acclaimed duet album The Song Lives On with legendary jazz musician Joe Sample.

After her departure from Virgin Records, It would be 10 years before she would release another solo effort. However, Lalah kept-and continues to keep busy by recording and touring with several acts including George Benson, Take 6, Marcus Miller, Rahsaan Patterson, Mary J. Blige, The Winans, Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright, David Sanborn, Carl Thomas, Angie Stone, Robert Glasper, Donald Lawrence, Eric Roberson, Grover Washington, Esperanza Spalding, and just recently, Prince.

In 2004, the long awaited album Outrun The Sky was released, yielding the #1 single “Forever, For Always, For Love,” a remake of the classic Luther Vandross tune. Outrun The Sky’s success put Lalah in the spotlight again and established Lalah as one of the premier vocalists of her time. In 2008, Lalah released her fourth solo album Self Portrait on the renowned Stax label, which debuted in the Top 10 on Billboard’s R&B charts, and to date is her most successful album. Opening with lead single “Let Go,” the 12-track set is best described as a journey from heartache and pain to awakening and renewal. Self Portrait garnered Lalah her first Grammy® Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance with mid-tempo slow jam “That Was Then.”

2011 marks the release of her fifth studio album, Where It All Begins, (Stax/Concord) in which she effortlessly delivers her trademark sound that greets you with the familiar warmth that you’ve always known. In the spirit of Self Portrait, Lalah instinctively serves a spine chilling lyrical serum of truth. Included in the set is a remake of fan favorite, “I’m Coming Back.” The new version is a richly intense, percussion heavy, mellow arrangement in which Lalah displays her full vocal range and tops it off with the addition of legendary jazz/R&B vocalist Rachelle Ferrell. Where It All Begins also features Grammy® Award-winning and nominated producers JR Hutson, (Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild) and Dre & Vidal (Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys). Lalah understands who she is as an artist and continues to remain consistently true to her vision in song and lyric. Like aged, fine wine, her voice continues to get better with time.

Throughout her career, Lalah has captivated audiences by channeling the essence of her father’s spirit in her music, while adding her signature flare. Her ability to touch a listener’s soul in one phrase is an extraordinary gift that is synonymous with the Hathaway brand. No one can vocally expresses the hurt, pain and anguish you feel today yet give you hope for a better tomorrow like Ms. Lalah Hathaway. Thankfully, the Hathaway sound continues to live on through her creative expression. Lalah looks to the future of music by embracing the zeitgeist of her present. “My hope is to continue to make timeless art for people…in a way I feel like my dad came here in part so that I could get here-and I am here so that he can stay here. I was born for this.”

Find out more about Lalah Hathaway

Frank Ocean “Dying for Your Love”

Onyx — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:06:57 +0000

Another drop in the Frank Ocean who this time is teamed up with James Fauntleroy–the dude who he was offended about being compared. Though still squarely in the R and Bibbity wheelhouse, “Dying for Your Love” is more of a club song than some of the recent leaks we’ve heard, with big chords and little Ron Browz-y percussion sounds, the main difference being that, if you play this jam there will definitely be some wifing in the club. Give me twenty dollars. (Still waiting for word on official releases from Ocean, including the Swim Good video and the much-delayed Nostalgia LITE).

Terri Lyne Carrington “Mosaic Project”

Onyx — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 07:28:36 +0000

For more than two decades, drummer, producer and vocalist Terri Lyne Carrington has crafted an eclectic brand of jazz that incorporates elements of bebop, soul, funk and much more. Since her debut in 1989, the GRAMMY®-nominated artist has established a reputation for assembling artists of varying styles and perspectives to create music that adheres to the traditions of jazz yet speaks to a much broader and more diverse audience. Carrington brings this same diverse sensibility to her new recording The Mosaic Project, an album that once again gathers a myriad of voices and crystallizes them into a multi-faceted whole that far outweighs the sum of its parts.

“Everything about this recording is about making a larger picture out of many various elements,” says Carrington, who produced the 14-song set. “I assembled several friends – most of whom I’ve performed with in the past, and all of whom bring their own individual story – to help me create the big picture. For as talented as each of them are as individuals, when I put them all together, I have a much greater musical story – one that can be told in an interesting and compelling way.”

Included on that list of friends are some of the most prominent female jazz artists of the last few decades: Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sheila E., Nona Hendryx, Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen and several others. Carrington says the emergence of so many great female jazz artists is what finally makes an album like The Mosaic Project possible, more so now than in decades past.

“If I had tried to do something like this in the past – like when I started playing 25 years ago – I might have felt limited by the pool of available musicians,” she says. “But now there are so many talented women whom I’ve been playing with anyway – not just because they’re women but because I love the way they play. So it has become easier to do a special project that celebrates the artistry and the musicality of these women.”

Clearly, Carrington’s picture is never quite what it seems. With so many individual voices and perspectives in the mix, the results are often eye-opening and ear-opening. “There’s one part of me that’s kind of a jazz head who likes complex, thought provoking melodies and harmonies,” she says. “And then there’s another part of me that really likes funk and pop and things that are accessible. This record is another chance for me to assemble all of these great musicians to help me combine those different aspects of myself – those different pieces – and create something special in the process.

Brian McKnight – ‘Just Me’

Onyx — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:53:42 +0000

Brian McKnight has a new album, “Just Me” (eOne) — one of his best, and a showcase for his pristine coos, right down to the vibrant lounge arrangement of George Michael’s “Careless Whisper.” So grab a copy, then skip it altogether and go straight to the bonus disc, a long and luxurious live album that forces a reconsideration of this slickster. It turns out he’s capable of tumbling and spinning in fantastic ways. During the first half of the album he charts his development from classical to jazz and gospel and R&B. He does a more convincing Stevie Wonder than a Nat King Cole, surprisingly, but makes a case to be part of their shared lineage, and why not? Mr. McKnight has a huge, powerful voice that he normally directs with laser focus, to the point of tackiness. But when he revisits his own catalog here, he’s riveting and surprising: leaning dangerously into phrases on “Only One for Me,” ostentatiously holding a big note on “One Last Cry,” playing determined piano on “Never Felt This Way.” On his studio albums Mr. McKnight often sounds as if he’s treading gingerly, pulling away from his songs lest he overpower them. Here, though, he’s punching hard, and it’s thrilling

Goapele “Play”

Onyx — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 06:46:44 +0000

After a six-year hiatus on a journey through motherhood and life outside of music, Goapele has returned with the sensual single, “Play”. The song features production from Oakland based duo, Teddy Thunderbolt & Dan Electric, and was written by Goapele herself. Currently available through Skyblaze Recordings/Decon via iTunes and Amazon, the single incorporates elements of funky, down-tempo electronic vibes layered with Goapele’s smooth and seductive vocals. The video, which was directed by John Mazyck and Dahveed of Detail Shoppe, was shot in a graphic black and white. It showcases Goapele in a glamorous, high fashion themed setting that gives both an evocative and sensual visual to the pillow talk vibe of the song.

“Play” is just a taste of the musical feast Goapele will be offering this fall when her new album, Break of Dawn, to be released October 24th. Collaborating with an array of creative folks including Kerry “Krucial” Brothers, Bobby Ozuna, Malay, Dan Electric and Bedrock, fans will bare witness to a more free-spirited Goapele. “One of my goals for [Break of Dawn] was to be more uninhabited,” Goapele says. “I came into this business as a young woman who wanted to lay a foundation of musical integrity and now I’m more willing to share my sensuality as well. I realize that it’s possible to be both complex and provocative.”

Beyoncé "4"

Onyx — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:40:27 +0000

Beyoncé‘s new album will be titled 4, the singer has revealed, and is influenced by Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

In an interview with Billboard, she revealed the initial inspiration for the album came from the Nigerian music legend: “I recorded more than 60 songs: everything I ever wanted to try, I just did it. I started off being inspired by Fela Kuti. I actually worked with the band from Fela! (the Broadway musical based on his life) for a couple of days … what I learned most from Fela was artistic freedom: he just felt spirit.”

Beyoncé’s husband, Jay-Z, was a co-producer of the Fela Kuti musical.

The singer has already debuted the first single from 4, Run the World (Girls), and is expected to premiere the video soon.

Discussing the album title, the R&B star said the inspiration came from her fans using the number as shorthand. “Everywhere I look, I see them calling it 4. I had a whole other name and concept, but I keep seeing that the fans love the name 4. I think it would be a really nice thing to let them name the record.”

The number also has a personal significance for Beyoncé. “We all have special numbers in our lives, and 4 is that for me. It’s the day I was born. My mother’s birthday, and a lot of my friends’ birthdays are on the fourth – 4 April is my wedding date.”

Beyoncé Knowles … ‘I thought I’d let my fans name the record’.

Release date is confirmed for June 28th

Jill Scott….. So In Love

Onyx — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:51:43 +0000

Jill Scott sets the mood with the official lead single from her new album. “So In Love” featuring Anthony Hamilton is a mid-tempo groove that Adult R&B/Urban radio should eat up. Jill Scott’s fourth studio, Light of the Sun, hits stores this summer via Warner Bros. Records in the second half of the year. It includes Jill’s cover of Bill Withers’ classic “Lovely Day” and a hip-hop influenced song she recorded with the rapper Eve called “Shame” also recently made it’s way to the Internet. But the best song to emerge so far is easily “So In Love,” a fun, romantic duet between Jill and southern Soul singer Anthony Hamilton.

Jill Scott grew up in north Philadelphia and attended Temple University while working two jobs. However, she had to drop out after her junior year when she ran out of money. Jill began her performing career reading her own poetry and attracted a big following in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey/New York area. She was eventually heard by Amir “Questlove” Thompson, drummer for the Philadelphia hip-hop band The Roots, who invited Jill to join the band in the studio. This resulted in the song “You Got Me,” which became a Top 40 pop hit for The Roots in 1999.

Jill later collaborated with Eric Benet, Will “Fresh Prince” Smith and the rapper Common, among others, and broadened her performing experience by touring Canada in a production of the Broadway musical Rent. She eventually signed with the Hidden Beach Recordings label, and in July 2000 released her debut album, Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1. The album went on to sell over two million copies and was nominated for the 2001 Grammy for best R&B album. In the summer of 2001, she released a live album – Experience: Jill Scott 826+ – which has sold over half a million copies to date.

In 2004, Jill’s third album, Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds Vol. 2 was released, where it peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s albums chart. It has also sold about half a million copies to date. A book of her poetry, The Moments, The Minutes, The Hours was released in April 2005. Also in 2005, she won her first Grammy – Best Urban/Alternative Performance – for the song “Cross My Mind.” In 2007 she released two albums: the retrospective duet collection Jill Scott: Collaborations and an album of all-new material called The Real Thing, which focused on, among other things, her recent divorce.

Sade… Ultimate Collection

Onyx — Fri, 13 May 2011 16:08:31 +0000

Sade is back with The Ultimate Collection. The must-have, 29-track, two-disc album contains 29 tracks in this two-disc album that includes four new, never-before-heard songs including a remix of “The Moon And The Sky” (featuring Jay-Z). The Ultimate Collection also features 15 tracks that were not included on Sade’s 1994 “Best Of” album. Here for the first time, fans can find all of their favorite Sade classics including songs “Lovers Rock” and “Soldier Of Love.” Sade makes her highly anticipated return to the world stage on June 16, after 10 years.

Helen Folasade Adu aka as Sade, was born in Ibadan, Nigeria. Her father was Nigerian, a university teacher of economics; her mother Anne was an English nurse. She listened to American soul music, particularly the wave led in the 1970′s by artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Bill Withers. Music was not her first choice as a career. She studied fashion at St Martin’s School Of Art and began singing with Pride.

For three years, from 1981, she and the other seven members of the band toured the UK. Pride’s shows featured a segment in which Sade fronted a quartet that played quieter, jazzier numbers. One of these, a song called Smooth Operator, which Sade had co-written herself, attracted the attention of record company talent scouts. Soon, everybody wanted to sign her, but not the rest of Pride. Obstinately loyal to her friends in the group, Sade refused to depart. 18 months later she relented and signed to Epic records – on condition that she took with her the three band mates who still comprise the entity known as Sade: saxophonist Stuart Matthewman, keyboard player Andrew Hale, and bassist Paul Denman.

Sade’s first single, Your Love Is King, became a top 10 British hit in February 1984, and with that her life, and that of the band, changed forever. The unstressed, understated elegance of the music in conjunction with her look – unspecifically exotic and effortlessly sophisticated – launched Sade as the female face of the style decade. Magazines queued to put her on the cover. “It wasn’t marketing,” she says, wearily. “It was just me. And I wasn’t trying to promote an image.”

At the time of her first album, Diamond Life, her actual life was anything but diamond-like. Sade was living in a converted fire station in Finsbury Park with her then boyfriend, the style journalist Robert Elms. There was no heating, which meant that she had to get dressed in bed. The loo, which used to ice over in winter, was on the fire escape. The bath was in the kitchen. “We were freezing, basically.” For the remainder of the 1980′s, as the first three albums sold by the million around the world, Sade toured more or less constantly.

For most of the past 20 years, Sade has prioritised her personal life over her professional career, releasing only three studio albums of new material during that period. Her marriage to the Spanish film director Carlos Scola Pliego in 1989; the birth of her daughter in 1996 and her early 21st century move from North London to rural Gloucestershire, where she now lives with a new partner, have consumed much of her time and attention. And quite rightly so. “You can only grow as an artist as long as you allow yourself the time to grow as a person,” Sade says. “We’re all parents, our lives have all moved on.

In 2010, Soldier of Love was only the sixth studio album the band Sade have released during their 25 year career, and the first since Lovers Rock in 2000. For Sade herself, as the lynchpin of the group’s songwriting effort, it’s a simple matter of integrity and authenticity. “I only make records when I feel I have something to say. I’m not interested in releasing music just for the sake of selling something. Sade is not a brand.”

Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’

Onyx — Fri, 06 May 2011 05:37:18 +0000

One of R&B/Soul’s greatest current artists, Raphael Saadiq, will release his latest solo album, Stone Rollin’, on May 10 via Columbia Records. But for the week leading up to it’s release, NPR Music has an exclusive stream of the full album. With the stream, you can listen to the songs individually or as a whole for free and as many times as you wish up until the full album arrives in stores.

Saadiq grew began playing musical instruments and performing before he was 10 years old. He, his cousin and brother founded the R&B trio Tony! Toni! Toné!, a highly successful and very popular R&B band from the late 1980s and early 1990s, beginning with their debut album, Who?, which was released in 1988. Who?, which sold over half a million copies in the U.S. was followed by three more albums, 1990′s The Revival, 1993′s Sons of Soul and 1996′s House of Music, all of which sold at least a million copies in the U.S. alone. (Sons of Soul sold two million). Among the band’s hit songs were “Little Walter” (their 1988 debut single), “Feels Good,” (released in 1990) “If I Had No Loot,” (1991) and “Anniversary” (1993) and “Let’s Get Down” (1997).

In 1996, Raphael Wiggins changed his name to Raphael Saadiq and later left Tony! Toni! Toné! to go solo. However, his next big project was a supergroup called Lucy Pearl, featuring himself, ex-En Vogue singer Dawn Robinson and A Tribe Called Quest member/DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad. The group released one self-titled album in 2000, but the trio eventually split up after Robinson left the group (she was briefly replaced by the singer Joi before the group called it quits for good). In June 2002, Raphael finally released his debut solo album, Instant Vintage, led by the single “Be Here,” featuring soul crooner D’Angelo.

Instant Vintage was a critical, but not commercial success and Saadiq eventually began working more as a studio musician and producing other artists, including D’Angelo, Joss Stone, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers and Macy Gray. He eventually released two more solo albums, a live set called All Hits at the House of Blues and a studio album titled Ray Ray. His fourth solo album (third studio album), The Way I See It, is due out in September 2008. Saadiq has said the album is a tribute to Motown-style R&B of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.