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Posts tagged as “James Ingram”

MUSIC MONDAY: “Yacht Soul” – What It Is, Who Made It, and Why It’s Everything You Love About Yacht Rock But Cooler (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

As we sail away from summer into the (hopefully) cooler climes of autumn, a playlist filled with Yacht Soul might just be the perfect accompaniment to those post-Labor Day outdoor gatherings.

In case you’re thinking, “Sounds fun, but what exactly is ‘Yacht Soul’?,” it’s the supercool, sophisticated sibling of the “Yacht Rock” genre, a term coined fifteen years ago to describe 1970s and 1980s adult-oriented rock music infused with jazz and R&B recorded primarily in California by acts such as Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Toto, Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross.

“Yacht Soul” heightens the soul, R&B and jazz elements of the music while dropping a dollop of funk in the mix.

The following quotes from soultracks.com perhaps illuminate the distinctions best:

Donald Cleveland says that we have Yacht Soul question entirely backwards. “To be honest, Yacht Rock should have been called Yacht Soul from the start. Anybody with ears knows that. The only thing ‘rock’ about Yacht is the label that was on the albums as originally released, so they could be filed separately from the ‘Soul’ albums. It was just easier for the White people listening to this music with obvious soulful stylings to just keep the White ‘rock’ labeling going, even if the musicians themselves were influenced by and working from a framework of Black Soul.”

Mama’s Gun lead singer Andy Platts agrees. “Really if we’re honest, you don’t get ‘Yacht Rock’ without the evolution of Black music in the first place, from which it borrows heavily, so perhaps this just underscores the issues with appropriating and using terms like the ‘yacht’ label.”

Songs like “Just The Two of Us” by Grover Washington, Jr. and Bill Withers, “Forget Me Nots” by Patrice Rushen, “Give Me The Night” by George Benson, “Rio De Janiero Blue” by Randy Crawford and Joe Sample and “Golden Time of Day” by Maze are strong examples of the style.

MUSIC: “Valentine Love” – Playlist of the Best Classic Soul Duets Ever (LISTEN)

by Jeff Meier (FB: Jeff.Meier.90)

Happy Valentine’s Weekend, Good Black News readers! We are celebrating the holiday (and the long weekend) with a Spotify playlist of love ballads entitled:  “Valentine Love – The Best Classic Soul Duets Ever“:

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:2ArxoxecBAn0snatM8zB7M”]

In honor of the 14th of February, we’ve filled the playlist with 140 classic soul duets from the 1950s through the 1990s.

We worked hard to include all your favorites from masters of romance including Luther Vandross, Johnny Mathis, Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Dionne Warwick, Peabo Bryson, Teena Marie, Teddy Pendergrass, Mariah Carey, Babyface, James Ingram and the undeniable King of Duets, Mr. Marvin Gaye. We’ve included his partnerships with Kim Weston, Diana Ross, Mary Wells, and of course, Tammi Terrell.

We’ve also got songs from groups like Atlantic Starr, Shalamar, The Independents and Loose Ends that feature a male/female lead singer combo.

Hopefully, you’ll find a lot of your favorites, along with some others you haven’t heard in awhile – and some deep crate classics you may be hearing for the first time.

So if you have the opportunity to grab a glass of wine – and a loved one – hit play to set the mood for romantic weekend filled with music by R&B/soul greats.

Enjoy!

Debbie Allen Champions Arts Education for Youth, Kicks Off National Tour of "Brothers of the Knight"

DEBBIE_ALLEN_HEADSHOT_tOscar, Emmy and Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Debbie Allen premiered her new theatrical production Brothers of the Knight at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills last night, kicking off a five-city summer tour.  Turning out to support Allen and her passion for training today’s youth in the arts were actors Jenifer Lewis, Clifton Powell, “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo, Darrin Hewitt Henson, New Kids on the Block singer Joey McIntyre and WNBA All-Star Lisa Leslie, among others. (Click here to see GBN’s Instagram photos from the event.)
Grammy-winning musician James Ingram wrote the music to this modern adaptation of the classic Brothers Grimm tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, where twelve brothers steal away to a magical ballroom and dance every night away unbeknownst to their strict preacher father.
Allen, who produced the show with husband and former NBA All-Star Norm Nixon, went on a five-city tour to find the best young talent possible, then trained and worked closely with them to bring the production to life.
“I opened this audition to kids who are not just in dance schools,” Allen said, but “to people who simply love to dance.”
1391112260644Allen is passionate about arts education for youth and mounts productions like this every year to shed light on its importance as more and more public schools drop arts, music and theatre programs.
“It’s a battle right now. Arts education is disappearing without a trace from the public schools. If you don’t have arts as part of the core of your curriculum, you are not going to be well educated,” Allen recently told WGBH in Boston.
Allen has been fighting to keep dance and the arts available for youth for quite some time.  In 2001, Allen opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA), a non-profit organization which offers classes in various dance disciplines for youth and teens.
Brothers of the Knight runs until June 22 in Los Angeles, then moves to Boston from June 27-29, Philadelphia July 3-6, Washington DC July 10-13 and Charlotte July 17-20.  To order tickets, go to brothersoftheknight.com.  To sponsor or donate to this show, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)