If you’re in the Atlanta area, or can get there, get there for this!

William Murphy will record a new live album on Wednesday, December 14th at 7pm at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church (Lithonia, GA). Aaron Lindsey is on tap to produce it, so you know it’s gonna be excellent.

Murphy, recently signed to Verity Gospel Music Group, will release the album in 2012.

Mia Paylor weighs-in on SMILE, the debut release from Tasha Cobbs…

Now, let’s call out the elephant in the room as it relates to independent releases. Regardless of how anointed, gifted, and sincere the artist might be, most independent projects will:

• lack the polish and clarity you hear on CDs backed by major label money and veteran producers
• have a few songs that are full of potential…falling just short of being stellar
• sound like a really good recording of a really great church service in some spots (if it’s a live recording)

But, in the case of Smile, the debut release of new artist Tasha Cobbs’, I say, “So what?! Buy it anyway!”

Here’s why…

I stumbled upon the single, “Happy,” on a day when I wasn’t feeling so happy. This simple, upbeat song with its base-heavy, churchy drive and awesome message (You make me happy/ You make me whole/You take my pain away/I’m so in love with You) turned my focus from my unhappy feelings to my capable and sufficient God! I made a mental note of Tasha’s name and pulled up Amazon.com to listen to the song clips from Smile, which was released by Tasha Cobbs Music Group on July 7th.

And, thanks to TashaCobbs.org, I also discovered that Tasha Cobbs is the Worship Pastor at dReam Center church of Atlanta, where William Murphy III and his wife, Danielle, are the Pastors. She has also performed background and lead vocalist duties for Pastor Murphy and other artists. Pastor Murphy even mentored Tasha…helping to cultivate her gifts.

After considering what I read, the impressive song clips, and the conviction by which she delivered “Happy”, I felt confident that her CD would bless me. And I was soo right!

Smile is a strong start to a long and prosperous future in music ministry. Tasha, an alto, works her range and builds each song with precision. Delivering every song with a conviction that defies her age, it’s also apparent that Tasha is a sincere worshipper and a gifted exhorter. Tasha filled Smile with moving, personally penned declarations that can help you along your journey with the Lord.

When you question what God is doing in your life, declare, “You are accountable/You are dependable/And I Trust You, Lord” with the song, “I Trust You”. And when you desire to pour your love on God, declare, “If You’re deep in the ocean/Or high on the mountain/Lord, my worship will chase You/My one desire is to never be to far away/Draw me close enough to touch You” with the song, “Heart of Worship”. Or, tell God, “Here’s my worship/Take joy in it/Make it your dwelling place/I wanna put a smile on your face” with the song that the Jonathan Nelson deemed worthy to be included on his latest project, “Smile”.

Yeah…some indie issues are present on Smile. However, none of those issues outweigh what Smile has to offer you, such as, great singing, heartfelt lyrics, and sincere worship. New artists must start somewhere. And Tasha’s start, Smile, has earned our attention and our support.

We’re back with another album review in the Purchase Or Pass series, from contributing writer Mia Paylor.

This time, Mia’s helping you make an informed decision about buying Triumphant, the new album from VaShawn Mitchell, which hit stores TODAY.  And what I love most about her review is that she gets some help from one of the most unlikely of interns– her 6-year old son, Jordan.

Hear what Mia (and Jordan) have to say about VaShawn’s new project in this installment of Purchase Or Pass, titled “Jordan Says…”

* * *

Based on the many positive conversations I’ve had with folks about it, I believe that the first single alone, “Nobody Greater” (produced by VaShawn Mitchell and Daniel Weatherspoon), has placed VaShawn Mitchell’s EMI Gospel debut, Triumphant, on plenty “must buy CD” lists…including mine!

So, I was especially excited when I received my copy. And, like many of you, I prefer to listen to new music in the car first.  However, during this particular car ride and CD listening experience, my music loving, 6-year-old son, Jordan, was in the car too. Jordan’s comments about Triumphant were not only funny, but dead-on in my opinion. So much so, that I had to share them with my GospelPundit.com family!

Here’s how it went down…

“Mom,” Jordan says, “can we listen to the iPod?”

“No. We have a new CD. We’re gonna listen to it now.”

“Who is it?”

“VaShawn Mitchell.”

“Who’s that?!”

“You don’t know him, Son.”

About halfway through the first song, the Rocky-esque “Conqueror”, Jordan says…

“Mom, can we listen to something else?”

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“It’s okay, but I still wanna hear something else.”

“Wow. I actually feel you on that, Jordan. But, we have to listen to the whole CD.”

Once he recognizes the musical intro to “Nobody Greater”, Jordan says…

“Hey!” He’s smiling.

“Yup, it’s what you think it is. You love this song, huh?”

“Yeah, I do!” He sang his little heart out…stumbling all over the words! LOL!

After recognizing the musical intro to the recent hit, “Chasing After You”, Jordan says…

“Ooh, Mom!”

Then, after hearing VaShawn singing the lead on it, Jordan shouts…

“MOM!” He looks confused and offended.

“What, Jay?”

“This is the fake one! Where’s the lady?!”

“This is VaShawn Mitchell’s version of the song, Jordan. You won’t hear the lady on this one.”

“Well, it’s still the fake one.” He reluctantly sang along anyway.

While listening to the church-funky cut, “His Blood Still Works” (featuring Lisa Page-Brooks), I start yelling at the radio…

“Sang it, Lisa! SAAANG!”

“MOM! Mo–”

“Quiet, Jordan! “ I continued to SHOUT at the radio. I have no clue what Jordan said about the song. “His Blood Still Works” is too hot! I repeated the song more than once.

We finished the CD in the car over the next few days. I absolutely loved the reprise to “Nobody Greater” (featuring William Murphy). It’s a “must-hear” and a welcomed idea for worship teams already singing the single.

Triumphant has a familiar sound. It has pleasant vocals, church-friendly arrangements, and uplifting lyrics to raise the spirit of any downtrodden believer. I will say that I expected a bit more triumph…more hard-hitting, “gotta get my dance on” songs on a CD titled Triumphant. Was I wrong for that?!

Overall, I think our final exchange sums up what Jordan and I think about the CD:

“That’s it, Jordan. What’d you think of the CD?”

“It was nice,” Jordan says passively. “Can we listen to something else now?”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

Okay, first of all– Jordan is HILARIOUS to me.  Thanks for the review, Mia!  And please tell Jordan that his GospelPundit fam appreciates him!

I hope that helps, folks.  Anybody already grab it?  Anyone planning to?  Anyone thinking they’ll wait a while???

As a heads-up, you can listen to snippets AND buy it right now– the digital version is just $7.99 at Amazon.com.

Talk to me!

Word has it that James Fortune & FIYA’s new album, entitled Encore, will feature quite a few guest vocalists.

Expect to hear tracks featuring Kierra Sheard (on “The Greatest”), William Murphy (on “I Need Your Glory”), Isaac Carree (on “I Want To Praise You”), Nikki Ross (on “Can’t Stop”), Lowell Pye & Zacardi Cortez (on “You Are Here”) and Anaysha Figueroa (on “Draw Me”).

Encore is the group’s third project and will be available in stores on January 26, 2010.  The first single, which is the title track, will hit radio this month.

Also, wanna clarify something about their upcoming recording on December 3rd in Houston, TX.  Despite earlier reports that the group would be recording a live album that night, the recording is just a DVD recording.  Don’t fret, though– the live DVD is expected to mirror the studio album, just… live.  The DVD will be released in May of 2010.

Who’s going, who’s buying, who’s supporting?  Talk to me!

Chatted with MY DUDE, JJ Hairston.  Not only does he lead the dynamic choir, Youthful Praise, he’s a man who simply adores God and wants to serve Him through his gifts and calling.

Although I kinda wanted to cut up with him during the interview, we managed to keep it professional.  The result is a great interview in which JJ shares his heart for this current album, talks about how Youthful Praise has evolved, and tells us what’s next for him.

Without further delay, here’s JJ Hairston…

*     *     *

EJ:  Hey!

JJ:  What’s up, dude?!

EJ:  *laughs* How are you?

JJ:  I’m good.  How are you doing?

EJ:  Good, good, good.  Let’s jump to it– you’ve got your fifth album coming out on September 1st, entitled Resting On His Promise.  Tell me about the vision of this particular project.

JJ:  Well, we usually praise and worship the Lord, which is what we’re called to do.  But for this album, we wanted to do something a little different– not only did we want to worship God, but we wanted to encourage His people.  So, we used some more thematic songs… songs that kind of speak for the day.  Normally, we sing all of our songs UP… this time, we’re singing to the people, encouraging them that, even in these times, God is still able to take them through anything.

EJ:  That’s needed, man.  Do you have a favorite track on the project?

JJ:  Umm… “Close To You” is my favorite track.  It’s a worship track, it’s intimate.  Everyone knows that I just love to worship Him– that’s just me.  I’m not saying it’s gonna be everybody’s favorite, but that’s mine.

EJ:  Talk to me about some of the collaborations you’ve got on this album–guest spots from Shirley Caesar, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Deon Kipping, Myron Butler, Bishop McDaniel…  how did those come about?

JJ:  Well, the first one I knew I was doing was with Dorinda.  That was just something… I knew, for this record, I wanted to get my favorite female vocalist and she is still, by far, my favorite.  So that was something I knew I was doing.

Everything else kinda happened in the process.  Pastor Shirley Caesar, of course, is on the label.  That was something I really wanted to do.  The song was kinda traditional to me and I wanted to the “queen”of traditional gospel to sing it.

EJ:  That’s wise.

JJ:  Myron, that was something that James Robinson [of Evidence Gospel] and I were just talking through… it was like, “which one of your friends would you love to do a song with?”  Me and Myron are so cool, but we never really got to work together in that aspect, so we did that and it turned out great.

We actually weren’t in the same room– he was in a studio in Dallas, I was in a studio here, but we kinda compliment each other very well.

EJ:  Wow.  You’d never have known it.

JJ:  Yeah.  William Murphy was supposed to sing the song “Lord, You’re Mighty.”  The night before the recording, he wasn’t able to make it because of some vocal issues.  I called Deon [Kipping] and said “look, I need you to sing this song tomorrow!”  He was like “are you serious?” *laughs*

EJ:  For real?  Did he know it before that, or did he just learn it?

JJ:  No, we rehearsed it the night before, and then an hour before the recording.  And that song, we actually sang on the stage together.  It worked out very well.  Bishop McDaniel– he’s just a great singer and I just feel like he delivers a song so well, so I wanted to include him.  That’s pretty much how it all happened.

EJ:  That’s great stuff.  Talk with me about how Youthful Praise has evolved over the years.  You all started out a long time ago as a youth choir and, as you got older, your sound was similar to other New York-area choirs at the time– a heavy vibrato (like on “Awesome God,” for example) and a killer band.

You’ve still got a killer band, but less vibrato.  And the style of music is a bit different.  Why the shift?

JJ:  I think that as I changed, and as the music I was drawn to changed, the music I wrote changed as well.

EJ:  Yeah.

JJ:  When we did Thank You For The Change, everybody doesn’t know it, but Shawn Brown and I were both directing during that record.  But in the midst of production on that record, Shawn went on to pastor.  So, though I’m the only one on the cover, we did that record together.

Live… The Praise, The Worship was the first record that I had done by myself and it was what was in my heart as opposed to being two different aspects of music.

EJ:  Definitely.

JJ:  Of course, Shawn and I are both church choir dudes and we were doing that type of music, but when it came time for me to do my own type of record, I had to do what was closest and dearest to my heart.  And that’s why that change kinda happened.

Now, because we grew up singing that way, we still have the vibrato.  It’s not as heavily accented by the style of song, but it’s still there.  I heard one guy say that we worship with a squall. *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs* I think that’s accurate!

JJ:  Yeah!  But that’s how it evolved.  Then, the Exalted record really went ALL the way worship.  So what I did with this album, Resting On His Promise, was tried to bring it back to the middle where the live praise and worship was, where everyone that likes church choirs will be able to enjoy it, but people who like praise & worship will also be able to enjoy it.

EJ:  Sure.  And I think you did that well– it’s got variety, but it’s clearly ONE project.  While we’re talking about choirs, I’ve got a more philosophical question for you.

JJ:  Okay.

EJ:  It seems like fewer choirs are getting recognition these days in the gospel industry… almost as if there aren’t as many mainstay choirs.  Do you feel like the choir scene in gospel is changing?  If so, how are you working to remain relevant?

JJ:  Wow.  I think the choir scene has changed because the industry has changed.  And I don’t mean “industry” as far as what people want, I mean “industry” as far as money.  Just to keep it real.

EJ:  Mm-hmm.

JJ:  It’s harder to move a choir because you can only move up to a certain number of people.  So, if you have a concert, you can have someone like J Moss– you have his honorarium, plus one ticket for him and travel for his background singers.  Or, you can bring in Ricky Dillard, who has 50 people.  Even though the honorarium may be different, the cost to move the group is just so much higher.

EJ:  Wow.

JJ:  So, what has happened now is that people are scaling down everywhere they can.  One of those areas is travel.  And choirs are taking the brunt of that because we have the most people.

What I’ve been doing to compensate for that is that I travel with less people, but still maintain the choir sound.  So as opposed to carrying 20 to 30 people, we travel with between 9 and 12 singers and a band.  We still give you the choir sound that you’re accustomed to from us, but you won’t have to pay as much for travel.  Still, 9 to 12 is a lot sometimes, but we move as many as we can.  It’s just a strain financially.

EJ:  Absolutely.  Just getting to the gig.

JJ:  Yeah.  I remember hearing that one choir took a bus all the way from California to New York.  People aren’t doing that anymore.  So, it’s just different, financially, in this industry than it was 15 years ago.

EJ:  Sure.  You mention traveling with fewer members, but you have a large choir.  How do you choose who’s going where and how do you deal with choir members who say “Well, he didn’t pick ME to go, why should I still do it?”

JJ:  Even to this day, we still have the same issue.   There’s a certain sound that has to be produced, regardless of how many people we bring.  And what we try to do is rotate as much as possible because I’ve been blessed with a large group of singers that can really represent the choir well.

Of course, at the same time, we have certain lead singers that people look for when we go places and I can’t leave them home.

EJ:  Right.

JJ:  So, it’s always a hard balance, but we try to move them around as much as we can.  You know, I explain to the choir what the issues are and they seem to understand.  We just try to be as fair as possible when we move people around.

EJ:  That’s a good approach.  You mentioned some of those lead singers we expect to see and I’ve gotta tell you– at GMWA, I nearly lost my mind about David McClure.  I think everybody was like “who?!  WHAT?!” *laughs*

JJ:  *laughing*  You know, honestly, I’ve been blessed over the last year or year and a half with some GREAT lead singers– of course, David McClure… we have a lead singer from New Jersey named Melissa Bell, and another singer named Jennifer Johnson out of New Haven, CT.  I didn’t go out to search for singers, we just happened to go places and we ministered with them there.

David is actually a member of our church and it just felt so right at that point… the timing was right for him to start traveling with us.  He’s great and he’s really a humble guy.  It’s just been a blessing.

EJ:  That’s great to hear.  Now, you’re a husband, a father, an artist.  How do you manage it all?  We hear stories about artists falling prey to different situations– how are balancing your commitment to family and your commitment to ministry?

JJ:  Well, one of the blessings is that my wife sings in the group, so where the choir goes, she goes.  But even if I’m doing a workshop or make certain appearances by myself, I take her with me.  Not because I think I’m going to go out and make a mess if I’m not with her, but because there are so many things that happen today– I wanna make sure I’m covered and SHE covers me.

And with our kids, we try to be there for them as much as we can.  When we’re home, we are HOME.  And when time allows, we do bring them on the road with us, so we’re not away from them every weekend.  Otherwise, we’d never seem them on weekends.

EJ:  Right.

JJ:  It’s worked out well so far.  I was just looking at the schedule for the rest of the year and it’s crazy.  When we go to Italy, I’m taking my kids with me.

EJ:  Are you?

JJ:  I told the promoter, if you want us, you’ve gotta bring my kids.  It’s Christmas and they’re coming with me.

EJ:  You’re a good dad.  So, what’s next for you?  Of course, you’re about to be working this album, but down the line, what do you have in mind?

JJ:  Well, one thing that’s been a blessing is that some people have heard the record and they’ve started asking me to help them with their records.  So what I’m trying to do is– my musical director and I– we’re looking into starting to produce a little bit.

EJ:  That’s awesome, man!

JJ:  We praise God that people enjoy our sound and we wanna be able to place that sound in some other places, maybe even where it’s not a choir– groups and soloists… I’ve gotten a lot of flack from people who say “you turned the choir into a praise & worship group.”  Well, that’s what I enjoy.  But now, I may be able to deal with other groups and soloists that are geared more toward praise and worship, and help to accentuate that sound for them.

EJ:  Very good.  I think that’ll be hot and, of course, I’m looking forward to it! I really appreciate you for taking a minute to chat, man.

JJ:  This is so funny… you’re sounding so professional!

EJ:  *laughs* I’m trying to put on my professional voice!  It’s all I can do to be like “Hi there, JJ Hairston, how are you?”

JJ:  *laughing*  Well, I’ll be professional and say “thank you very much.”

EJ:  Yes. You do that! *laughing*  And may God continue to bless your many ministry endeavors. *laughs*

JJ:  *laughs* Alright, thanks man.

EJ:  Bye man.

*     *     *

That’s it, folks!  What did you think???

One thing that stood out to me is that, no matter how large or successful, the issues that are real for smaller choirs are the same issues that are real for major choirs.

Don’t forget that Resting On His Promise, the new album, is due in stores THIS TUESDAY.  Click here to read my review of the album.

And lemme know what you think!

I got me a nifty Facebook event invite to the JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise live recording.

Y’all prolly did, too, huh?  Whatever.

The recording is on Sunday, March 15th at 6pm (doors open at 5pm) at Cathedral of Praise COGIC in Bridgeport, CT.  Special guests will include Lorraine Stancil, William Murphy, Angela Spivey and Dorinda Clark-Cole. *picking out my outfit now*

Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door.  Get details and what not at their website: www.youthfulpraise.org.

Should be good.  Anyone else thinkin’ about going???