D'Angelo And The Vanguard
Black Messiah  

RCA Records  

Review by Carley Price for studioexpresso    

D'Angelo fans have waited fourteen years for this album. Black Messiah by D'Angelo And The Vanguard proves it was all worth the wait.

The album begins with a rock rendition of the song "Ain't That Easy" which sets the tone for a few surprises on the album. Each song is full of soul from start to finish. From the country-blues feel of "The Door" to the jazz and funk sound of "Betray My Heart", every track is layered with instruments and loops that take on a bold new sound connecting many decades of different rhythm & blues styles.  The first single:  "Really Love"  already sports over a million listens on YouTube and begins with  strings arranged and orchestrated by Grammy-winning producer and arranger, Brent Fischer.  You can't escape the hypnotic melody wrapped with velvety but modern strings opening with a Spanish-speaking whisperer. It seamlessly ties into the jazz-influence on the track and furthermore exemplifies the variety of musical genres that are communicated throughout the album. This is a gorgeous piece of acoustic neo-soul, with D'Angelo falsetto vocals gliding around Fischer orchestral arrangements.  

Having been in touch on and off with D'Angelo and his associates over the years, Fischer was pleased to hear how the album, and particularly Really Love, was coming together. "Then it was the ultimate honor to be asked to contribute my creative element when D'Angelo had gotten things to a point where he was satisfied with their direction," Brent Fischer said.

"D'Angelo is a true artist. Our production styles are similar in that we take time to allow for consideration of every nuance on many levels. In all of our conversations, I felt a deep sense of respect for and from him. He understood that combining my creative vision with his meant there would be surprises that he couldn't necessarily anticipate.  He welcomed these and that gave me the freedom to let my heart and experience be my guide," said Fischer. 

Brent Fischer shared that his goal for arranging "Really Love" was "to surround and complement his tracks with lush textures in unexpected ways. There were places where I felt I could make a statement, some where I felt I should support what was already there, and some where my ideas should intertwine with his to end up with a completely different sound."

While the album ties in over a decade of musical styles and a variety of genres, the overarching social commentary within the lyrics of the album are what distinguish the record's unique and notable sound. D'Angelo's collaboration with 'Tonight Show' Drummer, Qestlove (of The Roots), exemplifies the more serious side of the album through the song "1000 Deaths". This track begins with a clipping from "The Murder of Fred Hampton," which is a documentary about the Chicago Black Panther who was shot dead by police. This particular song is only a small excerpt of the insight this album as a whole brings to the reality of events that took place throughout the 14 years it took to produce.  

In another collaboration  with rapper Q-Tip and songwriter Kendra Foster he sends heavy political messages out on airy grooves, such as during "The Charade."

Fischer used a variety of instruments in his orchestration in order to perfectly match the lyrical content. "Because of the compositional and orchestration vocabulary I've carefully amassed over the years, I look to develop a unique aesthetic for each song," Fischer shared. "Blending live instruments with electronic sounds also lays the foundation for a song to become timeless.  That's part of what makes it possible for today's hits to become tomorrow's classics.  I hope that, together, we have accomplished that here".

In 1995, D'Angelo released his first album entitled "Brown Sugar".  Five years later, he released "Voodoo". Now, over a decade later, D'Angelo is back in the music scene with his unexpected album release through RCA Records  

David Bock has now captured the sound of the vintage Neumann U47 tube microphone in the new Bock 407. As with Bock's other products, TransAudio Group will distribute the Bock 407 in the United States.  

 Jeffrey Kahan 2017 Calendar

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra music director Jeffrey Kahan is stepping down as music director at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 2017 to join the Keyboard Studies faculty at USC Thornton School.

Kahane's appointment grew out of the increasingly active partnership between LACO and USC Thornton. Many LACO musicians, including concertmaster Margaret Batjer, principal cellist Andrew Shulman and principal oboe Allan Vogel, among others, are professors at USC Thornton. The school's premier choral ensemble, the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, regularly partners with LACO to perform works for the orchestra's regular subscription series.  

Grammy Sponsors & After-Party Performers Announced 

GRAMMY® Amplified Artist Discovery 

Hyundai and The Recording Academy® announce the launch of the third annual GRAMMY Amplifier® - an innovative, online music initiative aimed at mentoring emerging artists.
Three-time GRAMMY® and Brit winner Mark Ronson will serve as the 2015 GRAMMY Amplifier Ambassador alongside this year's program curators - current 57th GRAMMY nominees The Band Perry and Ziggy Marley, and singer/songwriter Allen Stone. 
Artists can begin entering submissions on Jan. 26 at GRAMMYAmplifier.com. Based on their track plays and social media "amplifications," the top 25 finalists will be brought together for a GRAMMY Amplifier mentorship experience.  The top 25 will then be whittled down by program curators to a short list of finalists, at which point the program ambassador will select the final three winners and align each of them with one of three top prizes.
(1) a studio recording session with a GRAMMY winning producer; (2) filming and starring in their own music video with a noted director; or (3) securing an opening spot for a noted musician and/or at a music festival.

 
  For a complete list of Categories and nominees, click here. 

Good luck everyone!