Cynthia Felton: Afro Blue - The Music of Oscar Brown Jr.
By Keith Hannaleck
- Artist: Cynthia Felton
- Title: Afro Blue - The Music of Oscar Brown Jr.
- Genre: Jazz
- Label: Felton Entertainment
- Website: www.cynthiafelton.com
As Cynthia Felton shows how slender and beautiful she is on the cover, her voice is just as attractive once you venture under the CD cover to find a voice that allures you into her world.
Afro Blue-The Music of Oscar Brown Jr. is a testimonial not only to its namesake but also to the singer and the marvelous band that plays behind her and pushes her into the limelight. Legendary sax man Ernie Watts and ivory tickler Cyrus Chestnut are but two of the names that populate the list for credits on this exemplarily all around performance.
Cynthia is a phenomenal vocalist; she carries herself proudly through every track as if each and everyone were especially created for her sweet voice. “Afro Blue” demonstrates the vocal prowess of Cynthia while the band takes a long instrumental break in between to show off their wares. This is not to downplay the importance of the singer but to emphasize that there is equal importance in the music itself. After all, without it the young woman would not be singing at all now would she?
The one thing that struck me as prolific about this recording was the emotion and dedication Ms. Felton had in her voice on all 14 tracks. She is a very strong vocalist but without the emotion and belief in what you are singing, it does not work. In this case, the instrumentation builds a fortress around her voice and she takes it all to the highest possible level.
There is some playfulness in her repertoire and she demonstrates it with candor on “But I Was Cool” and “Dat Dere.” This flexibility proved continually that Cynthia has what it takes to handle any lyric, rhythm or particularly complex musical accompaniment that comes her way. What Cynthia accomplishes is no easy task, the people behind her are major league players, and in the end, Ms. Felton proves that she is indeed in the same league as her contemporaries.
Afro Blue-The Music of Oscar Brown Jr. is not a typical cover album, it is proof that if the right talent steps forward and takes the wheel that the time tested song can receive new life and meaning through someone else’s interpretations.
Reviewed - October 26, 2008
Tracks:
- Motherless Child
- Afro Blue
- Mr. Kicks
- Work Song
- All Blues
- Brother, Where Are You?
- But I Was Cool
- When Malindy Sings
- Dat Dere
- Brown Baby
- Harry's Hips (originally Hazel's Hips)
- Strong Man
- Long As You're Living
- Motherless Child (reprise)
About the Author:
Keith Hannaleck, known as “MuzikMan” is a Journalist specializing in independent and major music reviews and the promotion of artists via the various media outlets flourishing online. He has worked closely with artists, management, publicity directors, and webmasters to provide some of the best and far-reaching coverage an artist could have. Focusing primarily on the internet as a medium for his work, Keith has been a pioneer in the industry changing the way a reviewer with his various talents are used by many artists, PR folks, and labels. He has provided strong and valuable work to labels, artists, and publicity people, writing reviews, press releases, and biographies and much more over the years, giving the people he works with the maximum amount of exposure through several top-notch websites that post his content on their sites.
© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck - www.muzikreviews.com.
