Sunday August 1rst, 2004
New CD's this past week:
- Incognito – Adventures in black sunshine
(UK release)
- Swing Out Sister – Where our love grows (UK release)
Music news stories this week:
Anita Baker Back At Number One
Singer Anita Baker, whose last studio
album Rhythm Of Love was released
ten years ago, has logged a Number One urban adult hit with her brand new
single "You're My Everything."
The track, from her forthcoming Blue Note album My Everything, has reached
the top spot on the national urban AC airplay chart. The track also stands
at Number Eleven on the national smooth jazz chart.
The high chart numbers for Baker's first new material in a decade is a
welcome sign for the singer, who spent the last few years out of the
public eye to raise her family. But with My Everything due for release on
September 7th, the Detroit-based Baker will be back in the spotlight. She
is already set to grace the cover of the October issue of Essence
magazine, which hits newsstands in mid-September.
Upcoming performance dates for Baker include September 4th at Tom Joyner's
Family Reunion in Orlando , Florida , and headlining the Bermuda Music
Festival in Hamilton , Bermuda , on October 9th.
Brandy Engaged …. For Real This Time
Brandy means it this time -- she really is
engaged. The R&B singer tells
People that she's set to marry pro basketball player Quentin Richardson.
Richardson has played for the Los Angeles Clippers but is in the process
of moving over to the Phoenix Suns roster.
According to MTV, Richardson proposed on Tuesday (July 27th) at a private
party with Brandy's family and friends present.
He presented his bride-to-be with an eleven-and-a-half carat engagement
ring when she said yes.
There's no date set for the wedding.
Babyface Not Ready to Retire From Recording
Singer and songwriter Kenneth "Babyface"
Edmonds has spent the last few
months putting the finishing touches on his long-awaited new album A Love
Story, which has yet to be released. The romantic-minded singer's new set
will feature a collection of songs that tell the story of a newfound love.
Edmonds has written and/or produced hundreds of songs for other R&B
artists, including smashes for Whitney Houston, Boys II Men, Mary J.
Blige, and TLC. With his songcraft already earning him a nice living, and
his own efforts to polish the follow-up to the album, has Babyface
considered writing and producing only and quitting as a solo artist? He
said that the thought has crossed his mind, but recording is still fun for
him: "Um, hmmm, I've thought of that. And maybe that's down the line, but
at this point I'm having fun at it. So when it when it get to being
absolutely no fun, yeah, I'll make that move, do other things."
Babyface will be one of the performers at the 2004 Bermuda Jazz Festival,
which takes place on the island from October 6th through 10th.
George Benson Says It Was Time For Something New
Singer and guitarist George Benson went
through some ups and downs in
getting the album Irreplaceable out to his fans. His first studio set in
four years, Irreplaceable originally featured all contemporary R&B
material but after re-thinking the project, he went back into the studio
with smooth jazz producers Paul Brown and Rex Rideout to add three
instrumental pieces in the style he's known for. The process pushed the
album back from late 2003 to June 2004.
Benson says that for this set, he wasn't interested as much in covering
the same ground in smooth jazz and adult pop: "Well, I've done those
things before, you know. We have 39 or 40 albums out over the years, we've
done many of the albums dedicated to that process, especially over the
last ten years."]
Benson explained that he initially met with resistance when he released
such R&B vocal hits as "This Masquerade" and "Give Me The Night" back in
the '80s, so he's used to such controversy. And he stresses that it was
important to give younger fans something they could connect with: "But at
my concerts, I noticed a lot of young people, teenagers, and I'm wondering
where they come from what did they hear. What they heard really was
something their parents played and they wanted to experience the man that
made that music, that made their parents so happy, and they got used to
hearing all their lives."Benson is currently on tour with singer Will
Downing as his opening act.