Many of you know that yours truly is often late to the party… so on Tuesday when I posted on the fantastic track “Stronger” by Brandon Williams feat. Jean Baylor, Brandon was already dropping another gem.
For me, “Godsend” brings to mind the tradition of great interludes that could be found on albums by Earth, Wind & Fire, Mint Condition, Stevie et al. This is music that creates a mood and places you in the middle of the action and is timed just right so that even as your audio palette has been satisfied you want more. So what do you do??? Press play again and again.
What I appreciate most about this work is that( De’Sean Jones Tenor Saxophone, Jon Dixon Fender Rhodes & Piano and Brandon on synth bass, live and programmed drums and additional keys) have given the instrumental the life that it needs to come out of the museum and reside with the people, right now. What do I mean by that? Well if I was to be quite honest a lot of music that falls into the instrumental category still follows a well worn out template from the mid-80’s production and concept wise. I lived through that time period and those sounds and that style fit that era but now it’s 2013 not 1986. So to further expound on what I mean by the museum phenomenon is viewing or in this case listening to music that’s preserved in a certain era. That’s not what’s happening here… “Godsend” feels and sounds like right now yet, there is the musical context of all that was great that came before.
I think the area of historical musical context is where on a large scale where some music misses out but where “Godsend” succeeds: Embracing the best of the past while creating music that’s clearly present with an eye toward the future. Press play again and again and tell a friend.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
