I keep a fairly active playing schedule and one of the things that I enjoy about the group that I play with is that I’m always getting exposed to great music whether it is new or old when we take a break. Interestingly enough when our bassist played this cut from Liv Warfield’s 2006 album Embrace Me it struck me as a great 21st century example of what I was ranting about in our discussion concerning Anita Baker’s Compositions album.
We often hear the phrase “We have to do better!” Clearly this is better. I don’t care about titles, labels or whatever people use to try explain what type of music something is… yes the irony is not lost on me I understand that GFM is a label, but I hope that those of you reading this understand our commitment to good music plain and simple. Music is either good or it isn’t. Either you are saying something or you aren’t. Liv is saying something.
What a concept: a soulful delivery of a melancholy mood backed by a cadre of skillful musicians and production. That should be the standard, everything else should be ignored.
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.
