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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 1994)
T he P ortland O bserver • S eptember P age 2 8 , 1994 B5 . ! •V Sto ’> ’« • A ••’» i. !> Ê c ÏV'-Î v i? . Expectations (treat For Jad e’s New Release Gladys Knight y f- 7 A One Of Contemporary Music’s Most Prodigious Talents 'W S •* ‘ te. -A ■ •-.F'*. • j ’ ** • TT” With a highly contem porary edge, Just For You is indeed classic Gladys Knight, thanks to the partici pation of super hit makers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds among others. It’s a collection of truly great tunes, the perfect mix of soul-filled, heart felt ballads and infectious grooves, each one imbued with that special feeling that Gladys invests into each and every song she sings. » A F » te- ** •* • . # Y *. . . « r ' » * Tonya Kelly, Joi Marshall and Di Reed of the group Jade. A record shattering debut al bum can happen if the harmonies are tight, the production top notch, the look fight and fate smiles. Jade’s first album was a mas terpiece of timing as the public embraced the trio’s matchless har monies, stylish look and powerful delivery. It can be tougher the second time around - expectations are greater, com parisons inevitable. Ja d e ’s M ind, Body and Song quickly dismisses any doubts and easily withstands tim e’s acid test by delivering dazzling new music that captures all the talent glimpsed in their debut and delivers even more. T his new collectio n of songs is proof positive these three young women have grown in depth, dimension and dedication int he year and a half since their knockout gold debut album, Jade to the Max. Success came so quickly, they crisscrossed the world, touring and doing TV spots (everything from The Tonight Show and Soul Train to multiple Arsenio appearances and six shots on England's wildly popu lar Top of the Pops). As th e ir hit sin g les, I W annna L ove Y ou, D o n 't W alk A w ay and — R KclllJ Fora guy who once perform ed on Chicago's elevated train p la t form s to display his m usical talents ?. Kelly has com e in a long way. His career has advanced so far vith his second album 12 Play that it iroke the record by holding the num- >cr-one spot on the Billboard’s R&B ;hart, topping The Bodyguard ioundtrack which held the ¡pot for eight weeks. <elly's double platinum llbum held the number- ?ne spot 12 consecutive veeks and didn’t seem to ie losing appeal. It also -»caked at number one on Billboard’s pop charts. It has ¡old more than two million copies in its first 10 weeks. “Sex Me" is the first single on his album, released on the Jive Records label. Other popular tunes include “Y our B ody’s C a llin ’," Bump N ’ Grind,” and “I like the Crotch On You.” It also includes an old Spinners tunc, “Sadie,” dedicated to his later mother. "1 go back very for with Sadie.' My mama used to always ask me to sing it around the house. She just loved to hear me sing that song. It reminds me of every mom around the world.” Robert Kelly is no stranger to success. His previous album. Born Into the ‘90’s established him as a force to be reckoned with in the in dustry. It sold one million copies with such tunes as “Honey Love" and "Show Dance (Hey Mr. DJ).’ And what makes all of this so amazing is Kelly wrote, produced and performed all the tunes himself. A self-taught musician, Kelly plays all the music for each tune. That's amazing for a guy who f performed for free on Chicago's el evated train platforms. He says some one placed a hat nearby one day and people started dropping money in it while waiting for their trains. Kelly and his former group, Robert Kelly and MGM, were regu lars at one of Chicago’s popular nightclubs, singing for free to get exposure. And it worked. The group was disco v ered by a tal- e n t O n e W o m a n , r a c e d up th e c h a rts and m ade them a fa m ilia r nam e on ra d io , they grew c lo se r. N ew frie n d s w hen th is w h irl w ind b e g a n , T o n y a , Joi and Di began to d isc o v e r m ore a b o u t each o th e r. T hey o ften stra y e d up all n ig h t, sh arin g e v e ry th in g from th e ir fa v o rite g o sp e l, ja z z and R&B so n g s; w ho lik es spicy food, w ho c a n 't re sist a new pu p p y ; w ho c a lls hom e the m ost; w ho can c a tc h a cab the q u ic k e st in th e ra in ; w ho stays up all n ight to w rite; to w hat s a tis fie s the h e a r t’s d e sire in each one o f th e se s is te rs linked by fate and by m u sic. “I called this album Just For You because it’s music for the people, the people who have always been with me as well as for the new fans we have. Because of the feedback I get from most of the fans who attend my concerts, I know there’s a market out there for people who want the kind of music that’s on this record,” said Gladys. Her second solo album for MC A , Gladys’ latest work is a lyrical testa ment to love, strength and truth; from the upbeat “Next Tim e” to her so-so- soulful, show-stopping “End of the Road” medley. The co-producer of three cuts and the executive producer of the scout. The members later appeared on Natalie Cole’s Big Break televi sion talent show and won the $100,0(X) grand prize. Kelly split with the group afterward Since then Kelly, 25. has pro duced for Gladys Knight. David Pcaston and High Five He also pro duced three singles for the Winans on their album All Out, singing a duet with Ronald Winans on the tunc “That Extra Mile." We wonder if anyone would recognize him today it he visited one of those elevated train platforms where he used to perform enthusias tically Perhaps they will £•3/.' •V » ' i - » V ’A ’. ■v fife R ä j * ; iW î Call (503) 288-0033 to learn about Advertising in (Lhe ;J3nrH anb COhserbcr L ive M esic y* '■-•eri.' ;A¡> TR. .«h. t e A llen P ayne Friday & Saturday 8pm-Midnight J f "J ada P inkett ir»i' £ O B okeem W oodbine Wednesday Jam Session A * "w MÛ freshest seafood, delicious fettucim and blackened dishes. Enjoy the big screen TV in our lounge. Love i s co u ra g e . 636-0017 Music Millennium 32nd & E. Burnside 231-8926 23rd & NW Johnson 248-0163 E ddie G riffin F orest W w bker At Bourbon S u w t w ere proud to offer the finest ribs, 15900 Boones Ferry Road in Lake Grove, Oregon T reach D oug M c H enry F l featuring Louisiana style cuisine a t its finest “Black History Month pro vides us with an opportunity to applaud African American’s ac complishments: The commission felt that this exhibit would be worthwhile and educational for Oregon’s residents,” Stoudamire said. O r e g o n ’s C o m m is s io n on B la c k A ffa irs is d e d ic a te d to a c h ie v in g so c ia l, p o litic a l, e c o n o m ic , and le g a l e q u a lity for O re g o n ’s A frican A m erican s. S to u d a m ire feels th at an e x h ib it w ith an e m p h a sis on A fri can A m erican a rtists and their w ork in the S tate C ap ito l is a sig n ific a n t a c c o m p lish m e n t. He hopes that a rtists at all levels w ill re sp o n d to the c o m m is s io n 's search for w ork. "W e w ant to c e le b ra te d u r ing B lack H istory M onth w hile le a rn in g and g ro w in g . T h e re is m uch we can learn from the m es sages in o u r a r tis ts ’ w o rk .” A nyone n eedin g a d d itio n a l in f o r m a tio n s h o u ld c a ll S tou dam ire, at (5 0 3 ) 725-4646. A c a re e r m ile sto n e , Ju st F o r You is an album fille d from sta rt to finish w ith sta n d o u ts. T h e r e ’s “ I D o n ’t W anna K n o w ,” a su p e r ballad p ro d u ced and w ritte n for G la d y s by G ra m m y w in n e r B abyface w ho she notes, “ is one o f my fav o rite so n g w rite rs. I ’ve been doing his m usic in my live show for a long tim e and our sc h e d u le s ju s t d id n ’ t p e rm it us to get to g e th e r until now . I ’m glad it w orked out b ecau se w o rk in g w ith him was m ore than a dream !" * Art Sought For Black History Month Exhibit O regon’s Commission on Black Affairs is seeking afrocentric art of any medium to exhibit in the State Capitol Building during Black His tory Month, February 1995. Inter ested artists should submit 35-mm slides no later than N ovem ber 30, 1994, to Oregon Com m ission on Black Affairs, P.O. Box 751, Port land, OR 97207. M aximum per art ist is four entries. A c c o rd in g to C h a rle s Stoudamire, the com m ission's ex ecutive director, the group hopes to in c re a se a w a re n e ss o f A frican American artists’ contributions, so cial issues and concerns. album with manager (and son) Jimmy Newman, Gladys says Just For You is adeparture from previous projects: “I got to be m e. It wasn’t about trying to compete with w hat’s happening today. I didn’t experience any kind o f pressure, spoken or unspoken, to do that. There have been times in the past when I felt that to be accepted, we had to come with dance-oriented music. I didn’t want that to be the motivating factor this time. We took our time and making this was a very peaceful process for me.” !‘r-’ j ’Aï"'*.. f e ? Æ v? ’.te’ H* > I f » A n ‘ & i ÍXS t i