Live Programs

“Too Hot to Handel” Indescribable, Says Pianist Alvin Waddles: “You Have to Experience It”

2022-12-13T19:15:52-06:00December 2nd, 2022|

Nineteen years ago, Suzanne Mallare Acton, music director and conductor of Too Hot to Handel: The Gospel Messiah, was in a real jam. Her pianist, Detroit jazz legend Harold McKinney, pulled out of the jazz-gospel interpretation of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah just days before opening night. Needing a musician who could read a score and improvise, she picked up the phone and called the one pianist she knew could fill both bills: Alvin Waddles.

JGM Pick of the Week: August 5, 2019

2019-08-06T03:13:39-05:00August 6th, 2019|

“I’ll Be Alright” Larry Hill feat. Ervin “Bigman” Williams RonKay Music Group (release date: May 1, 2019) www.ronkaymusic.com By Bob Marovich Though “I’ll Be Alright” is ostensibly a solo outing for Philadelphia gospel singer Larry Hill, it thrums with the sound of good old fashioned southern soul quartet. One reason [...]

Highlights from the Closing Program at the 2019 Chicago Gospel Music Festival

2019-06-02T20:51:04-05:00June 2nd, 2019|

By Bob Marovich Despite rumbles of thunder and intermittent downpours that kept the audience under umbrellas for much of the program, the closing event of the two-day 2019 Chicago Gospel Music Festival proceeded without delay. Casey J A collaboration between Chicago's Department of Cultural and Special Events, the [...]

Jamie Lee Rake Reviews Milwaukee Quartet Program

2018-09-21T01:16:01-05:00September 22nd, 2018|

Originally written for publication in online contemporary Christian and gospel music magazine The Phantom Tollbooth (http://www.tollbooth.org/) Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC's Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers The Golden Bells The Christland Singers The Fabulous Luckett Brothers Tiffany Terry P. Wilson & Pure Worship Abundant Faith Church of Integrity, Milwaukee, [...]

Kierra Sheard’s Bridges Tour Closes Gap between “Faith and Real Life”

2016-08-01T02:11:03-05:00August 1st, 2016|

Photo: Robert Marovich, Journal of Gospel Music By Bob Marovich The intimate Mayne Stage theater on Chicago’s North Side reverberated with blasts of EDM, raucous drums, snarling electric guitar, thumping bass, chiming keyboards, and an Apple computer churning out beats like a jukebox. The vocalists had the standing [...]

Daughter of U.S. Soul Singer Presents Gospel Program in Western Australia

2015-10-05T04:46:34-05:00October 5th, 2015|

By Bob Marovich Gospel music has been an international phenomenon for more than sixty years, enjoyed in nearly every corner of the world. This includes Western Australia, where the Joyful Noise Gospel Choir will present Gospel Music @ the Rocks #2.  The program (above) will take place November 7, 2015, at [...]

Go to Top