Exquisitely crafted with a real appreciation for both history and spirituality, The Launch Out Project transcends the increasingly lightweight fare of CDs That Sound Like Hez, immersing the listener in, well, history. There’s a great wealth of texture to lose oneself in, with each tapestry thread authoritatively sewn. This is music performed by seasoned veterans who love both God and music in equal parts. As manager Nicole A. Davis says in the linear notes, “In faith we launch out with a CD that, as the hymn writer says, ministers to ‘masses, men of every birth, for an answer Jesus gave the key.’”
Grown-Ups
This is music for grown-ups. Exquisitely crafted with a real
appreciation for both history and spirituality, The Launch Out
Project transcends the increasingly lightweight fare of CDs That
Sound Like Hez, immersing the listener in, well, history.
Clocking in at sixteen songs and almost 80 minutes, there’s a
great wealth of texture to lose oneself in, with each tapestry
thread authoritatively sewn. This isn’t a traditional choir
embarrassing themselves doing contemporary music or a hip-hop
group doing lifeless, empty-calorie attempts at standards. This
is Sounds of Blackness meets Brooklyn Tabernacle, more of a
theatrical event performed by seasoned veterans who love both
God and music in equal parts. As manager Nicole A. Davis says in
the linear notes, “In faith we launch out with a CD that, as the
hymn writer says, ministers to ‘masses, men of every birth, for
an answer Jesus gave the key.’” Listening to the pitch-perfect
Juke Joint blues of I’m Determined To Walk With Jesus and the
one-two punch of In My Father’s House and I’ll Take A Lifetime,
the listener could half expect Quincy Jones to step out of the
orchestra pit for a bow. In many places this reminds me a great
deal of Jones’ inimitable soundtrack to The Color Purple and his
classic production of Lena Horne: The Lady And Her Music. This
is not fast food but a full, gourmet meal, a table meticulously
set for an audience grown accustomed to drive-through burgers. We’ve sampled
a little of it, here, but this is a work that really needs to be
appreciated at scale, in its full width and breadth, to glean
the edges of the canvas. It is, at the end of the day,
music—something I wasn’t sure people made anymore.
Jubilation, a culturally mixed choir of professional auditioned
voices, celebrates ten years in ministry next month. In God's
time and by His grace, the group has been nominated for the
Gospel music industry's prestigious Stellar Award for Nancey
Johnson-Jackson's performance on Lead Me To The Rock. Established in 1998 under the auspices of the New Jersey
Performing Arts Center, the group is committed to singing
African American sacred music with an emphasis on Gospel. While
most of the members are volunteers, there are professional
singers in the midst, including, among others, Harmony recording
artist Nancey Jackson and club/dance vocalist SuSu Bobien.
Jubilation's creative director, The Reverend Stefanie R. Minatee
("Rev. Stef"), is a critically acclaimed composer and arranger
who has written and arranged music for Ray Charles, Dorothy
Norwood, The Savannah Community Choir and others. The group is
committed to ministering through song and praise. Their release,
Ray Charles Celebrates a Gospel Christmas with the Voices of
Jubilation hit #2 on Billboard’s charts. Jubilation has also
toured Japan and was featured at the funeral of jazz great
Lionel Hampton. The choir participated in the 2002 US Tennis
Open with Queen Latifah and Tony Bennett, and the choir has
shared the stage with Isaac Hayes, Michael Bolton, Darlene Love,
Shirley Caesar, Walter Hawkins, Cissy Houston, Donnie McClurkin,
Kurt Carr, Tremaine Hawkins and many more. The choir desires to
function as ministers of music and not performing artists.
Jubilation seeks to be ambassadors for Christ in every
opportunity of ministry.
