"The resurgence of bands with full acoustic instrumentation in urban music provides a clear indication that the masses are tired of hearing the cheeky harmonies and overtly cliche melodies being piped from the addled halls of Saxophony. While that music has its place, today's cosmopolitan audience demands that a more diverse sonic palate be satisfied. And those serving them courses must now be a bit more sensible in their musical inventions.
Of the musicks that captivate the ears and hearts of contemporary audiences, the cry of Urban Soul seems to be leading the charge. A glaring characteristic of this potently organic form of musical expression is that it's daring enough to synthesize genres--defying stereotypes unapologetically--in order to articulate truths exquisitely myriad in complexity. Other, traditional forms of music limit themselves to simply trumpeting echos of the past or some other senescent ideal. Another highly attractive element of this music, to me, is that it often showcases an artist's vulnerabilities, just as it would their strengths. These are revolutionary personifications for the average listener, ones which--through artistic transparency--provide 'power to the people' and have become infectious among audiences worldwide.
Artists such as Angie Stone, Janelle Monae, and N'Dambi provide a sterling example of this shift. Their music provdies the listener with a bold, refreshing dose of they long for--ear candy that's intelligent, but not condescending; sexy, but not sleezy; uncut, but not uncouth. And as a faithful follower of this movement, it's my sincere hope that the music I create will, through its audacity and steadfast authenticity, blaze a path for jazz musicians of urban pedigree to follow suit and take the performance of 'the people's music' back to the streets. Power to the people!"
