Set in the cool sophistication of New York City, Forever Forward emerges as a soulful, skillfully combined union of smooth jazz, R&B and gospel. The brainchild of longtime friends pianist Kevin Brightman and lyricist Derek Gibbs, the pair employs over a dozen equally talented musicians to bring their spiritual masterpiece to fruition.
Forever Forward is truly a group effort – never does any one soloist blatantly stick out. The title and opening track is an uplifting song about positive remembrance. The three vocal soloists fluidly blend their harmonies and with each verse, the soloist kicks the vocals up a degree higher in pitch, fueling the fire leading into the dramatic last chorus. In the midst of the high energy extended ending, the soprano soloist Fela James tends to go sharp as she belts out enthusiastic “Wooooos!” underneath the choir and Brightman’s running piano. This is but a minor detraction from an extremely well arranged tune.
Soloist Nia Middleton, who is featured in “I Am In Stride,” maintains stellar control of her voice throughout this African sounding spiritual. The piece openings with vocals and hand percussion and slowly becomes more westernized as additional vocals and piano enters. A confusing lyric however to a novice spiritual listener is the repetitive, “The mark of success is upon me.” Christianity is not always easy and the following lyrics that incorporate “Joy,” “Love,” and “Peace” seem more appropriate. These three motifs are also expounded upon in “Experience,” a happy toe-tapper that austerely explains how what is at the center of you (ideally joy, peace and love) can affect how you experience and deal with life.
“God Always Says Yes” invokes a similar message but with more accessible lyrics. This is the only song on the album that tells a complete story instead of simply repeating a short phrase with variations for five minutes. Tisha Hunter is the featured soloist in this tune and she does a fine job as relates the uplifting tale about telling a friend that God’s got your back despite hardships. The choir again blends harmoniously in the coda as the rhythm section plays a fun melody underneath that accentuates the vocals. This song also incorporates an exciting fake ending.
The album ends with a rendition of the title track played by another spiritual New Yorker, musician Osamu Moriyama. He plays a quiet classical guitar solo that arpeggiates Gibbs’ melody and intricately modifies the tempo resulting in a lovely, relaxing postlude to this fine debut. Forever Forward has definitely got the spirit and with expert musicianship never allow it to burst forth out of control. With elegance and erudition, Forever Forward delivers an exceptional fine-tuned collection of positive soulful refreshment.
Reviewed By Kelly Hood
