Only six months after the release of her first album in six years,
Jimetta Rose
returned with
How Good It Is
, an undertaking quite different from the one it follows. Whereas
The Gift: Around the Way Queen
was the grimy hip-hop soul result of
Rose
writing and singing over tracks handpicked from the
Street Corner Music
label's beat tape series The Gift,
took shape in more organic if atypical fashion. In a period of adversity,
wrote songs specifically to cope and improve her state of mind, and then formed a choir, dubbed the Voices of Creation, with participants chosen less on talent than on their desire to heal themselves and others. It was through social media that
sought the vocalists, so it's not coincidental that some of them -- such as
Novena Carmel
,
Gaby Hernandez
, and
Andree Belle
-- have a deep musical background.
draws from her experience as a youth choir director to lead the group with help from musical director and organist
Jack Maeby
, pianist
Qur'an Shaheed
, and percussionist
Allakoi Peete
. Joining them behind the scenes are
Mario
and
Samantha Caldato
, who co-produce to transportive, enveloping effect.
mixes gospel, spiritual jazz, and funk in a way that uplifts and impels. First is an update of the deep jazz-dance truffle "Let the Sun Shine In," originally recorded by late-'70s Bay Area group
Sons and Daughters of Lite
. It gently modifies the construction of the source to foreground the vocals -- if in a way that also takes it closer to the vast expanses of
War
's travelogue "City, Country, City." (Call it "Church, Garden, Church.")
Rahsaan Roland Kirk
's "Spirits Up Above" gets a righteous and hypnotizing reading with leads exchanged throughout.
then assumes the role of master teacher in "Operation Feed Yourself," a
song with some likeness to early-'70s
Norman Whitfield
, encouraging self-reliance with hopeful zeal. The harmonies in "How Good It Is," containing a call to "Breathe in how good it is," appropriately enough sound like they're wafting through a soft ray of light. After
Funkadelic
's "Cosmic Slop" is reshaped into a song of determination with a moving lead from low-to-high tenor
Kellye Hawkins
, the group takes stock with "Ain't Life Grand," a finale with none of the sarcasm or negative sentiment the title might imply. From top to bottom, the group vocals are mixed such that
's voice can always be recognized, providing additional continuity subtle enough to not detract from the communal energy. Faint birdsong and informal interplay among the singers add to the sense that the session is all the way live. ~ Andy Kellman