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<$1.31.2008$>
MILES JAYE SPOTLIGHTS: 'Will Downing - The Downing Factor'
 If Will Downing had a clothing line it would sell at Barney's New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus and I'd be one of the first in line to sport Downing Wear.If he had an SUV endorsement like Eddie Bauer had with Ford, you might very well see me behind the wheel of a Will Downing Expedition. The point is; some names represent a proven standard of quality and excellence and the name Will Downing is one of them. When you first hear a Downing CD his velvety smooth baritone and effortless phrasing are immediately apparent. What is not so apparent is the standard Will applies to each and every project. Hours, weeks, months and years of preparation are transparent - he makes it seem effortless. We're not supposed to notice it, we're supposed to feel it and we do - I call it the Downing Factor. When the Downing Factor is applied the result is predictable - excellence. Someone once said, "Excellence can be obtained if you: care more than others think is wise; risk more than others think is safe; dream more than other's think is practical and expect more than other's think is possible." Artists like Will do care more, risk more, dream more and expect more. Will shared an experience with me that will underscore my point about the man. Unknown to many of his fans, he is an accomplished photographer. I asked how he was introduced to photography and he recalled a photo shoot for one of his CD covers in which he thought certain aspects of the concept could be adjusted. The photographer challenged Will to get behind the lens and try it himself. Not long after that shoot he purchased his own camera gear and got busy. He says it took exhaustive trial and error, the patience of Job and many, many rolls of film before he began to develop the multiple skill sets required to master photography. He had a vision. He had the determination. He expected to succeed and he did. Aristotle referred to excellence as habit - it's one of Will's. Excellence becomes formula like great putting or free throw shooting. Anyone who has done either knows there are at least a dozen elements to consider for consistent success at what appear to be very simple actions; hit a small round ball into a hole in the ground ten feet away with a long metal club or toss a large round ball, unchallenged, into a cylinder ten feet from the ground and fifteen feet from the baseline. Catch up with Shaq at the upcoming All-Star game and ask him about free throws. Physical consistency requires among other things, Muscle Memory. Mental consistency requires a formula - a mental path to follow each and every time. Warren Buffet's ability to "pick" winning stocks time and time again has made him legend. He owes it, at least in part, to tried and true formula's from which he does not waiver. Will has a simple but very practical formula for successful recordings: great songs, perfectly crafted rhythm arrangements with only the best musicians and top notch production, and of course - that voice. A Dream Fulfilled was the project that first made me aware of the Downing Factor. It was clear to me that he had raised the bar and set a new standard by which all other vocal projects in similar categories would be measured. For years I wondered how he did it. What do I mean by perfect? I mean as soon as the proverbial needle hits the wax, something good happens to the space you're in - not just sonically but psychologically - it's a vibe thing. The mood becomes a wrinkle free zone, like the final smoothing stroke of a hand on a perfectly made California king. The tones you hear seem to automatically dim the lights in the room. Everything around you slows down a beat per minute. It's like the Twilight Zone... you no longer control the vertical or horizontal. He's got you... you're absorbed. You want to hear every lyric and every line - this is Downing Time. Ironically, Will has another perspective on the so-called perfect record. He suggests that a recording that is fifty-five minutes of quantized, sonically correct, mistake free, squeaky clean may, in fact, be too perfect if it lacks warmth. He also notes that such productions often lack originality as labels and producers eager to capture success in a bottle, model successive productions after the latest radio hits. It's the music industry's version of cloning. Who can be the next Mary J. or the next Chris Brown? Simple and to the point Will says; "I just do what I do... I do what I do best." Confucius said; "A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions." Will expounded; "There are so few of us left it looks like I'm doing something unique, but I'm not." "Everyone else is singing tenor today so it makes me appear unique." I appreciate Will's rare sense of generous humility, but I must insist that Will Downing is unique. He says he simply does what he does best, but his artistic range has spanned dance tracks to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" making it evident to me that Will Downing's artistic engine is just getting warmed up and the only place left for him to go is a place Canadian jazz pianist Paul Bley likes to refer to as beyond excellence. Where ever beyond excellence is and whatever Will decides to do once he arrives, you can be sure that he will continue to generously apply the Downing Factor and the results will continue to be predictable - magical. Will's newest release After Tonight is #1 on Billboard's R&B chart. Hear the title track here. Article published in Dallas Weekly and EURWeb.com |
<$1.21.2008$>
"Play That Funky Music"
| Some of my readers asked me to lighten up a bit this year... a little less intensity. It seems they didn't want me to blow a gasket by regularly addressing the most serious matters of today's world. While I am quick to remind the reader that artists do not exist in a vacuum but are impacted by the world around them, I'm going to make an honest effort to lighten up. How's this? It seems like just yesterday when the world was braced for Y2K disasters. Everything from air traffic control systems to national power grids were expected to fail, and here we are at year 2008. We managed to survive the countdown to a new century. Then came 9/11; which we countered by B-2ing Afghanistan and occupying Iraq. There were no such simple solutions for Katrina. It seems that if bombing was not an option, the Bush administration was at a loss for policy. Well, just as Herod had his day and finally succumbed, making it safe to depart from Egypt, Bush is in his last term and we may all sigh a sigh of relief. However, as we enter this new election year we already face reports of hundreds dead due to unrest in Kenya, a result of charges of election fraud. We wrestle with reason as we sort through multiple accounts of the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; resulting in civil unrest and delayed elections - or democracy deferred. To top it off, the price of crude has hit the much-anticipated price of 100 dollars a barrel; the implications of which touch nearly everything from the price of gasoline at the pump to the price of CDs; the discs themselves, the jewel case and the shrink wrap. Yes, by the way, we don't all download. Some of us still play CDs... purchased from stores. Come on folks. I know at least one of you is burning CDs for someone right now. The dollar is soft and all facets of the housing industry show signs of struggle. With this rather bleak view of the New Year there is still an air of optimism among us. There is still a sense that all is not lost and that we may have, in fact, weathered the storm. I believe the saying goes, "it's always darkest just before the dawn." I think that's right. Or is it coldest before the dawn? That reminds me of my favorite Bush quotes: "Fool me the first time, shame on me. Fool me the second time, ahhh, well, you know, you can't fool me a second time." O.K., I'm attempting to lighten up. That said I am dedicating 2008 to great music and the wonderful people who make it inspite of war, injustices and natural disasters. I am dedicating the year to the spirit of rebirth and new beginnings that music can bring. They tell me the number 7 means completion so the number 8 means new beginnings. I'm dedicating a year of writing to the Gulf region in general and New Orleans and the 9th Ward in specific. Add to this your own new beginnings whether it's in your personal or professional life, your family or your community - eventually it all impacts the world around us. I promise to reach out to as many artisans as possible without regard to category or genre. I want to bring to you our best and brightest of Jazz, Blues, Rap, Gospel, R&B and Classical. I'll even get out and about with some of the hottest HBCU bands.  I'm as excited as I am encouraged that my first few interviews are with vocal greats, Will Downing and Melba Moore. Will and I have been buddies for more than 20 years. I know the two bad boys from Brooklyn will be keeping it real. Melba is the first person to give me goose pimples in a performance. She was Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins in Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious singing 'I Got Love." Whew! I just got goose pimples again just thinking about it. I'll be chasing down the veterans and the newcomers. I promise to listen to as much music as possible - old and new. I'll go as far as featuring many of the tracks on www.milesjayeradio.com. Check it out! I promise to make as many live concerts as possible. This one is tougher - I'm a bit of a hermit. But I'll do my best. I might even get on the plane to catch a few hot tour dates. I'll go behind the scenes to speak with independent label owners, media types and the technology gurus who live and breathe crazy things like Second Life. 2008 promises to be filled with as many changes as there are challenges and if you believe as I do that life comes with an accompanying soundtrack, I'll be the one cheering, "play that funky music till you die." Article also published in Dallas Weekly |