A FESTIVAL WITH SOUL.Byline: FRED SHUSTER >MUSIC WRITER You hear the marketing phrase "neo-soul" these days to describe any singer who gives even a cursory nod to the great r&b singers of the '60s and '70s. As those attending this weekend's Sunset Junction street fair The Sunset Junction Street Fair is an event held annually in the Sunset Junction neighborhood of the Silver Lake community in Los Angeles, California. Occurring annually in late August, the two-day neighborhood festival was first held in 1980 as a way to quell tensions between the will discover, the genuine stuff doesn't need a prefix. Along with KROQ faves She Wants Revenge, old-school U.K. punks the Buzzcocks, local reggae outfit the Aggrolites and much more, the 27th annual event is bringing two of the best -- Deniece Williams and Millie Jackson -- to the big stage on Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. Boulevard. Williams, who lives in Porter Ranch and just released an album of vintage cover songs, is revered for a long string of hit records including her gleaming 1976 debut, "This Is Niecy," which utilized members of Earth, Wind & Fire for a set of such gems as "That's What Friends Are For" and the frequently-sampled "Free." Before that, Williams sang backup for Stevie Wonder, Minnie Riperton, Roberta Flack and Esther Phillips Esther Mae Jones (December 23 1935 – August 7 1984) who performed as Little Esther and as Esther Phillips, was an American singer; she performed in the pop, country, jazz, and rhythm and blues fields, including soul music. . Jackson is one of those Southern soul singers, like O.V. Wright and Ann Peebles, that causes apoplexy apoplexy: see stroke. among black-music aficionados in the U.K. Her powerful early '70s albums, "Caught Up" and its sequel "Still Caught Up" -- now available on a single CD -- broke ground with heartfelt vocal performances Vocal Performances was a 12" EP released by Pere Ubu frontman David Thomas in 1981. The EP was released on Rough Trade Records as Trade 5/12. As per its title, Vocal Performances features two (mostly) a cappella recordings from Thomas. distinguished by long, humorous and explicit spoken sections, backed by the stylish Muscle Shoals rhythm section The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers, were based in the Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. Some of their members included Jimmy Johnson (guitar), Roger Hawkins (drums), David Hood (bass), and Barry Beckett (keyboards). . Since then, she's cut disco, country and bawdy bawd·y adj. bawd·i·er, bawd·i·est 1. Humorously coarse; risqué. 2. Vulgar; lewd. bawd  i·ly adv. party records, and today hosts an oldies Oldies is a generic term commonly used to describe a radio format that usually concentrates on Top 40 music from the '50s, '60s and '70s.Oldies are typically from R&B, pop and rock music genres. afternoon radio show from her Atlanta home that's broadcast in Dallas. We called Williams and Jackson for the lowdown low·down n. Slang The whole truth: gave us the lowdown on what happened at the party. lowdown low (inf) n he gave me the lowdown on it → . What's your take on today's r&b? Jackson: What they call Southern soul now is watered down. There are some decent singers, but every time I hear those fake horns, my hair stands up on my head. I can't take that. And every label that produces what's supposed to be Southern soul has the same program for horns. It's one of my pet peeves. Williams: To me, it's very foreign what passes for r&b. The music industry has changed dramatically. I just did my first album in 11 years, and I walked into an industry I didn't recognize. The rules of engagement have changed. A lot of the artists today are just the product of their producers. What are your memories of making your early albums? Williams: With the first one, I was a very scared little girl, but I had an incredible producer and arranger. The combination of the three of us created magic that I didn't expect. Jackson: When we were making "Caught Up," I just started talking during the songs. Those two albums were about a love affair with a married man and they had this soap opera soap opera Broadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. feel about them; so I just improvised some dialogue. My producer got very excited, and we worked out what I was going to do. We knew it was different. Plus, I had these incredible musicians in the studio who stayed right with me. How do you feel about playing Sunset Junction for Silver Lake hipsters? Williams: My whole career has been unusual; so why stop now? Jackson: I played it last year and was very surprised by the reaction. They're a very receptive crowd. Fred Shuster, (818) 713-3676, fred.shuster@dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Millie Jackson (2) Deniece Williams |
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