GOSPEL TAKES ON JAZZ AND R&B
(Huntsville, Alabama)---I've got mine and soon you'll get your opportunity to get your copy of Terry Townsend's new CD "MUTUAL LOVE AFFAIR!" Terry Townsend is changing the game when it comes to your father's ROCK OF AGES! I was fortunate enough to get an advanced copy of his title track single "Mutual Love Affair" weeks ago and loved it! Now, hot off the press I am now driving down the interstate rocking out and lifting "holy hands" to my advance copy of the full CD. Let's just say, "membership has it's privileges!" I will get into my connection to Townsend in just a minute, but trust me this one is worth getting. Right now I am having a hard time deciding my favorite cut from at least four individual tracks on this album.
Townsend who hails from a musical family calls Tanner, Alabama home. Tanner is a small bedroom community just outside of Huntsville. I recently discovered he comes from a large musical family and has an extended family of aunts and uncles from a marriage of nearly three decades. He was fortunate enough to marry his childhood sweetheart Tammy and enjoys a simple life with her and their three daughters. The more I am around him and his family I've learned to appreciate the joy he finds in "easy living." Laid back is the best way to sum up his personality and his unique sound on every single of "Mutual Love Affair."
Townsend, who penned every song on "Mutual Love Affair" sings passionately about his faithfulness to God, but in a unique and non-traditional way. It's so unique that you almost forget that you're listening to gospel--and not R&B. "Mutual Love Affair" could easily go either way--it has a tremendous amount of cross-over appeal. I dare to say his upbeat tempo singles "What So Ever" and "I Can't Stop" remind me of another crooner with close-knit ties to Alabama, Eric Benet.
Terry Townsend is not just a featured artist, he knows what it is to "share the spotlight." He still sings in the church he grew up in every Sunday with a male gospel group. He is very versatile and extremely generous when it comes to a "spirit of giving" which is evident as he shares the spotlight with his rich, sultry duets--"Mutual Love Affair" and "Be Strong."
Townsend told VISION/VOICE/VARION viewers in an earlier interview he considers "Mutual Love Affair" some of his best work to date. His first CD entitled, "The Blessed Project" earned him critical acclaim around the world, including the UK more than 10 years ago. A decade later Townsend and his "musical genius" producer Kelvin Wooten are on track to turning heads again.
Wooten, also based in North Alabama, earned national attention with "Freedom," a single that ended up on the original soundtrack and in a pivotal scene of the movie "Django Unchained!" The critically acclaimed single was recorded by Grammy Award winning R&B singer Anthony Hamilton and newcomer Elayna Boynton.
Full disclosure here: My connection to Townsend, Wooten and Hamilton has strictly been on a professional level. My company has had the privilege of generating a lot of publicity surrounding their individual projects. With that said, I don't think there's a conflict of interest with me simply saying they are all talented individuals. Let's face it their work speaks for itself. Whether it is gospel, R&B, contemporary jazz--together, the Townsend and Wooten team are about to give music lovers who are in the market for "something different" a real earful!
For more information on the CD release date and performance schedule for Terry Townsend, visit his official FACEBOOK fan page and website at: www.facebook.com/terrytownsendmusic and www.terrytownsend.net
