- News & Reviews FeedPhil Perry
Hello SoulTrackers!
As some know, I've been out this summer with Dave Koz, David Benoit, and Kelly Sweet. It's been 17 years since D.K. and I were on the road together, and the reunion has been nothing short of wonderful. David Benoit, as always, is as solid as a rock in his performances, and Kelly Sweet, though only 19 years old, is a joy to listen to and watch every night. I think she's gonna be around a long, long time.
With the June dates completed, the Dave Koz and Friends tour is off and running from the 12th of July with dates up and down the west coast, and a final performance at the beautiful Hollywood Bowl.
On this past June 26th, Shanachie Records - www.shanachie.com - released A MIGHTY LOVE, my seventh solo project, and the follow-up album to last year's CLASSIC LOVE SONGS. I'm hoping that my fans appreciate and enjoy listening to this collection of classic songs as much as I enjoyed singing them. I didn't hold back, and I generously offer the signature vocals that many of you say you expect from me. Please write and let me hear your personal ‘reviews'. These songs are some of my favorites, not to mention that it was an extreme pleasure to work again with my good buddy, Chris ‘Big Dog' Davis - a true musical genius. The "Big Dog" is another talent to watch and a name to remember. Please check it out when you can. My favorite cover is ‘Wild Flower' - remember that one?
Upcoming Fall 2007 dates with my own incredible band and singers, include a September show in Country Club Hills (just outside of Chicago) opening up for the great George Benson, a return to Detroit in October, and a November tour with Regina Belle in South Africa. What an amazing gift to be able to sing in Russia and Moldova at the beginning of the year, and end with performances in Africa by the end of the year...how small a world we've become! What's even more amazing is to hear non-English speakers all over the world sing my songs along with me, which tells me that they have been listening to me for a long time. My website www.philperry.net has received hundreds of messages from fans on six continents...and I'm still working on Antarctica.
While we're at it here, I'd like to extend a personal invitation for you to join me on our annual PhiLill Foundation FUNdraiser, the 3rd Phil Perry Weekend Fan Cruise (to Mexico) - February 15th thru 18th, 2008 aboard Carnival's Paradise. While you‘re at my website take a moment to click the PhiLill Foundation link and check out what PLF does to reward and support public middle school students. www.philill.org
If you make a reservation before Labor Day, I'll send you a personally autographed copy of A MIGHTY LOVE, as a token of my appreciation. Contact www.jazzfesttravel.com or call 1-877-8TRAVEL and make plans to join me, my family, and friends for this relaxing three day mid-winter retreat in sunny California and Mexico.
See ya on the road!
Still...Phil
Web Sites:
Official Web Site
Biography
Perry first came to the attention of Soul Music fans as the lead singer of the Montclairs, whose "Begging's Hard to Do" was a moderate hit in 1972. In 1985 he married soul/jazz singer Lillian "Tang" Tynes, and began a marriage partnership that has lasted ever since. After a brief stint as part of the singing duo Perry and Sanlin, Perry went solo in 1991 with The Heart of a Man, an album most notable for Perry's sheer guts (or some thought audacity) in releasing as a single a remake of Aretha Franklin's "Call Me." It was a real coming out for Perry, as he ripped through the song in bold fashion, even surpassing Aretha's revered original version.
His follow-up album, 1994's Pure Pleasure, was perhaps his best, and included fantastic remakes of "After the Love is Gone" and "If Only You Knew" and a seven minute cover of the Spinners' "Love Don't Love Nobody" that was sheer magic. During the 90s, Perry also received increased coverage on Smooth Jazz radio through his guest work on albums by Lee Ritenour, the Rippingtons and others, and inspired Windham Hill subsidiary Private Music to sign Perry, along with Barry White and Peabo Bryson, in an attempt to become the major label in the confluence of the Urban Adult Contemporary and Smooth Jazz formats.
His Private Music debut, One Heart One Love, was aimed straight at the Smooth Jazz market and hit the top five on the back of its killer title track, despite being perhaps his weakest album. His follow-up album, My Book of Love, received less attention, but was a far stronger album. Book was also the album on which Perry began to take a more active role in songwriting and production, putting his personal imprint beyond the vocal performance. This led to his lead songwriting role on 2001's Magic, an excellent album on Peak Records that showed Perry in complete control over his music.
In 2005, Perry signed with New Jersey-based Shanachie Records and issued two albums of classic soul covers. Each disc was well received by Perry's audience, with the second disc, A Mighty Love, earning for him the 2007 SoulTracks Readers' Choice Award for Male Vocalist of the Year. He parlayed the success of those two albums into a new album of original material, Ready for Love, released in August 2008. Perry recorded the disc with veteran producer Chris "Big Dog" Davis, who helmed the previous two Shanachie Releases. It was an excellent return to form that again revealed Perry's often underrated ability as a songwriter.
If ever an artist's catalog has screamed for a solid compilation - both from his solo albums and from his guest work - it is Phil Perry. However, this seems unlikely given the number of labels and artists that would be involved. And while the material and production on his albums have, at times, been uneven, his marvelous voice has made every disc a keeper, and should keep him in demand as a vocalist for years to come.
by Chris Rizik
