CD REVIEW The Rooftop “A Live Shot” Reviewed by Evan Ginzburg

Growing up listening to the legendary giants of R&B, I unfortunately find the number of today’s younger stars generally pale in comparison.

Sure I respect and support such tremendous-talents-who-deserve-wider-recognition such as Raheem DeVaughn, Bilal, Rahsaan Patterson and a select few others. But to discover someone new who is worth following is far from an everyday occurrence for this jaded old-school fan.

With that in mind, I am pleased to recommend The Rooftop, a band featuring up and coming stars from various artist collectives in the NYC Soul scene. Guitarist/composer CVH (Christian Ver Halen) gathered together the talents of not only fine vocalists, but also MCs, poets and musicians. Blending soul, jazz, blues, gospel and acoustic world music, this CD proves to be thoroughly enjoyable and even soothing. CVH claims there’s “no rules to bound the performances,” and the enthusiastic crowd reactions on “A Live Shot” indicates just that - young fans grooving to great new talent as they jam.

Imagine that in today’s corporate music world.

Although I can’t say that every cut grabbed me, I nonetheless recommend this ambitious project. Even better, the CD is a benefit for Music Rising, part of the Grammy Awards MusiCares program bringing aid to musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.

In The Rooftop’s “A Live Shot,” you have great music for a great cause. You just can’t beat that combination.

Check it out.

Evan Ginzburg

DJ- Riot Radio Network

www.evanginzburg.com