Musician, songwriter and singer Bernard Wright has died at the age of 58 in a traffic accident. Wright is known for his 1985 hit “Who Do You Love” which was co-written with jazz drummer Lenny White. Wright was a precocious keyboard player who was performing with White and trumpeter Tom Browne when he was a teenager. He was only 17-years old when he signed a deal with GRP Records and 18 when his debut album Nard was released in 1981. The album moved into a top ten position on the jazz chart and was the beginning of his work as a solo artist.

His third album Mr. Wright delved into R&B with Marcus Miller and Lenny White as the album’s producers. The video for “Who Do You Love” was the most successful song from Mr. Wright and the video was played heavily on Video Music Box. The pulse of the tune continued with it being sampled by hip-hop artists Dr. Dre and LL Cool J. Wright’s recording career ended in 1993 after the release of three gospel albums. His work outside of the solo realm included making records with Miles Davis, Doug E. Fresh, Bobby Brown, Cameo and Charles Earland. The New York native had relocated to Dallas, Texas and most recently spent his time mentoring younger musicians and playing in local bands. Wright’s lifelong immersion in music includes having the singer Roberta Flack as a godmother. 

Patrice Rushen will debut a commissioned jazz piece with a special concert in Detroit. The pianist, composer and bandleader will premiere The Resonate Suite with The Gathering Orchestra Nonet at the Carr Center on Saturday, March 21st at 7:30 PM. The show is the result of the Carr Center’s Gathering Orchestra Residency where Rushen is the 2022 resident.  Rushen will spend one week with the center’s orchestra under Rodney Whitaker’s direction. The Resonate Suite is three parts representing three decades and is written for three saxophones, trumpet, trombone, piano, drums, bass and guitar. The piece is the first of a larger group of works to be performed by the nine-piece ensemble. 

Rodney Whitaker is the director of The Gathering Residency a two-year fellowship that offers young musicians from 18 to 28 the opportunity to work with professional mentors on standards, new music and original compositions. The fellowship was pared down to nine musicians during the pandemic and this caused the 2021-2022 cohort to be performed virtually.  

Rushen’s new piece was commissioned as part of the Resonate multi-year collaboration between Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings and the Carr Center that aims to explore the African diaspora through the lens of American chamber music. She is among seven composers to creates works that will be performed with collaborators that include Bowling Green University, Western Michigan University, the Carr Center, Oberlin Conservatory, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Michigan State University, and the University of Michigan/An Arbor. The Resonate Project will have a 2023 symposium hosted by the Carr Center and chaired by Rushen. 

The residency is among Rushen’s several accomplishments over a five-decade career. Her 1982 single “Forget Me Nots” had a second life after it was featured in the blockbuster 1997 film Men In Black. A career that was based in jazz in the ’70s moved into a successful R&B period in the ’80s. She is the first woman musical director of The Grammys , the NAACP Image Awards, the People’s Choice Awards and HBO’s Comic Relief V. She was the music director for Janet Jackson’s Janet world tour. Her seventh album Straight From The Heart continues to inspire artists and Richmond, Virginia collective Butcher Brown covered her “Remind Me” with Alex Isley in 2021. 

Tickets for the show can be purchased at thecarrcenter.org and there is the option to register for viewing the live stream of the concert. 

Alexander Flood is an Australian percussionist with a proud jazz foundation and an ever-expanding ear. His sophomore effort, The Space Between, traverses the worlds of fusion, hip-hop and R&B. He is signed to trumpeter Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s Stretch Music label who he also collaborated with on “Pathways.” Flood’s music has recognizable links back to Guru’s Jazzmatazz and Miles Davis’ Tutu and Bitches Brew eras. “All For The Pocket” features rapper Nelson Dialect and the groove reignites the cultural flow between hip-hop and jazz. It is mostly instrumental but singer Vivian Sessoms makes “Starseed” an instantly memorable moment by adding exquisite heights of emotion to tumbling rhythms and soaring synthesizers. Flood’s 2020 debut album HEARTBEAT introduced his openess to other genres within his jazz roots. The Space Between includes more diverse sounds and textures indicating the young drummer’s growing sound palette. Listening to the album one can assume the real space between is a place where music happens free of labels and prescriptive destinations. 

Sade’s  Stronger Than Pride was the next step in her legacy of jazz-touched R&B. By the time of its release in 1988 she truly was the Queen of Smooth. STP was her third album and it cemented her new reign as the leading voice of a  different era of quietstorm radio. “Nothing Can Come Between Us” compressed passion and a forever love into a four-minute testimonial lead by Sade’s haunting contralto and the funk/jazz guitar work of Stuart Matthewman and Paul S. Denman. On a surface listen it sounded like lighthearted fare for a superficial romance but the rhythmic heat at the core of the groove represented an unbreakable bond between two people. The appeal of “Nothing Can Come Between Us” upped the importance of STP which quickly became her third consecutive platinum success and boasted three other hit singles. Thirty-four years later STP is considered timeless and Sade’s understated sensuality is iconic.