BY L. Michael Gipson -- Like Common's Be, Jazmine Sullivan's Fearless
is just two songs shy of being a benchmark classic in the annals of
music history. This is none too harsh a criticism for a debut album
from an artist whose "unreleased" work for several years has filled You
Tube with ear bleeding renditions and countless video homages. Under
the guidance of J Records' Clive Davis, the mastermind behind Whitney
Houston's meteoric rise, Jazmine Sullivan's Fearless
meets every expectation. Her instrument is well presented in a suite of
eclectic songs as unexpected and welcome as the weight, maturity and
skill of a vocal talent twice her age. More than an astonishing voice,
Jazmine Sullivan proves to be a storyteller of rare talent, the kind
that leaves you breathless for more for decades to come.The Philly songstress has been patiently waiting in the wings since her appearance on It's Showtime at the Apollo
as an eleven-year old wunderkind singing "Accept What God Allows." The
thunderous applause of the cynical Apollo audience carried the
youngster to Stevie Wonder's attention, where the icon's anointing
announced her as one to watch. Jive Records heeded the call, signing
her at 15 and then having absolutely no idea of what to do with a
teenage girl whose voice carried all the blues and passion of a woman
20 to 30 years her senior. The Jazmine Sullivan material that has
leaked over the years partially derived from those early sessions and
from various live performances in Philly and London, where Sullivan is
already a legend. Listening to the mythic unreleased Jazmine Sullivan
sessions makes you appreciate the courage and vision of Berry Gordy,
who was presented with a similar marketing challenge with a
pre-pubescent Michael Jackson (listen to MJ's "Who's Loving You" to
gain an understanding of what I mean). Jive wasn't as courageous as
Motown and marketing appeared utterly vexed by a mega-watt adolescent
talent who clearly wasn't about to be in her bra and panties on the
cover of Rolling Stone.Jazmine eventually moved on from Jive, toured as an independent soloist
and began a career as a hit-making songwriter for other artists,
including Christina Milian for "Say I." Meanwhile, the internet helped
to create an underground movement of cult followers of Jazmine's music,
sharing concert footage, YouTube videos and enough music files to
warrant a multi-media box set. By the time the J Records signing and
release of Fearless
was announced, debates over who had the better version of "Resentment"
-- Beyonce or Jazmine Sullivan -- was the stuff of web forum legend. Fearless may challenge some fans possessing
those roomier ballads that allowed Jazmine to stretch and indulge a
penchant for runs with reckless abandon. With A-list producers like
Salaam Remi (Amy Winehouse), Missy Elliott, Ivan "Orthodox" Barias and
Calvin "Ransum" Higgins (Musiq) at the helm, Jazmine has been reined in
a bit by songs whose construction is much more compactly arranged and
produced than her underground work. Personally, I think this is for the
best as it allows the uninitiated to enjoy and discover Jazmine with
repeated listens rather than just be in awe of her once or twice and
then saving her for those occasions when "they want to hear all that
carrying on." Sullivan's self-penned material also benefits from these
obvious steps toward more accessibility. Jazmine's voice sits nicely in
the mix of compositions that accentuate her raspy mahogany alto and
allow listeners to hear every Sullivan lyric, word for blessed word.
Her trademark riffs are still present and the inclusion of Jazmine's
signature big ballad, "In Love With Another Man," ensure that new
listeners get a heavy dose of what made the rest of us fall in love
with Jazmine Sullivan years ago. CONTINUE READING...