“for the LOVE of Music” with Sara Trow and her guest Keith Mitchell, on air from June 3rd
Born in Indianapolis, Keith Mitchell’s musical roots were planted early, singing in church at age seven with his siblings in The Stars of Zion. By twelve, he was leading songs and shaping harmonies, setting the stage for a life steeped in music. Though he majored in business at Indiana University, music pulled him stronger. Through the acclaimed IU Soul Review, he refined his R&B sound, which led to the formation of After 7 with his brother Melvin and Kevon Edmonds. Together, they soared to gold and platinum success with era-defining hits. The trio was initially produced by mega hit-makers Babyface (the Edmonds’ younger brother) L.A. Reid, and Daryl Simmons in the group’s self-titled 1989 debut album which spawned the Billboard #1 R&B (and Hot 100 Top Ten) hits “Ready or Not” and “Can’t Stop.” They released two more albums (including the platinum-selling Takin’ My Time) over the next decade before their initial split.
Yet even amid commercial fame, Keith’s spiritual foundation stayed strong. As a member of World Changers International under Pastor Creflo Dollar, he experienced a deep renewal of faith that redirected his path. This spiritual reawakening inspired a new sound, one that blends his soulful R&B roots with powerful gospel truth.
Now, as a solo artist, Keith is channeling a lifetime of musical mastery into a fresh chapter. With the guidance of faith and the support of like-minded young producers, he’s crafting a sound that is both contemporary and timeless, a testimony of transformation, purpose, and praise. His music is more than melody; it’s ministry with rhythm and soul.
After rejoining After 7 for their 2015 comeback and contributing to their 2021 album Unfinished Business, Keith Mitchell officially stepped away in early 2024. He now begins a new chapter as a solo gospel artist with “He’s Alive,” the powerful lead single from his upcoming debut album Food for Your Life. Rich in testimony and praise, the song marks a bold return to his spiritual roots.
Keith’s journey began in the church, singing with his siblings in The Stars of Zion. Though he strayed from his faith in his teens, he rediscovered it at 40 through the teachings of Pastor Creflo Dollar. That reconnection sparked a deeper purpose, one that now fuels his music with messages of transformation, grace, and spiritual awakening.
Songs like “The Kingdom,” “Rescue Me,” and “Virtuous Woman” reflect his personal evolution and divine inspiration. “He’s Alive” is more than a debut—it’s Keith’s heartfelt testimony and invitation for others to experience the living presence of Christ. As he puts it, “There’s no greater honor than using music to minister to the heart.”
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“For the LOVE of Music” with Sara Troy and her guest George Whitty & Ellis Hall on air from October 15th
When music legends George Whitty and Ellis Hall decided to turn their long time mutual admiration society into an official partnership, they committed full throttle to recording their explosive contemporary twist on classic R&B and came up with a clever branding idea.
Rather than simply calling themselves Whitty Hall, Hall added “Artistic Team” to create WHAT. Add in a handful of exclamation points and WHAT!!!! was born. As the full CD shaped up, with its probing commentary on the ups and downs of living today, the title In the World suggested itself as the accompaniment to the band’s name.
When long time fans of these two keyboard powerhouses and newcomers to the Whitty-Hall experience check out these eclectic ten tracks, their initial responses will truly be a rousing, “WHAT!!!! In the World?”
Whitty says, “At first glance, there’s a little inside joke in there, but it also speaks to Ellis’ and my observations of the world we live in, pooling and sharing our various life experiences together.” Their pitch-perfect creative mission statement is “WHAT!!!! puts the fun in funk!”
Once the multi-Grammy winning Whitty and long beloved “Ambassador of Soul” and former Tower of Power vocalist Hall had their name and title down, next up was picking the perfect lead single. The goal was an invitation to immerse in the freshness of the grooves, the dynamics of their array of keys (including Whitty’s Moog bass and drum programming and Hall’s Hammond B-3 organ) and the surreal magic of Hall’s multi-octave vocals. The obvious choice was “Die Living,” a simmering soul anthem whose thought-provoking title came spontaneously to Whitty one day and inspired a grooving,gospel-blues fired track spiked by what Whitty calls “a front porch kind of thing.”
In addition to organ, Hall adds various flavors of guitar on the track. Partly inspired by a casual but witty response Willie Nelson once gave to an interviewer who asked if he would ever think of retiring, “Die Living” is a song about wringing every last drop of life we can out of our time here, and seeking wisdom from others on how to do that. It’s a plea encouraging us to literally die while living as fully as possible and feeling as optimistic in old age as we did in our youth.
As Hall sings in the first chorus, “Cause I want to die living/Help me sail into the sun/And I want to die believing/Life has just begun!” The engaging, insightful verses are essentially conversations with a “brother” who has wisdom to impart, an “old man” who can help us “steer clear from the fruit of the poisonous tree” and, as Whitty’s two boys taught him, “how much we loved to laugh and play.”
As Hall sings in his inimitably powerful way in the bridge, the hope is to “play it loud and long/Finish clear and strong/Just the way I did when I was young…!” “The son is basically asking different people for advice on how to live our best lives,” says Whitty. “In the second verse, Ellis added some interesting lyrics to what I had written, which was a shout out to joyful little kids who can also teach older folks a thing or two about living. He is a great lyricist with a good feel for the right words that just sort of tumble out of him to meet the occasion perfectly.”
WHAT!!!! and the In the World album have their roots in another of the album’s instant classics, “Hug Me,” an epic, six-minute power ballad/anthem Whitty and Hall recorded in 2023 as a tribute to the strength and resolve of the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s bloody invasion – a way for artists to help in any way they can. Featuring the ethereal vocals of the great Ukrainian singer Maryana Golovko, the track is a powerful re-imagining of Slava Varkachuk’s Ukranian hit “Obiymy (Embrace).” The compelling video for the song intercuts clips of the two playing their parts (and Hall singing) in different studios with footage of Golovko singing in an outdoor setting and stark color and black and white images of the war’s youngest victims, the children. The recording went live on the fundraising platform United 24 within minutes of submission and currently has thousands of views on YouTube.
Whitty had been a fan of Hall’s since he “kicked my ass so hard” when he headlined as Tower of Power’s lead singer at a mid-80s performance at NYC’s The Bottom Line. Hall’s longtime project manager (and longtime “watcher”) Alec Berfield had been bugging the singer about meeting Whitty for years, and when Whitty, with Berfield’s prompting, sent him his initial tracks for “Hug Me,” he knew it was divine timing. “Listening to what George had put together, I heard an opportunity to add some nice vocal harmonies to the track,” says Hall. Whitty adds, “I wanted it to start out simple and stripped down and build into a powerhouse symphony kind of vibe. Once I had a bass line going, it opened up into a big, epic Peter Gabriel type of sound. Ellis took it from there and wrote great English lyrics to it which deal with the human emotion side of the conflict, not the politics.”
With three of the 10 songs recorded live in January 2024 at Inner Sanctum Studios in Coos Bay, Oregon, In The World – executive produced by Berfield and David Ford – also includes the up-tempo blues/soul/funk barnburner “Own Up,” the emotional, mid-tempo pop/soul ballad “Miami” and “Why Should I Care,” a heartfelt, poignant ballad about human indifference that Hall wrote years ago when he simultaneously heard about the Jonestown, Guyana tragedy and a previous Palestinian-Israel conflict. Prior to this dynamic re-imagining, Hall had sung it at African American summits in South Africa and Zimbabwe and it was one of Nelson Mandela’s favorite songs.
The new collection also features the beautiful, moody introspection “Some Days Were Meant for Rain,” which Hall originally recorded on TOP’s 1987 album Power (the only album the singer recorded with the band during his tenure from 1984-88). WHAT!!!! also recorded a fiery live-in-studio version of the Sam & Dave classic “I Thank You.” The band includes guitarist David Ford, bassist Armand Sabal-Lecco (famous for his tours with Paul Simon) and drummer Aaron Haggerty (Al McKay, Kool & The Gang, Gary Clark Jr., UB40).
A little background: For the past three decades, George Whitty has been playing live with everyone from the Brecker Brothers, Herbie Hancock and the late David Sanborn to Chaka Khan, Richard Bona, Sadao Watanabe and many others. As a producer and session keyboardist, his credits include Santana’s blockbuster Supernatural (with Dave Matthews), Celine Dion’s Falling Into You and These Are Special Times, Hancock’s The Imagine Project and hundreds of others. He has won four Grammys for his work on Chaka Khan’s The Woman I Am, Randy Brecker’s 34th and Lex, Michael Brecker’s Tales Fromthe Hudson and the Brecker Bros.’ Out of the Loop.
In addition to his years with Tower of Power, Ellis Hall – who has been sightless since age 18 – fronted the Ellis Hall Group in the 70s, has written over 4000 soul, gospel, blues and pop songs, performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Herbie Hancock, George Benson and Maurice White and recorded with John Klemmer, George Duke and Kenny G, among countless others. He has also written and performed on many film soundtracks including The Lion King 2, Shrek 2, Invincible and Bruce Almighty. He also sang a Louis Armstrong tune in the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can.
Speaking of his musical chemistry with Whitty, Hall says, “We are true brothers from another mother! I keep telling George to get outta my head sucka!” Whitty adds, “We just clicked right away and made each other laugh. From the get-go, I knew it would be easy to work with him and a lot of fun as well. Every time I get tracks from Ellis, it feels like Christmas Day. I guess I was on the good list. I was on a plane coming home to LA from New York recently and received some tracks from him in flight. They were so great that I was sitting there in my seat at 2 a.m. just smiling and kind of exclaiming; I wonder what the other passengers thought I was doing.” Hall adds, “It’s just a joyous thing and my word for joyous is ‘chakalaka’!” “Die Living” will proudly be released in October in association with Mike Dion and ITI Records, followed in January 2025 by the album In the World.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
“for the LOVE of Music” with Sara Troy and her guest Jesse JT JAZZ Thompson, on air from July 23rd.
Jesse”JTJazz” Thompson, multi-talented composer, pianist and keyboardist, born in “The Land Of Funk” (Dayton, Ohio) attributes his humble beginnings in music to being captivated by a family of musicians: a father who was a professional drummer, Thompson’s mother—a church organist/pianist and his brother Marvyn Wheatley (who recorded and played with Parliament and Slave). Industry influences were soul/funk legends The Ohio Players, Lakeside and Zapp featuring Roger Troutman.
Driven to continue the legacy of great musicianship, Thompson became a member of the popular Columbus-based, R&B/Jazz group NexLevel for several years. The collectives released two albums, a string of singles, and shared stages with countless notable artists.
In 2021, the impact of the global pandemic deeply inspired Thompson to write and release the up-tempo, feel-good melody, “Weekend Groove,” ft Althea Rene which catapulted the musician into solo-artist status. The well-received track has garnered close to 200K Spotify streams to date.
Thompson would go on to release a 7-song EP, in 2022, intriguingly titled The Inauguration of JTJazz (Jesse Thompson-the man behind the keys) marking the commencement of a new pathway, and birthing several singles from the project.
Judah Sealy, a rising creative within the contemporary jazz genre, is known for his unique sound that comes from a blend of R&B, jazz, gospel, neo-soul and funk…the common thread between himself and Jesse “JTJAZZ” Thompson.
Sealy’s smooth saxophone style is heavily influenced by Kirk Whalum, George Furlow, Gerald Albright, and Boney James to name a few.
With 2024 being a ‘leap’ year which some say is the year of inspiration, Thompson has resolutely followed his passion by keeping his legacy in music alive by teaming with heavyweight “Late Nite,” and collaborating with highly sought after Saxophonist Judah Sealy to create an alluring mid-tempo track entitled, “Late Nite,” which is available now on all digital platforms worldwide.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
‘for the LOVE of Music” with Sara Troy and her guest DEEANN, on air from July 23rd
It’s My Time. In 2015, years after setting aside her larger musical dreams to dedicate herself to raising a family, multi-talented singer/songwriter, DeeAnn is back to create her legacy. Her latest album It’s My Time, currently receiving National airplay with Neal Sapper, New World n Jazz and featuring three original songs amidst a mix of folk, pop and jazz classics, is the latest manifestation of the Niagara Falls, NY native’s renewed vision of her life.
The singer laid the foundation for her newly burgeoning career with her cleverly titled 2017 collection Desperately Seeking DeeAnn, which was produced by contemporary jazz bassist, RiShon Odel (Brian Culbertson, Najee). When her father, popular Buffalo area jazz performer Frank DiMeo, learned she was finally embracing what he felt was her destiny as a jazz singer, he was thrilled. Though she had previously sung pop and country professionally, he was the one who introduced her as a little girl to the music of Ella Fitzgerald and his favorite, Sarah Vaughan.
To pay tribute to her dad’s influence, DeeAnn invited him to sing two duets with her (“Unforgettable” and “Fly Me to the Moon”). The collection also featured the blues and jazz influenced original tune, “Everybody’s Got a Story”, whose chorus served as her life’s new mission statement: “Everybody’s Got a Story/Everybody’s got a cross to bear/Everybody’s got something to say/So shine the light and spread your love.” The following year, DeeAnn was honored to be inducted into the Niagara Falls Music Hall of Fame.
The singer soon had a painful story to tell. The tragedy of losing her 23-year-old son William Michael Tompkins to a motorcycle accident, after she and Odel had completed most of the tracks of “It’s My Time’ threw DeeAnn’s life into a tailspin and delayed the project indefinitely. Her original concept was to record an album of old standards, and the two had 90 percent of them.
When DeeAnn came back to the project she added a few new, very personal songs, starting with a heartrending, gospel-influenced version of “You Are My Sunshine”, a song she sang to William to put him to sleep when he was a child. Odel’s sensitive yet rousing and inspirational production features members of the Buffalo Philharmonic String Quartet (Roman Mekhulnov).
Another original tune she added, the soulful ballad, “A Little Romance,” is a homage to the “angels” who helped her during her lowest points: “You help me pray, when my faith is shaken/You give me hope, help my soul awaken.” The other originals are the passionate love ballad “Here to Stay” and “Writing on the Wall,” a whimsical, hard hitting, brassy blues-rock breakup song, a duet with Mick Hayes that balances the poignancy of the album.
The other tracks on It’s My Time reveal DeeAnn as a masterful song interpreter and storyteller who turns words and melodies of legendary writers and artists into her own emotional narratives. Drawing from a wide range of styles and eras, these include “Blue Skies,” “Summertime,” “Killing Me Softly,” “My Funny Valentine,” “Nearness of You” and “Fine and Mellow.”
Hailing from a small steel town outside of Buffalo, DeeAnn was raised in a musical family, learning standards that would eventually become part of her repertoire. In addition to the smooth vocal stylings of her father Frank, she was inspired early on by Buffalo Blue Note legend, DoDo Green and attended multiple jazz jams. During her early days as a pop/rock singer, she won Best Female Vocalist at the Buffalo Music Awards two years in a row. Her later success as a country artist earned her placements on numerous radio CD compilations, resulting in airplay throughout the U.S and Europe. When she returned to music as a jazz-blues singer in the mid-2010’s, she won Best Female Blues Vocalist at the Buffalo Night Life Music Awards and her 2019 EP Stay Here won Best Jazz CD from JazzBuffalo.org.
Tony Zambito, Executive Director of JazzBuffalo, says, “DeeAnn is not only a soulful powerhouse, but also a superb storyteller who’s emotionally charged performances create a deeply personal and wonderful listening experience for audiences. Whether interpreting timeless classics or presenting her own originals, DeeAnn captivates listeners with her heartfelt delivery and genuine connection, making each concert and listen truly memorable.”
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book in to awareness.
“for the LOVE of Music” with Sara Troy and her guest Kevin Flournoy, on air from January 9th.
An unstoppable behind the scenes force of musical nature since his 1994 breakthrough as a producer with “Sweet Sensual Love,” Big Mountain’s follow-up to their smash “Baby I Love Your Way,” and keyboardist on their Reggae Sunsplash tour, Kevin Flournoy has amassed a dizzyingly prolific all-star resume in the jazz, pop and R&B realms over the past three decades.
Driven by an expansive, panoramic perspective on music, and starting with his subsequent 90s work with The Emotions, Teena Marie and Ronnie Laws (helming the saxophonist’s Blue Note tribute album Harvest for the World – Portrait of the Isley Brothers), Kevin has written, performed or recorded with Chaka Khan, Babyface, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Jeffrey Osborne, The Pointer Sisters, Jennifer Hudson, Howard Hewitt, Jamie Foxx, The Jazz Crusaders and contemporary jazz greats Boney James, Norman Brown, Kirk Whalum and Harvey Mason. In the 2000s, Flournoy toured with Donny Osmond for six years.
Now, marking an extraordinary 30 years as the music industry’s premiere “go-to” guy in a multitude of arenas, Kevin is finally emerging as a recording artist in his own right, writing, recording and producing his independent debut album Vers•a•tility. Much like Quincy Jones did in the 80s and 90s with his epic eclectic albums The Dude, Back on the Block, Q’s Jook Joint and From Q, With Love, the keyboardist/producer features a dynamic array of guest artists, complementing legends he has worked with throughout his career with hand-selected young and vibrant artists on the rise. The collection features eight vocal tracks and four instrumentals spotlighting Kevin’s brilliance as a keyboardist and composer.
“This project is a culmination of everything I know, each style I’ve played, and all I have done and want to do in music,” he says. “It’s special because it reveals all aspects of my artistry and lays a proper foundation for what I intend to write and produce moving forward. I’ve been dreaming about creating this album for many years and I’m delighted that it’s finally come to fruition. I’ve finally been able to emote through my art in such a way that is bringing joy to many people who are hearing my music for the first time.”
“What I like most about these sessions,” Kevin adds, “is that they’ve allowed me to work with some of the most sought-after studio musicians and celebrity vocalists in the industry. The album has always allowed me to develop relationships with some of the top recording studios (Capital, Westlake, East West, Sunset Sound) and studio engineers in the world, including late great 20-time Grammy winner Al Schmitt.”
Released this past year, Vers•a•tility’s first lead single “Tell Me If You Still Care” featuring vocals by Phil Perry and Shannon Pearson, is a lush, sensual re-imagining of the mid-80s Top 5 R&B hit by The S.O.S Band, composed by Jimmy Jam and /Terry Lewis. The YouTube video of a live presentation of the song has 2.5M+ views on YouTube and earned Song of the Year honors from the Orlando Urban Film Festival. The track marks a special reunion between Flournoy and Perry, whom the keyboardist played for years ago at Kimball’s East in Oakland.
The second lead single was the original Kevin-penned R&B/pop vocal track “You’re All I Need” featuring Filipino singer Orion Song, winner of The Voice Australia Anja Nissen and Christine Noel, well known for her tours as a backup singer for Miley Cyrus. The upcoming third single “Smooth It Over” is a special reunion with Ronnie Laws featuring Kevin on piano, while Kevin’s original urban jazz instrumental “Put It There” will be the fourth.
Other tracks include “Caribbean Blue,” which reunites Kevin with Quino, lead singer of Big Mountain; a twist on Al Green’s “Still in Love With You,” featuring Cerissa McQueen; a duet of the Barbra Streisand classic “Evergreen” by guest artists Cerissa McQueen and Adam Aejaye Jackson; an emotional version of Etta James’ iconic “At Last” with vocals by Shannon Pearson; and “A Parting Glance” featuring Native Vibe. In addition to “Put It There” and “Smooth It Over,” Kevin is the composer and main performer on the instrumentals “Secrets,” “Tears Are Gone” and “Move It Over,” which features San Diego guitar great Patrick Yandall and bassist Melvin Lee Davis, who is Chaka Khan’s musical director.
Kevin in part credits his father, a marine who played trombone, for cultivating his love for music early on by taking him and his siblings to a local music store in Barstow, CA to pick out an instrument to play. Kevin played guitar for several years before gravitating to his sister’s original instrument, the organ and ultimately piano. A professor at Kevin’s future alma mater University of California San Diego, Jimmy Cheatham, introduced him to the music of Count Basie when he was 15 and Kevin played in a big band for five years. Kevin earned a B.A. in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Music Science and Technology. Another major influence on Kevin as he made his way in the music industry was Marvin Gaye’s onetime musical director Nolan Shaheed.
In addition to his work with countless artists and working on numerous TV projects including American Idol, Kevin is the creator of an original video music-talk program called The K-Flow Show, a fresh take on the traditional music/talk show featuring organic live performances by celebrity and independent pop artists. Conceived as something of a mix between Hugh Hefner’s classic TV show Playboy After Dark, MTV Unplugged and Daryl Hall’s Live from Daryl’s House, The K Flow Show – which takes place in an intimate, living room type setting – will also spotlight instrumental performers and TV and film actors. Kevin has brought a live version of The K Flow Show to the Miracle Theatre in Inglewood, CA and in January 2024 will bring the special presentation to the Blues and Jazz Festival in Ghana, Africa.
Kevin is also deeply involved in a philanthropic effort as producer of a celebrity recording compilation On a Very Special Note, which will benefit The Art of the Olympians and the World Harmony Run/Peace Run – a project that will ultimately benefit people all over the globe. The original songs for the project have been composed by Kevin for each celebrity participant. A very important strategic promotional alliance with the Peace Run organization was forged when Kevin was honored with the Sri Chinmoy-Torch-Bearer Award, given to individuals who support and contribute to making the world a better place. Previous recipients include Archbishop Kevin Tutu, Russell Simmons, Carl Lewis and Billie Jean King.
All of our shows/interviews are done by donation, if you enjoyed this show please support us here with either a one-time donation or subscribe and support, thank you. and please support Our Forgotten Children’s anthology and help to bring this book into production.
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