Master drummer/producer Norman Connors has been away from the recording scene for almost six years now but out of studio doesn't mean out work. The man who first brought the likes of Phyllis Hyman, Michael Henderson and Glenn Jones to public attention vai his mid-Seventies albums for Arista and Buddah is quick to point out that he's been performing pretty consistently throughout that time.
As his official Geffen Records' bio states, "John White sings with the authority and control of some of R&B's finest vocalists ..." and after listening to the gentleman's debut LP, "Night People", it would be tough to disagree.
When B&S last spoke to Lanier & Co back in February of last
year (was it really that long ago?!), the group were hoping that their
third single for Willie Mitchell's Waylo label would be the one. While
"Dancing In The Night" can't really be regarded as a hit in terms of
the small U.K. market (having peaked outside of the Top 75 at No.78) it
has at least brought them to the attention of a major label in EMI.
Hopefully the single is selling sufficiently well to convince EMI to go
with a follow-up, and maybe their now-completed album as well.
With a succession of specialist radio and club anthems ("Keep Your Body Working". "Get Tough"' "Intimate Connection" etc. having made Kleeer one of the most consistently acclaimed American funk outfits on the thriving early eighties UK soul scene,
You may be forgiven if you think 'Deja' has a sort of familiar ring.
The name may be new, but the duo boast a partnership spanning more than
ten years. And though the name alludes to something we've seen before,
Curt Jones and Starleanna Young are looking forward to the future, not
back to the past. Dropping the name Aurra is a positive move to
exorcise ghosts from the past, and start afresh with a whole new sound.