Nigel Hall & Dj Harrison - The Burning Bush: A Journey Through the Music of Earth, Wind & Fire (2024)

Music anoraks might now that Nigel Hall is the keysman and vocalist in acclaimed jazz/funk band, Lettuce and that DJ Harrison works with Virginia jazzers, Butcher Brown. Both hail from the Washington DC area and though they’ve enjoyed varied and diverging music careers, both men share a love for classic soul and more specifically the magical music crafted by the ground breaking Earth, Wind And Fire. Hall, in particular, is a big, big fan of the band. He says: “I was crushed by Maurice White’s passing, so I thought what better way to release the pain and anguish of losing someone who I consider a king, by honouring him (and the group which was his vision) by paying homage to the music that changed (and continues to change) our lives.”. Thus, linking up with Harrison, the project that became this album – subtitled ‘A Journey Through The Music Of Earth, Wind & Fire’ was born and the pair began putting their own spin of some EWF classics and personal favourites

The album’s release was flagged up by the single -‘Earth, Wind and Fire’; a cover of EWF’s 1976 eponymous namesake track. This new rendition was slightly faster than the original but it retained the original’s soaring, ethereal vocals and lush string parts that have here been translated to synth pads. And that’s the way of the album – don’t expect faithful copies of music from the EWF catalogue, rather except the familiar (and the not so familiar) delivered in a slightly different but respectful and heartfelt way!

The more familiar songs include ‘Happy Feelin’’, ‘Let’s Groove’ and ‘That’s The Way Of The World’. There’s also a gorgeous version of ‘Sun Goddess’ – probably best known in its Ramsey Lewis version. EWF fans will know the other tunes but casual fans might not be too familiar with songs like ‘On Your Face’, ‘My Love’ and ‘Dreams’ but all are given innovative yet respectful treatments.

Helping Harrison and Hall deliver are some stellar side players – Hall’s Lettuce bandmates Adam Deitch (drums) and Eric “Benny” Bloom (trumpet) and Harrison’s Butcher Brown counterparts Corey Fonville (drums), Andrew Randazzo (bass), Marcus Tenney (horns), Morgan Burrs (guitar). Former Butcher Brown guitarist Keith Askey, Billboard chart-topping guitarist/producer Brandon Lane, and revered Richmond-based vocalist Sam Reed also appear on the album.

Hall sums up why he recorded this splendid collection and what he hopes to achieve with it: “Our hope is that the listener will use our renditions to research the originals and how amazing the world of EWF actually is. We are true believers in the fact that, if everyone started their day with at least one EWF song, the world would indeed be a better place.” Amen!