(February 4, 2020) J. Plunky Branch, known in the music world simply as “Plunky,” has lived the life of several musical stars. The Richmond based saxman has been a pioneer in bringing African rhythms to soul and jazz music for four decades. Add to that his time working with jazz legends ranging from Ornette Coleman to Pharaoh Sanders to Sun Ra, as well as his leading work in the DC GoGo scene, and you have a musical history that makes your jaw drop.
Last year we highlighted Plunky's latest gem of an album, Afroclectic, a tasty mixture of R&B, jazz and funk that was one of the year's best discs. And now, Plunky has just issued the music video for "Rise," a tremendous song with a message of empowerment and hope, along with an infectious hook that has us singing along with featured vocalist Charlayne “Chyp” Green.
(February 4, 2020) J. Plunky Branch, known in the music world simply as “Plunky,” has lived the life of several musical stars. The Richmond based saxman has been a pioneer in bringing African rhythms to soul and jazz music for four decades. Add to that his time working with jazz legends ranging from Ornette Coleman to Pharaoh Sanders to Sun Ra, as well as his leading work in the DC GoGo scene, and you have a musical history that makes your jaw drop.
Last year we highlighted Plunky's latest gem of an album, Afroclectic, a tasty mixture of R&B, jazz and funk that was one of the year's best discs. And now, Plunky has just issued the music video for "Rise," a tremendous song with a message of empowerment and hope, along with an infectious hook that has us singing along with featured vocalist Charlayne “Chyp” Green.
The video for "Rise" is located at the site of Lumpkin’s Jail, a 19th century slave trading ground in Richmond, VA, and shows the progress from ragged slave housing of yesterday to the progress of today. Plunky tells us, “Out of a dark past, we rise to this a place of personal healing, geographical centering, an even a generational transformation. From Oneness of Juju to OSHUN, we forge a positive vision of now and an optimistic view of tomorrow. We rise to a place of monumental redemptive positivism."
This is a great song of inspiration and hope. Check out the video for "Rise" and welcome back Plunky and Oneness to SoulTracks.
Plunky and Oneness - "Rise"
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Afroclectic at Amazon.com
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