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JFH Indie Review

JFH Indie Music Spotlight Review

Miami Mass Choir

Miami Mass Choir
Live at the Adrienne Arsht Center

Street Date: December 9, 2016
Style: Live / Gospel / Worship
Buy It: iTunes
Buy It: AmazonMP3


The Miami Mass Choir is a Stellar Award winning choir from Miami Florida led by Pastor Marc Cooper. The choir features a multi-cultural group of insanely talented musicians and singers. The choir's newest album, Live at the Adrienne Arsht Center, was recorded live at the Adrienne Arsht performing arts center in downtown Miami and released in December 2016. The album itself has already received some rave reviews. There's something special about choral music and arrangements -- especially when it's done correctly. Choirs have been helping to lead praise and worship long before the Chris Tomlin's of the world were even born, and unfortunately have become a dying art. So many churches have gone away from choirs and replaced them with praise bands. Praise bands are by no means a bad thing, but to hear a powerful choir like this is striking.

Miami Mass Choir starts off with the fast-paced and praise-filled "Lord of Everything," but gets really good a couple of tracks later with "That's What He Is," led by Betty Wright -- a living soul music legend. The song has an undeniable groove, soul and blues feel. What do you get when you add a catchy rhythm with a powerful voice, and a blistering guitar solo? The best song on Miami Mass Choir's newest album. Directly following one legend is another, though. Beverly Crawford, a gospel singer known for singing with the New Life Singers on Bobby Jones Gospel, leads on slower horn-based "Calvary." Miami is known for its rich Latino heritage and "Good News" pays homage to that history. The song features Spanish flavored music, guitars that would make Carlos Santana proud, and lyrics sung in both English and Spanish. While the songs throughout the remainder of the album have their own unique qualities, the most interesting track left to ponder is the closer. "Overcome" has a much more traditional CCM feel and stands apart from the first sixteen songs. Strong vocals highlight the entire track with lyrics of unifying and overcoming whatever life throws our way. While it portrays a very different sound from the rest of the album, "Overcome" still manages to fit nicely into the mix and serve as a good finale for the evening. Also featured in the recording are two "praise breaks." The first features an absolutely blazing bass line and the second is more piano and organ focused -- each of them had to completely wear out the drummer.

While it's quite obvious this performance was well rehearsed and executed, one can't help but wonder how much was actually improvised -- especially when it comes to the "reprise" tracks. The musicians present are surely capable of it, and the ability to improvise lends even more to the credence of the entire body's talent. While gospel choir music is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, the Miami Mass Choir have put together a truly unique and praise-filled experience. I imagine those in attendance were thoroughly impressed and hyped up at the end of the evening. I also imagine the musicians involved had to get some serious rest to recover.

If you love gospel choir music, or even if you just appreciate a good choir, Miami Mass Choir's Live at the Adrienne Arsht Center is going to be perfect for you. If you're not really familiar with true gospel choirs, I'd still recommend a listen; the talent of the musicians and vocalists alone are worth that much. This one is a bit of a marathon, clocking in at over one hour and fifteen minutes, though. Just be sure you give yourself a little time to listen -- and room if you're prone to dancing.

- Review date: 2/23/17, written by Michael Weaver of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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JFH Indie Spotlight Review . Record Label: None
. Album length: 16 tracks: 76 minutes, 58 seconds
. Street Date: December 9, 2016
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: AmazonMP3

  1. Intro (Live) (0:20)
  2. Lord of Everything (Live) [feat. Danette Inyang] (3:48)
  3. I Will Rejoice (Live) [feat. Marc Cooper & Joy Cooper] (5:36)
  4. That's What He Is (Live) [feat. Betty Wright] (6:50)
  5. Calvary (Live) [feat. Beverly Crawford] (7:28)
  6. Calvary Praise (Live) (3:02)
  7. Good News (Live) [feat. Tony Lebron & Paula Coleman] (5:05)
  8. Good News (Reprise) [Live] (3:02)
  9. You Don't Know the Half (Live) [feat. Craig Walden] (7:07)
  10. Thank You Jesus (Live) [feat. Zacardi Cortez & Ja Lisa Faye] (6:29)
  11. Thank You Jesus (Reprise) [Live] [feat. Zacardi Cortez & Ja Lisa Faye] (4:13)
  12. Thank You Praise (Live) (4:27)
  13. All I Need (Live) [feat. Avery Jones] (6:14)
  14. All I Need, Pt. 2 (Live) (4:05)
  15. We Lift You Up (Live) [feat. Vaughn Henry] (4:12)
  16. Overcome (Live) [Edited Version] (5:00)

 

 

 

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This Friday, June 27, 2025
ALBUMS
7eventh Time Down We Praise You [BEC]
The Browns 25th Anniversary: Better Days Ahead [StowTown]
Franni Cash Wild Child - EP [Capitol CMG]
Matt Crocker interlude [Anotherland]
Jimmy Fortune Songs of an American Dreamer [Gaither]
Roxanne Grace Road Trip - EP [DREAM]
JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise The Live Reunion: Washington, DC [James Town]
Kutless The Seventh Seal - EP [BEC]
Evvie McKinney It Ain't Over - EP (independent)
Rusty Shipp Capsized Empire (independent)
SEU Worship A Forgiving God [Provident]
The Shimmering Carnelians The Doorway (Version 2.0) (independent)
We Are Messengers A Thousand Times - EP [Curb]

SINGLES
Anchor & Braille Rattlesnake - Single [Equal Vision]
ANTHNY imposter syndrome - Single [Provident]
Blanca Right On Time - Single [Curb]
Landry Cantrell & Elenee sunshine & rainbows - Single [DREAM]
Eddie Clark Never Content - Single [Syntax]
Colony House Atomic - Single [Roon]
Megan Danielle Preachin' To The Choir - Single [Provident]
Drea LP & OnBeatMusic Don't Try Me (DTM) - Single [Syntax]
ELI GABLE Glory Bound - Single [Capitol CMG]
Joseph Habedank Running to Me - Single [Daywind]
Lonnie Hunter Flow (Like A River) - Single [Uncle G]
Kashh Kade HELP - Single [Syntax]
KB x KEANU Keanu's Song - Single [Provident]
Tasha Layton Singing In the Dark - Single [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard The Hand That Keeps Holding - Single [Motown Gospel]
Claire Leslie Thank God I'm Not Alone (from Claire's Phone) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Tim Lovelace Celebration of America Medley (feat. Charlie McCoy) - Single [StowTown]
Lecrae Tell No Lie (feat. Jackie Hill Perry) - Single [Reach]
LO Worship The Perfect Love of Jesus - Single [Integrity]
Patrick Mayberry Thank The Lord - Single [Provident]
Michael Monroe John The Baptist (feat. Chris Renzema) - Single [Provident]
Alexander Pappas A Great Awakening / Un Nuevo Despertar - Single [Integrity]
PEABOD Summer in Seattle - Single [RMG Amplify]
Rave Jesus Walk On The Water Remix (From The Chosen) - Single [Provident]
The Rocky Valentines Nat Song - Single [Velvet Blue]
Tommy Royale, gio. Like Dat - Single [Capitol CMG]
Saints In Exile & Cutright My Dead End (ft. Jeannie Ortega, Luc DiMarzio, Jericko) - Single [Syntax]
Emilie Weiss Take Care (Studio Sessions) - Single [BEC]

DVD
Jimmy Fortune Songs Of An American Dreamer DVD [Gaither]

Next Friday, July 4, 2025
ALBUMS
Chad Cory America [DREAM]
Tenielle Neda The Way Of Love [Wings]

SINGLES
Christian Back Now - Single [DREAM]



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