The Chapter

See all the reviews from our Press page at www.chapterlive.com. - The Chapter

The Chapter's music is now available on demand as part of Clear Channel Radio’s new and emerging artist program, NEW!

The online destination to discover new talent and music, NEW! brings developing artists from the industry’s biggest labels and unsigned artists from Garageband.com to Clear Channel Radio station Web sites.

NEW! gives listeners and viewers the chance to experience fresh talent while also getting to know the artist. Personal on-demand videos are created by the artists exclusively for the program.

Check out the following links:
http://www.clearchannelmusic.com/new/

If you have an urban Clear Channel station in your city, call them and tell them "the chapter" is on their website as a "new" unsigned artist and request our music.

Thanks,

Media Contact:

Teresa L. Berger
tvberger@earthlink.net
850-264-9729

- www.myspace.com/llasmena

Without question my 'one that got away' during 2004 and what a wonderful way to kick of my 2005 album reviews. Formerly part of the superb 'Phat Cat Players' who released the brilliant 'Make It Phat Baby' album in 2000, the core members have moved on and formed The Chapter and following the release of their debut set I'd say these guys (and gal) have a bright future to look forward to if they can maintain this kind of quality.

The Return Of Real Soul Music is a bold title, but for me, it sums up this album perfectly, a genuine SOUL music album for 2005, drawing influences from 'old school' soul, p-funk, jazz, hip-hop, gospel, you name it, it's in there, all put together and written and performed superbly - real songs with real melodies, top quality production, superb vocals and arrangements throughout. I really wish every album I bought could be this good!

The highlight tracks are many - the laid back melodic groove of Fall In Love, followed immediately by the fantastic melody of the funky midtempo stepper Thinking 'Bout The Way; the brilliant poetic hip-hop of Black On Black Rhyme; the earthy groove of the excellent Better Days; the 'neo soul' styled Can't Nobody featuring a vocal performance from Patricia that the likes of Patti Labelle or Shirley Brown would be be proud to call their own. Track 7 Close To You without a doubt will be filling the soul dancefloors of the UK this year, a brilliant happy and melodic stepper and one of many 'instant' tracks on this set. In My Heart is yet another highlight with the melody, lead vocal and production making this track a brilliant piece of contemporary hip-hop-soul - love it! With so much quality material on offer you'd be forgiven for thinking 'could it get any better?' The answer is simply 'yes', in the shape of Crossing The Line which for me is feelgood soul music perfection, with its lazy summery groove, superb melody, vocal performances of the highest order, shifting chord structure (which gets me every time!), great horn work and instrumentation - perfect music in every way and had I bought this CD earlier in 2004 this track would undoubtedly have been hovering around the top of my chart. An amazing track from a top quality and superbly varied SOUL music album on which you won't find one single substandard cut.

Little label soul with major label ingredients. Just buy it and give this outfit the success their rich talent deserves.

www.soulsorts.co.uk/chapter.htm - Roger Williams Souls Sorts UK

Okay, I'm having a pretty typical day. I open my mail and there is a new CD called The Return of Real Soul Music by The Chapter, a group I had never heard of. Intrigued by the provocative title, I pop it into my player. The first thing to come out of my speaker is the beginning of a fairly standard sounding rap song, "The Intro." Oh God not another one of these, I think. With the volume of music I receive each week, I get pretty tired of how the term "soul" is misused by artists whose unimaginative, predictable, by-the-numbers product is about anything but Soul. But then I started listening to the lyrics of "The Intro." Rather than talking about pimpin or posing, this was a song about great Soul Music forbearers, from Stevie Wonder to Anita Baker, and about the need for real Soul Music in the African American community. Sure, it is a bit presumptuous for The Chapter to label itself as the heir to these great artists, but I'm willing to listen some more.

What follows that auspicious beginning is an enjoyable, extremely well performed disc of funk, jazz and, yes, a lot of Soul. Sounding less like Stevie and Anita than early 80s funk groups such as Cameo and ConFunkShun, Florida-based The Chapter - Patricia Whitfield, Adrian Morris, Slater Thorpe, Darius "Doc D" Baker, Taurus Thunderstorm Lovely and Michael Ferguson - is a self contained band that bridges the funky sounds of the 80s with a gritty, jazzy modern edge that works very well.

The songs (all written by the group) on the Chapter's debut album, The Return of Real Soul Music, are uniformly strong and engaging. From the funky "Fall In Love" and "Climbing Up the Walls" to the ballads "Wife" and "So Real" and the jazzy "Crossing the Line" and "Derrty Jazz," the disc makes for a great listening front to back. Best of all are "Thinking About The Way" and "Better Days," a great slice of southern soul that singers Morris and Thorpe absolutely nail. The album's occasional rap interludes bog things down a bit, ranging from the self-important ("Black on Black Rhyme") to the simplistic ("Book of Life"), but the music around them is absolutely top notch and memorable.

The Return of Soul Music should be a breakout album for this very talented independent group and will hopefully be picked up by a major label for international distribution. It is more than simply a vanity project by a local Florida band; this is a disc that deserves to be heard.

http://soultracks.com/the_chapter.htm - Chris Rizik - Soul Tracks

First out, I have to thank Theresa for getting me this CD. There's a huge amount of top quality independent Soul and R&B out there, and getting hold of all of it is near impossible. So it's always nice when it comes your way without having to trek to the record shop for it. The Chapter are a six-piece group, based in Tallahassee, Florida and they've been causing quite a stir on the Radio Station since Close To Youï made it onto the play list. It's been a consistent favourite regularly making it into the Top5, and deservedly so. This fusion of R&B, Jazz, Gospel and Hip-Hop has just about something for everybody. And it doesn't get much better than Fall In Love. This sexy soulful vibe is defined by a syncopated b-line and tremendous bass-beats. The vocals are tight and at a deceptive 98bpm the track is more of a two-stepper than a laid back jam, but can fit equally well into either category, if that sort of thing is important to you. Thinking bout The Way has an almost Omar-esque feel to it. It's soulful, jazzy and light but has a delightfully unique feel to it reminiscent of a UK neo-soul vibe. A delightful tune that will be seeing lots of daylight in the near future. After reading the PR material it turns out that The Chapter members also performed with the Phat Cat Players (one of my favourite albums) and once you realise this, you feel some of that Phat Cat soul vibe flowing through. Black on Black Rhyme is an urban poem similar to Bumble Bee or Sundress. Better Days is straight up soul with a gospel tinge. If you can imagine a KCi & Jojo vibe sung with all of the passion and heart, that's what you're in for. Can't Nobody brings it right down with an ultra sexy love song. A real Quiet Storm affair this is a real specialist radio tune. As mentioned earlier, Close To You is a real fave with the Funkjunkiez regulars. And no matter how many times I hear it, it makes me move. This is top-notch soul of the highest order and at a sweet 94 bpm is the perfect tempo for grooving. Book Of Life is a wonderful social commentary, fusing urban beats, hip-hop and R&B into a tune that really makes you think. The jazzy violin solo is a real mindblower, and irrespective of your politics, is a tune worth listening to. Time is another laid back soulful vibe and to coin a phrase is copasetic and cool. Wife is a dreamy love song from a guy to a girl. One of those useful tunes to have in the collection, especially for those special requests. Climbing Up The Walls takes it into a funky zone, with an upbeat jump-off and is followed by the instrumental vibes of Derrty Jazz. So Real brings things to a close with another beautifully worked gospel duet. It took for ever to actually get hold of this, but it was well worth the wait.

So Is It Funky?...Or Is It Junky?

It's good to see that Real Soul has finally returned. - Alfie Da Funkjunky

Da kommt sie nun also zurück, die Soul-Musik! Der Titel verspricht ein selbstbewusstes Auftreten und lässt notorische Skeptiker (und daher eben auch mich…) das entsprechend betitelte Produkt mit höchster Vorsicht in den CD-Spieler einlegen – doch hat man das gerappte Intro erst einmal hinter sich gelassen öffnen The Chapter (übrigens aus dem nicht gerade als Soul-Heimstatt bekannten Florida stammend) ihr pralles Soul-Füllhorn und führen in knapp 80 Minuten einmal komplett durch das Soul-Universum. Unter Verwendung der ewig gültigen Soul-Rezepturen (Groove & Passion – Heart & Hips & Melodies) lassen die 5 Herren und 1 Lady kaum eine Spielart des Genres aus und machen zeitlose Musik, die gestern, heute und morgen verbindet – immer aktuell, immer kurzweilig.
Selbstredend setzt die Band innerhalb dieses Rahmens keine innovativen Wegmarken, setzt nicht auf billige Show-Effekte, sondern spielt solide mit den Einflüssen aus Hip-Hop, R&B, Jazz, Funk – mit dem Ergebnis einer zeitgemässen, umfassenden Soul-Revue.
Das ist schlau und macht The Chapter zu einer wertkonservativen Ausnahme, die es entsprechend zu beachten gilt – endlich mal wieder eine „richtige“ Combo, die ihre Instrumente beherrscht, zudem über eine Riege ausgezeichneter Vokalisten verfügt und dazu auch noch in der Lage ist sich die richtigen Songs masszuschneidern – jeder Track von individueller Qualität.
PS: Anno 2000 gab´s die PhatCatPlayers – an deren CompactDisc „Make It Phat, Baby“ (die manchem Leser dieser Kolumne eventuell erinnerlich ist) waren die einzelnen Mitmacher von The Chapter massgeblich beteiligt und schon damals machten sie ihr Potential deutlich. - Joerg Michael Schmitt

Originating from the state of Florida is The Chapter, a very talented and versatile band in the tradition of
Earth, Wind, & Fire, Atlantic Starr, and Kool and The Gang. They can be silky smooth or throw down the
funk with the best of them.

The Return Of Real Soul Music is the debut CD from this collective,
who evolved from The Phat Cat Players, which had a successful
independent CD Make It Phat Baby.

The Chapter does not disappoint on this CD, as they move from R&B, to Hip-Hop, to spoken word, to funky jazz jams seamlessly. Not only is the CD very interesting, it is quite an enjoyable listening experience. A throwback to years gone by, where not only did you have to create and record original music, but you had to get up on the stage and make it
happen.

The music is infectious. Band members Patricia Whitfield, Adrian Ace- Man Morris, and Slater Thorpe take turn on vocals, which keeps the
sound fresh throughout. Close To You, is an R&B tune that will get
you steppin across the floor, while In My Heart will keep you movin
with it's phat beat and hip-hop break that smooths you out down the stretch.

"Fall In Love" and "Thinking Bout Your Love" breakdown into a nice
mid-tempo groove for grown folks, and are the perfect lead in to
Patricia's steamy performance on the ballad "Can't Nobody". The
Chapter deals with social issues on the spoken word track "Black On
Black Rhyme" along with "Book Of Life" that combines spoken word,
rap, and jazz rhythm elements to bring the message home. Speaking
of jazz, there's the funky "Derrty Jazz", and vocal driven fusion of
"Crossing The Line".

Get Ready for The Return Of Real Soul Music. The Chapter has been
written and it"s waiting for your review.
- Craig Chapman Rhythm Flow New York

Emerald City Live! featuring The Chapter with special guests, "Jazz It Up", Mark Russell and local artists performing jazz, R&B, hip-hop, comedy, dance and poetry, revisits The Moon on Saturday for an early show. The monthly showcase is cementing its reputation for fine and funky entertainment with performances anchored by the top-notch Chapter, led by musical director and keyboardist Darius Baker and featuring most of the former Phat Cat Players, including drummer Taurus Lovely, bassist Mike Ferguson, lead guitarist Rick Watford, percussionist Nate Banks, sax-man Marquez Adams, trombonist Saunders Sermon, trumpet player Edwin Santiago, violinist Russell and vocalists Slater Thorpe, Patricia Whitfield and Adrian Morris. - Tallahassee Democrat

Emerald City Live, a soulful music cabaret, offers a calm and serene alternative to the typical club scene.

This month's performance was held on Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Moon and celebrated the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

The presentation offered a pleasant atmosphere for mature adults to sit, relax and enjoy the sounds of the live music.

"It's a nice switch from the usual parties in Tallahassee," Brandi Garcia, a radio personality for 100.7 The Beat and the event's mistress of ceremonies, said. "It's a sit down, bring a date and enjoy good music event."

The musical selections - featuring performances from the R&B group Chapter, a 10-piece band and other soulful acts - followed the evening's theme of paying tribute to MLK. An ongoing projector of MLK pictures enhanced the song performances and strengthened the meaning of Angie Stone's "Brotha" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin On".

Several FAMU students performed in the event. Rashada Dawan, a 21-year-old senior psychology student from Chicago, performed Toni Braxton's "Hit the Freeway". Two dancers complemented the performance: Chrystyn Wright, a junior magazine student from New York City and Giltrecia Head, a 21-year-old senior architecture student from Tallahassee.

Dawan also gave a believable and expressive performance of Vivian Green's "Emotional Roller coaster". Other performances included Toyette Eubanks, a 26-year-old public relations student from West Palm Beach, who gave a vocally ranged version of Deniece Williams' "Black Butterfly." Head accompanied her with an intricate modern dance.

The show also included poetry, comedy and a rendition of MLK's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

"It was a good turn out .The audience was supportive and it helped to diversify their musical experience," Giltrecia Head said. "It was a chance for them to see local talent."

Emerald City Live will feature their next monthly event on Feb 16. For more information, visit their Web site at www.emeraldcitylive.com - Famuan

The Emerald City Live! premiere performance last month was greeted with enthusiasm and appreciation by more than 600 fans of the now-defunct Phat Cat Live music showcases. The Yellow Brick Road leads once again to the Moon on Sunday for the second Emerald City installment, which features City's house band The Chapter (formerly the Phat Cat Players). Get dressed up and finish off FAMU's homecoming weekend in high style. - Tallahassee Democrat