James Brown's Jampers Just Keep On Giving

My latest in-depth feature, 'The Big Payback', explored a variety of humanitarian initiatives inspired by Godfather of Soul James Brown. Published by the Orchard Times, it saw me interview Mr Brown's friends and family about  the various charitable ventures staged every year in his memory, all run by his children without any financial assistance from his estate.

Also among my interviewees were some of the teens from Augusta, Georgia, who have benefited from the Brown dynasty's latest venture; the James Brown Academy of Musik Pupils (JAMP). The school was set up to teach young people how to play instruments and help them secure college scholarships. Since its launch just over a year ago, it has already helped one Augusta teen secure a scholarship.

The JAMP students have put their talents to good use by forming a band - the JAMP Masters - which plays at charity and community functions. After a VIP invitation to perform and sit in the front row at one of Prince's concerts in Chicago last year, the youngsters have been into the studio to record their first album.

I was honoured and delighted to receive a parcel this morning containing a copy of that album. Many of the young band members had signed the CD as a 'thank you' for my article, which curriculum leader Kimberly Baxter-Lee said she showed to them shortly after it was published.

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The collection, which comprises 10 James Brown and JBs covers, is impressively tight given the age of the performers and the short time they've been together. With the assistance of former James Brown guitarist Keith Jenkins, they have achieved the 'dry, funky sound' that the Godfather of Soul was always so keen to capture.

Keith's input is also felt in the arrangements, which are in some cases closer to Mr Brown's latter day live performances than the original studio recordings. 'Get Up Offa That Thing' and 'I Got You (I Feel Good)' are particular highlights. The youngsters play so well that you wish the songs would just go on and on.

All proceeds from the album will be spent on the continued running of the academy. Mr Brown's daughter Deanna tells me that a second volume is already on the horizon.

I want to say a big thank you to the JAMP Masters for this CD. It will take pride of place alongside albums signed by the likes of George Clinton, Martha Reeves, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley - and it means every bit as much as the others. 

Click here to listen to excerpts or buy the album (available physically or digitally).

Fourth Jermaine Jackson Audio Extract

In this clip, Jermaine tells me about chapter 22 of his book, in which he details the eyewitness accounts of five people he interviewed who were inside rehearsals for the 'This Is It' concerts.

Jermaine Jackson: An Update

Regular readers will remember that back in October I posted about the first installment of my Jermaine Jackson interview being published on the Huffington Post. I said that when the next installment went live, I'd blog again. The next installment never went live and so I never published a follow-up blog.

This was because of a peculiarity at the Huffington Post. They published part one without question but, after taking more than a week to process part two, emailed to tell me that they had decided not to run it. They gave no explanation and when I emailed them to ask for one, I never received a reply.

About a week later, a fellow Huffington Post blogger attempted to upload a piece about Michael Jackson and got the same response. It took ages to process and was then rejected. When they asked why, they too received no reply.

I have no idea why those decisions were taken, or whether there were anymore. Maybe the editors just had an influx of blogs all uploaded at the time. Maybe they felt the site was too saturated with Jackson-related content given that Conrad Murray's trial was generating daily headlines at the time. Still, though, it wouldn't have hurt to tap out a one or two line email explaining that. Perhaps it was none of the above. Perhaps other forces were at work. In all likelihood, we'll never know.

I sat on the Jermaine interview for several months until my friend Roman emailed me about a new publication he'd launched - The Orchard Times. I offered him the Jermaine piece and he jumped on it.

The delay had its up-sides. Since its AOL takeover, the Huffington Post has introduced a slightly maddening word limit on each entry, which meant I had to chop the interview up into several themed chunks. At the Orchard Times, I was able to post it as a single, flowing piece.

The other up-side was that I got to publish the piece after the Conrad Murray trial. Before the trial, a lot of what Jermaine said about This Is It rehearsals would have been considered insane by many readers, but testimony during the trial vindicated a lot of his words. I have added a post-script which places Jermaine's comments about This Is It in the context of what was revealed during the trial.

Today marks five months to the day since the interview took place. It's a relief to finally see it online. I hope you all enjoy it.

CLICK HERE to read the interview at The Orchard Times