CHARLES BRADLEY
TEXT: Pat Brown ||| PHOTO: Kisha Bari ||| LABEL: Dunham Records
With a social security check in sight, this former James Brown cover artist doesn’t do the splits. No need, the well-earned grit and soul in Charles Bradley’s voice and bravado will keep you floored. He sings with an unmatched emotional sincerity — unmatched because few folks have experienced the emotional ups and downs Bradley has.
On stage you can see it in his eyes, the story of his struggle, his hardships: how he grew up destitute, often on the streets in his neighborhood of Brooklyn; how he was forced to hitchhike across the country, after being unable to make payments on his Ford; how his nephew murdered his brother; how he suffered as an outcast, a man of incredible musical talent and passion that couldn’t quite pull it altogether in the face of constant hardship from all directions. His dream just out of reach for 40 years.
It was around the time of his brother’s passing that things finally started to turn around for Bradley. He was performing in Bedstuy as Black Velvet, his James Brown covering persona, when Daptone Records founder Gabriel Roth happened upon him. Roth immediately recognized his raw talent and reached out to him, eventually introducing him to guitarist Thomas Brenneck and other musicians associated with (the then-fledgling) Daptone label. Bradley recorded several singles for Daptone, performing with Sugarmen 3 and Brenneck’s band, The Bullets.
The Bullets eventually dismantled to form Budos Band and Brenneck moved back to Bushwick where he reunited with Bradley. At the time, Brenneck was putting together his own label, Dunham a division of Daptone, and playing with a new group, what would eventually become Dunham Records house band, The Menahan Street Band. Menahan was a perfect fit for Bradley’s voice and after much hard work, No Time for Dreaming — Bradley’s first full-length studio album — was released.
A departure from his funkier, James Brown influenced singles with The Bullets and Sugarmen 3, No Time for Dreaming has a classic southern soul quality to it, á la Otis Redding, but with a larger, more refined backing band. The first single, “The World (Is Going up in Flames)” beckons back to rhythm and blues of the 60’s, the melody played on the piano with the rhythm held down by the drummer and guitarist’s sparse, heavily-reverbed, upstroked barre chords. Matched with Bradley’s piercing vocals, it has the emotional weight of a “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man World” minus the chauvinism.
Well past 60 years old, Bradley knows there’s no more time for dreaming. Just as he sings on the title track, he knows he has to, “Get on up and do [his] thing.” That has included U.S. and European tours. Finally, the time is now for Bradley to do what he was put on this earth to do. Dreaming is all in his past.
PRESS
“Retro-soul aficionados who claim they don't make ‘em like they used to will obviously be thrilled with this, but even contemporary R&B fans can't help but be moved by the emotion and passion evident in every note of this riveting set” – Hal Horowitz, Allmusic.Com
“Eschewing unnecessary flash and pageantry the LPs style is more akin to that of an old James Carr or Solomon Burke side than, say, Back to Black.” —Aquarium Drunkard
“No Time For Dreaming not only prevails as a defining culmination of Bradley’s lifelong musicianship to date, but also furthers the argument that Daptone Records can do no wrong.” —Max Blau, PasteMagazine.Com
LINKS
+ Charles Bradley’s Official website
+ Charles Bradley on Myspace
+ Charles Bradley on Facebook
+ Charles Bradley on Twitter
SUMMER 2011 TOUR
Jul 01 • Roskilde Festival • Roskilde, Denmark
Jul 02 • Montreux Jazz Festival • Montreux, Switzerland
Jul 03 • Main Square Festival • Arras, France
Jul 05 • La Maroquinerie • Paris, Franc
Jul 06 • Barbican with SJDK! • London, England
Jul 07 • o2 Academy Islington • London, England
Jul 09 • North Sea Jazz • Rotterdam, Netherlands
Jul 11 • Nice Jazz Festival • Nice, France
Jul 12 • Jazz Fest Wien • Vienna, Austria
Jul 14 • Festival De Dour • Dour, Belgium
Jul 15 • Hultsfred Festival • Hultsfred, Sweden
Jul 16 • Pori Jazz Festival • Pori, Finland
Jul 17 • Cool Jazz Festival • Cascais, Portugal
Jul 24 • The Hollywood Bowl with Stevie Wonder and Sharon Jones! • Los Angeles, CA
Jul 26 • Fort Greene Park • Brooklyn, NY
Jul 29 • Osheaga Music & Arts Festival • Montreal, Canada
Jul 30 • SappyFest • Sackville, Canada
Aug 14 • Outside Lands • San Francisco, CA
Aug 25 • Belly Up • Solana Beach, CA
Aug 26 • Soho • Santa Barbara, CA
Aug 28 • Sunset Junction Street Fair • Los Angeles, CA
Aug 31 • Depot at Humboldt State University • Arcata, CA
Sep 02 • The Biltmore • Vancouver, BC, Canada
Sep 03 • Club 919 • Victoria, BC, Canada
Sep 04 • Wild Buffalo • Bellingham, WA
Sep 05 • Bumbershoot • Seattle, WA
Sep 08 • MusicFestNW at The Aladdin • Portland, OR
Sep 10 • State Room • Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 13 • Bluebird Theater • Denver, CO
Sep 16 • Austin City Limits • Austin, TX
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