Cayenne is a worship leader and songwriter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He claims to be influenced by Quincy Jones, Marvin Sapp, Michael Jackson and Patty Labelle. This is his first independently released CD (from autumn 2006), but he has been able to surround himself by some funky musicians. The opener "Who Do You Say I Am" and the closer "More Of You" are both in the vein of classic '70s funksters Rose Royce and Wild Cherry. Cayenne sings a falsetto for much of the time, but carries it off well, offset by a close nit group of female backing singers. Bass and guitar doodle their grooves with freedom and funk abandon. It's a pleasure to hear, though the mix and production are still a little rough around the edges: the kind of thing that can only be sorted with much time and money. There are some cool smooth jazz moments too, such as the soprano sax solo of "Nite Moodz" and Cayenne's laid back vocal delivery of "In Love With You". Though a little quirky at times (the classical strings and choir during "Alleluia" are a bit of an odd digression), this album has style and character. Cayenne puts on the gospel funk and keeps it spicy.
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