The Persuasions bring us the best of a cappella doo-wop. A new, hip-hop band out of DC, the Cornel West theory drop some science on us. The week closes out with 20 versions of Jobim's "Dindi" featuring Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stéphanie Laliberté, André Mehmari, Lyambiko, Harvey Mason, Norman Connors featuring Jean Carn, Jamie Lynn Fletcher, Eugene Maslov, El Debarge, Carmen McRae, Landes Jugend Jazz Orchester, Natalie Cole, Flora Purim, Gene Bertoncini, Sarah Vaughan, Emilio Santiago, Com Voce, John Beasley, Mary Stallings, and Jon Lucien.
These guys are the best existing, a cappella, doo-wop group—nobody else is even close. They started at the beginning of the sixties and have been going strong ever since. Sure there have been some changes in personnel over the years but the basic sound remains the same and remains sterling. Their forte is tight harmonies and emotive vocal soloing that can go from silky smooth to gutter gritty and back again with nary a slip.
They can blow you away with power or seduce you with sweetness. Singing like this is a lost art, especially singing without a backing band. They remind us that the voice is humanity’s first musical instrument and oh how they regale us with vocal stylings that make anyone who can talk feel like singing.