SOUL BY CHOICE
Album Review: Soul By Choice
Maurice Joshua’s Soul By Choice is a lush and soulful fusion journey. The album leans into jazz, Latin rhythms, funk energy and sensibilities of soulful house, creating a warm soundscape that is both relaxing and rich in musical detail. It’s ideal for evening listening or moments when you want mood and groove in balance. The instrumentation is polished but never cold—it retains human touch in the horns, percussion, melody lines. Tracks like “Spanish Night,” “The Lobby,” and “Let’s Go Deeper” highlight the album’s strengths: dynamic pacing, tasteful interplay between jazz sensibilities and danceable rhythms, and production that preserves clarity (especially in the layers) while allowing the music to breathe. If there’s a theme, it’s emotional comfort and musical richness—Joshua clearly sets out to move both the body and the spirit.
Single Spotlight: Jazz Me
“Jazz Me” (about 4:08 in length on the album) is one of the standout moments — a single that encapsulates many of the album’s best impulses.
Here’s what works in “Jazz Me”:
- Balance of tradition and modernity. It honors jazz foundations—melodic phrasing, perhaps some improvisational-like soloing, well-chosen chord progressions—while also fitting comfortably into the broader, genre-blending sound of the album. It’s not strictly “jazz” in the academic sense, but it feels jazz-infused in a soulful, accessible way.
- Groove & texture. The rhythm section pulses with a relaxed confidence; percussion, keys or brass (if present) are layered in a way that gives space and drive both. “Jazz Me” allows its groove to settle and linger, giving listeners room to sink in.
- Mood & dynamics. It builds gently — there are peaks and dips. It doesn’t go for dramatic extremes but leverages subtle changes in instrumentation, dynamics, and perhaps layering of harmony or bass to keep you attentive. It’s soothing and emotionally resonant without being sleepy.
- Production quality. Maurice Joshua’s experience shows: the mix is clean, the highs and lows are well handled, nothing is over-processed, and there is brightness without harshness. It’s the kind of track that can fit in a jazz lounge set, a late-night radio slot, or even a chill background for dinner, and still hold up.