R&B singer/guitarist Teena Marie has been putting together quality music for 30 years.

More: Melanie Fiona mixes many different cultures into her sound | More info, directions

The Ivory Queen of Soul, Teena Marie, will grace the stage this Saturday at Miami’s Fifth annual Jazz in the Gardens concert at Sun Life Stadium.

Recently I caught up with the legendary R&B soulstress who gave us such hits as “It Must Be Magic”, “Square Biz”, “Portuguese Love”, “I Need Your Lovin’” and “Fire and Desire”, the classic duet with funk icon Rick James. Here’s what she had to say about her longevity in the music business, the “color question,” James, her mentor and one-time romantic partner, and the state of music today.

Last year you celebrated your 30th year in the music business with the release of your 13th CD, Congo Square. You took a hiatus to raise your daughter but your comeback has been successful. What is the secret to your longevity?

TM: I’m still really passionate about the music. It’s kind of like breathing for me. It’s still very exciting to me. I still love to perform. I still feel like I have a lot to say. I just live it and I try to be truthful and honest about who I am. Everything I feel is the same thing you feel, the same thing everyone feels. I just have an amazing gift that I’m able to put it into song. God blessed with a beautiful instrument and I cherish that every day of my life. Read the full story

Mary Christine Brockert is an unlikely name for an R&B music diva.

That’s probably why most people have never heard of the Ivory Queen of Soul by her birth name.

She’s better known as Teena Marie or, more simply, Lady T.

Read the full story

Grammy-nominated newcomer Melanie Fiona will perform this Sunday at Miami’s fifth annual Jazz in the Gardens concert at Sun Life Stadium.

I spoke recently with the Canadian-born, Guyanese singer-songwriter who says there isn’t one label that describes her sound so she calls it Pop Soul. “It has the soul of the old school and the feel of popular music,” she says. It’s a bridge of genres and eras.”

That explains the title of her debut album, The Bridge, which thus far has produced two hot singles, “Give It To Me Right” and “It Kills Me”.
Read the full story

Laura Izibor performs as the headliner for Palm Beach Soul at the Improv at CityPlace. (Allen Eyestone / The Post)

Click here for more photos

It’s real easy to be impressed by Laura Izibor.

What’s hard is believing the 22-year-old singer wrote every song on her debut album, Let the Truth Be Told. Hard because it’s difficult to believe someone so young could have the breadth of experience necessary to write such songs of deep reflection and insight.

Songs like “Shine”: “Wake up one morning you realize/your life is one big compromise/Stuck in the job you swore was only temporary…”

What does a 22-year-old know about this?!

What’s more is that she performs her songs with such emotion that she draws you right into the experience with her. And that experience at the Palm Beach Improv was energetic, heartwarming and exciting.

There can be little doubt that this up and coming Ireland native added hundreds to her fan base during the sold-out performance sponsored by South Florida Professionals. “The secret’s out,” she joked. “There are black people in Ireland.”
Read the full story

John Legend and India Arie at Hard Rock Live in Sunrise. (Rhonda Swan / pbpulse.com) | See more photos

Electrifying best describes the vibe at the Hard Rock Live Thursday night when Grammy winning neo-soul and R&B artists India Arie and John Legend performed to a packed house.

Arie opened the show with nearly an hour of melodies from her four studio albums.  “My mission,” she said, ” is to spread love healing and peace through the power of words and music.”

She did just that with songs like Therapy, There’s Hope, and Ready for Love.

She enthralled the audience with her hit I Am Not My Hair and to prove it she removed her wig/scarf combo to reveal a nearly bald head.  She stayed that way the rest of her magnificent performance.

Legend’s grand entrance  – swaggering down the middle aisle singing Bob Marley’s Redemption Song as he made his way to the stage -  stopped the show before it even began and had the ladies screaming and swooning.
Read the full story

Erykah Badu at Jazz in the Gardens (courtesy Erykah-Badu.com)

I finally made it to my first Jazz in the Gardens – albeit because of technical difficulties I missed the limited amount of jazz – and I could only do the first day of the two days of performances.

Will Downing and Roy Ayers had already performed by the time I arrived. Friends who caught their shows assured me that I had definitely missed something.

I did make it in time to see Erykah Badu and I must say she was worth the long break down and set up between acts.

The Queen of Neo-Soul – looking divalicious in a tight black skirt suit with a huge black and white hat – kept her promise of catering to her “adult-contemporary” audience and opened with fan favorite “Tyrone.”
Read the full story