Nadir News

There’s an irony,or perhaps a simple contradiction, in the fact that the word “nadir” refers to the lowest point reached by a celestial body, and yet the man who bears that name (pronounced NAY-deer) is an incredibly positive, upbeat and enthusiastic soul. On the day of our interview, which takes place at MTtowers, Nadir bounds in like a puppy in a park, all smiles and overt warmth. It’s fucking freezing outside, so his naturally emitted merriment is particularly welcome.

That joy for life is nothing new, according to the man himself. At just 18 months old, Nadir Omowale was belting out the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” in the back yard, and that was only the beginning.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

Black Grooves is a music review site hosted by the Archives of African American Music & Culture (AAAMC) at Indiana University. Their goal is to promote black music by providing readers with monthly updates on interesting new releases and quality reissues in all genres?including gospel, blues, jazz, funk, soul, R&B, world music, and hip-hop—as well as classical music composed or performed by black artists. An extra effort is made to track down releases by indie, underground, foreign, and other small labels that don’t get covered in the mainstream media. They interviewed Nadir’s album, The Book of Jonah, for their November 2012 issue.

Originally Published at BlackGrooves.org
November 1, 2012

Nadir Omowale, an eleven-time Detroit Music Award winner, has also been garnering recognition outside of his hometown through recent tours across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.  His unique style reflects his upbringing: he was weaned in Tennessee on recordings by Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and James Cleveland; was immersed in his brother’s P-Funk, Kiss and Van Halen collection during adolescence; then moved to the Motor City where he soaked up the vibes of Motown and the Funk Brothers.  Blend these influences together and you get old-school funk and soul with a dash of jazz and blues on a solid foundation of rock ‘n’ roll.

Read More HERE

The Book of Jonah got another nice review, this time by Brett Callwood in last week’s Metro Times (Detroit). Brett says:

Nadir’s The Book of Jonah (Distorted Soul) is a fantastic piece of work from the man who seems to flit between hard rock, funk and soul in a Lenny Kravitz sort of way. Kravitz is the obvious comparison because of those cross influences, though old Len hasn’t written a song as good as “Belly of the Whale” or “95 Miles Down the Road” (the latter featuring the awesome Mayaeni) in years. Nadir also send his most recent 45’s – the aforementioned “95 Miles Down the Road” and “Go it Alone / Love Thang”. All is fantastic.

Thanks for the good word, Brett!

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If you don’t know, SoulTracks.com is the leading online resource dedicated to classic and modern Soul Music.  From its inception in 2003, SoulTracks has been designed to provide useful information and updates on the greatest Classic Soul artists and to introduce readers to the next generation of Soul Music singers.

Soul Tracks Senior Writer Howard Dukes recently took Nadir’s new album The Book of Jonah for a spin. Here’s what he had to say about it:

Click HERE to read the full review at SoulTracks.com