HOW TO GO
What: Men of Soul featuring Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson, Freddie Jackson and Howard Hewett
Where: Fraze Pavilion, 695 Lincoln Park Blvd., Kettering
When: 8 p.m. Friday, July 12
Cost: $32 lawn & terrace in advance, $37 lawn & terrace day of show, $47 side orchestra, $52 center orchestra
More info: (937) 296-3300 or www.fraze.com
A quiet storm is brewing on the horizon and by all reports it will hit Fraze Pavilion in Kettering on Friday. We’re talking about Men of Soul, the multi-singer bill featuring the smooth R&B sounds of best-selling singers Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson, Freddie Jackson and Howard Hewett.
• Jeffrey Osborne, born in Providence, R.I. on March 9, 1948, joined funk group L.T.D. in 1969. The band enjoyed a string of hits including "(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again" and "Love Ballad." Osborne left L.T.D. in the early 1980s and released his first solo album in 1982. He scored Top 40 hits with tunes such as "Don't You Get So Mad" and "On the Wings of Love," a duet with James Ingram. His most recent album, "A Time for Love," was released in January
• Peabo Bryson was born on April 13, 1951 in Greenville, S.C. He was 14 when he started a two-year singing gig with the traveling revue Al Freeman & The Upsetters. He spent more time working the chitlin' circuit with Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display before leaving to front a series of bands. The two-time Grammy Award winner, who has now released more than 20 albums, released his debut album "Peabo" on indie label Bang Records in 1976. Bryson's career really took off when he signed to Capitol Records in 1978 and released the gold-selling album "Reaching for the Sky." His most recent album, "Missing You," was released in 2007.
• Freddie Jackson was born in Harlem, New York on October 2, 1956. He sang lead in the R&B band Mystic Merlin and backup for Melba Moore before signing with Capitol Records in 1985. While he didn't enjoy the same level of mainstream success as Osborne and Bryson, he was a constant presence on the R&B charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Trained as a gospel singer as a child, he used his commanding voice on memorable hits such as "Rock Me Tonight" and "Just Like the First Time."
• Howard Hewett, born on October 1, 1955, in Akron, first came to fame as a dancer on "Soul Train." He parlayed that gig into a spot in the R&B-disco group Shalamar in 1977, and went on to score hits such as "Uptown Festival," "Take That to the Bank" and "Don't Get Stopped in Beverly Hills." Hewett went solo in 1986 and began his own string of hits such as "I'm For Real," "Strange Relationship" and "Show Me." His most recent album, "Howard Hewett Christmas" was released in 2008.
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