“Home Grown” is the latest CD from Ralph MacDonald and it brings Ralph back to his Caribbean roots. The Grammy-award winning percussionist, songwriter and producer was born in Harlem, NY and influenced by his Trinidad-immigrant father and calypsonian “Macbeth The Great.” This celebratory solo recording features Robbie Greenidge on steel pans in a collection of ‘breezy instrumentals and smoky ballads’.
The Caribbean influence is distinct in “Sirocco”, “Island Life”, “Meet Me In Margaritaville”, a song Ralph wrote for Jimmy Buffett, and in the decidedly calypso sounding “All Night Long”. All four feature Robbie’s ace steel pan artistry, the latter song being his composition as well.
Ralph and his long time music partners co-wrote and produced gems such as the Grover Washington, Jr. hit “Mr. Magic”, Roberta Flack and Donnie Hathaway’s “Where Is The Love,” and the mega hit “Just The Two Of Us” by Bill Withers. Bring to mind the quality of those productions and the joy of the instrumentals and the vocals. The same attributes are present in this compilation called “Home Grown”. The bonus is the Caribbean timbre among the jazzy and R & B tracks.
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