{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Still in the Groove: Martha Reeves Keeps Searching","description":"Still in the Groove: Martha Reeves Keeps Searching \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f What does a life of creative longevity sound like? In Martha Reeves\u2019 case, it still has plenty of rhythm, purpose and joy. \ud83d\udc83\ud83c\udffe\ud83c\udfb6 Martha Reeves has spent more than six decades giving people reasons to dance. Her voice powered Motown landmarks like \u201cDancing in the Street,\u201d \u201cHeat Wave,\u201d \u201cJimmy Mack,\u201d and \u201cNowhere to Run,\u201d songs that still spill from radios and playlists with enough spark to lift a room. Now, as she approaches her 85th birthday, Reeves isn\u2019t interested in nostalgia. She\u2019s still chasing the next song. \u201cThe word retirement doesn\u2019t mean a thing to me,\u201d she says with a laugh. That outlook fuels Searching, her first new album in 22 years. Recorded in New Orleans and co-produced by acclaimed trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis and her longtime manager Chris Roe, the project blends Motown soul with jazz, blues, gospel, and rhythm and blues. Rather than revisiting old triumphs, Reeves sounds energized by fresh collaborators and a new musical setting. Ask her about the recording sessions and she laughs before finishing the first sentence, as if she\u2019s still standing in the middle of them. \u201cIt was a magic carpet ride,\u201d she says. \u201cThe collection of musicians, the place, the studio\u2014it was just beautiful.\u201d Players arrived from Cuba, New York, Alabama, Georgia, and beyond, gathering in New Orleans to build a sound that lets Motown shake hands with the Big Easy. Horns rise in bright bursts, the rhythm section settles deep into the beat, and Reeves\u2019 unmistakable voice ties it all together with warmth that hasn\u2019t faded. She lights up when talking about Marsalis, recalling the quiet authority he brought to the sessions. \u201cHe was very, very serious,\u201d she says. \u201cAnything he said he was going to do, he did it.\u201d Having watched legendary producers at work during her Motown years, Reeves knows disciplined musicianship when she sees it. She remembers watching Marsalis conduct the horn section and seeing the respect he commanded from every player in the room. \u201cTo see Delfeayo work with those horns and the magic that happened with these arrangements\u2014I can\u2019t wait for people to hear it.\u201d The experience also gave Reeves something she deeply appreciated: a genuine creative voice.\u2028\u201cI was asked my opinion. I was asked to add lyrics or add songs that I had written,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s like I\u2019ve graduated.\u201d ","author_name":"The Not Old - Better Show","author_url":"https:\/\/www.notold-better.com\/","html":"