Albert Jamison presents The New York State Mass Choir - Show Yourself Mighty

By Peggy Oliver

Each and every year since 1967, the Gospel Music Workshop of America shows themselves mighty when it comes to seeking fresh faces, showcasing familiar music ministers, and expanding the worship music spectrum.  One ambassador for the GMWA is the current chairman of the board, Bishop Albert Jamison, who rounds up some of the best east coast gospel luminaries for Show Yourself Mighty.  Jamison is rarely heard on the recording front this decade with the exception of some vocal solo spots on GMWA annual convention recordings from 2003& 2004.  During the eighties and nineties, the New York native who collaborated with the Triboro Mass Choir and New York State Mass Choir are just a few of the many gospelteers such as Hezekiah Walker, James Hall, and Reverend Timothy Wright that still light up the east coast worship landscape.  Triboro’s 1981 Savoy Records release He’ll Make Everything Alright was nominated for a Grammy.  

How does the Bishop balance all his current administrative duties including GMWA, pasturing Pleasant Grove Tabernacle, and oversee financing for the Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship?  Jamison credits his father for those solid entrepreneurial skills he developed while growing up as he sacrificed his friends and stickball for learning responsibility outside the classroom.  He has also successfully dealt with a stuttering problem since childhood.

Walker takes the first lead spot for Just Your Name Alone, a contemporary praise number coupled with one of the great choruses of the church from O Come All Ye Faithful.  Background vocalist Clay Johnson and Lucinda Moore help recapture those times for the past two decades when east coast choirs displayed lots of fervor and flexibility.

The title track is a simple chorus that repeats numerous times while slowly goes up the scale for nearly the five-plus minutes.  But Jamison’s exhortation of the scripture: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalms 30:5) and driving spirit keeps the song intact.

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