Shine Through It (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Terrence Howard (vocals, guitar, nylon-string guitar, hand claps, background vocals); Aubrey Howard, Danvy Pham (vocals); Tom Lea (whistling, viola, whistle); Miles Mosley (guitar, acoustic guitar, whistle, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond b-3 organ, synthesizer, upright bass, hand claps, percussion, background vocals); Henry Hank Harris, Matt Roberts (guitar); Chris Lea (flute, baritone saxophone); William Barrett, Ross Garrin, William Q. Barrett (harmonica); Kamasi Washington (tenor saxophone); Igmar Thomas, Serafin Aguilar (trumpet, flugelhorn); Danielle Ondarza (French horn); Elizabeth Lea (trombone); Kenneth Crouch (piano, toy piano, celesta, harpsichord, Mellotron, synthesizer, vibraphone, timpani, tubular bells); Justin Avery, Justin Avery (Fender Rhodes piano); Aaron McLendon (drums, shaker, hand claps, percussion); Nir Z. (drums); Danti Lopez (timbales); KC Haxton (hand claps); Patrice Quinn, Hunter Howard, Ilsey Juber, Renee Neufville, Fanny Franklin (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Bob Clearmountain.

Recording information: Chung King Studios, New York, NY; Spiral Sound, Hollywood, CA.

Photographer: Anthony Mandler.

Arrangers: Miles Mosley; Tom Lea; Kamasi Washington; Terrence Howard.

SHINE THROUGH IT marks the musical debut of acclaimed actor Terrence Howard. Unlike many other such projects from actors turned would-be pop-stars, Howard clearly possesses the songwriting talent and musical sensitivity to make SHINE THROUGH IT a stirring musical success.

Howard possesses a careworn, husky baritone that sounds like a rough-hewn shadow of great R&B voices like Leon Haywood and Don Covay. Consequently, the material on SHINE THROUGH IT is far from typical contemporary R&B radio fodder. The delicate arrangements of "Sanctuary" and "Love Makes You Beautiful" supplement Howard's graceful fingerpicking with pizzicato strings, celestes, and flutes to create a restrained folk-pop backdrop for Howard's compositions. minimize