Taana Gardner

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Vocalist Taana Gardner was one of the leading lights of West End Records, a New York label that released some of the finest and most influential disco during the late ?70s and early ?80s. At a very young age, the Newark, NJ-born Gardner knew that she wanted to act and sing. Her grandmother, a former opera singer, began giving her vocal lessons at the age of five. Before she hit her teens, she was already a playwright; her work was featured at the Lincoln Center and also at the Apollo.



Despite having such an accomplished background at such an early age, it was something of a fluke that she became involved with the disco scene. Producer and songwriter Kenton Nix had a song, "Work That Body," that needed vocals. An early instrumental version of the track had been auditioned and approved by the beyond legendary Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan, and Levan immediately introduced Nix to West End (and part Paradise Garage) owner Mel Cheren. Cheren set Nix up, but the singer who was slated to record the vocals fell ill on the day they were supposed to be laid down. Nix's brother, who worked for Gardner's father, called up the Gardner household that day --Thanksgiving Day, 1978 -- and invited Taana down. Taana accepted, recorded her vocals, and also gained another gig that same day when members of Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band overheard her voice and asked her to sing on the record they were working on. (This record actually turned out to be Spooks in Space by the Aural Exciters, released on Ze).



"Work That Body," remixed by Levan, was an instant hit at the Paradise Garage, sparking a succession of West End classics helmed by Nix, sung by Gardner, and tweaked for maximum dancefloor effect by Levan. "We Can Work It Out," "When You Touch Me," "Just Be a Friend," and "Paradise Express" came later in 1979, and the massive "Heartbeat" (the basis of Ini Kamoze's ubiquitous 1995 summer hit "Here Comes the Hotstepper," not to mention a source for several rap producers throughout the years) and "No Frills" both followed in 1981.



Gardner took a step back from the limelight for several years to devote time to her children. 1985 saw the release of another Nix production, "Over You," for the YES label. She released a production of her own around the same time for Next Plateau ("You Can't Keep Coming In and Out of My Life"), and a cover of LaBelle's "What Can I Do for You?" appeared on Elegal in 1992. In 1998, she teamed up again with Nix and West End for "I'm Comin'." Four years later, West End issued the Anthology of a Diva compilation. Gardner has also leant her skills to several acts, including Kool & the Gang, Peabo Bryson, Edwin Starr, and Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes.



New Review of The Taana Gardner Album



Taana Gardner - Taana Gardner



To put it mildly, this long awaited digitally re-mastered reissue of Taana Gardner’s self-titled 1979 debut album for West End Records is a masterpiece. Masterpiece isn’t a word that I use lightly here since the set is a sort of disco/dance music soulful convergence with the then emerging and innovative re-mixing skills of the now-mythic Paradise Garage DJ Larry Levan, producer Kenton Nix and above all, the heavenly vocals of Taana Gardner, certainly one of the most underrated yet brilliant vocalists of the past thirty years.



I still have heated arguments with friends and peers about the artistic merit of disco. “It’s superficial” and it “lacks soul” are principal and admittedly, valid criticisms since many music fans still remember the disposable camp of the Village People and misanthropic cash-ins like Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy” as reference points. Yet disco was soulful, had heart, was indeed imaginative and those looking for evidence should venture no further than Taana Gardner.



Those lucky enough to own this album in its’ original double album incarnation protect it and cherish it as a prized collector’s item. It’s not hard to see why, since it features some of the best work from the then emerging genius of Larry Levan. The two best known songs here are “When You Touch Me” and “Work That Body”. The former starts out as a dreamy, celestial down tempo jam before exploding into a pure rush of sensual dance-floor euphoria that features steamy vocals from Gardner that would make Donna Summer blush while the latter is a sumptuous and hypnotic slice of funk that proves dance music was and is as inventive and pertinent as any musical genre of the day could be.



This is also a cohesive and accomplished soul album. The slow jam “We Got To Work It Out” begs to be resurrected by an ambitious quiet storm programmer and testifies to what a truly versatile singer Taana Gardner is. “Just Be A Friend” is a gorgeous call to unity and acceptance that embodies the ethos and principles that disco espoused in the first place, with a foreshadowing of the house music movement only a few years away.



Many already know that Gardner, Nix and Levan would scale new heights two years after the release of Taana Gardner with the indescribably influential “Heartbeat”. Yet this is the release that set the stage for that triumph. Taana Gardner is essential for any self-respecting fan of disco, dance or soul music.



Rating: 10/10



Matt Bauer for Soulinterviews.com

matt@soulinterviews.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it



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Taana Gardner at Discogs