Review: Terry Cummings - 'T.C. Finally'

It's late April right now and the 2007 NBA playoffs are in full swing. But former NBA player Terry Cummings probably has a lot more on his mind than how some of his former teammates are performing on the court. Cummings, a rugged 6'9" former power forward, has just released his debut R&B album, T.C. Finally. And although the natural inclination by some would be to think that this is just a vanity project by a wealthy man who can afford to live out his dreams, think again. T.C. Finally - most of which Cummings wrote and produced himself - is the real deal and Terry Cummings is a talented vocalist and musician.

If Terry Cummings had never played in the NBA and this was his debut album, he'd probably be hailed as a fresh new voice in the music industry and labeled an up-and-coming artist to watch. But because of his past life as a pro athlete, he's gotten less attention than his talent warrants.

Cummings has said his music influences include Sam Cooke and Al Green, but by listening to his voice, it's obvious that the artists he most resembles vocally are the late Gerald Levert and Gerald's father, O'Jays singer Eddie Levert. Cummings has that same strong, yet tender quality to his voice the Gerald had, as well as some of the same nuances in his vocals. Terry also favor the same type of lush, midtempo song production as Gerald.

In fact, quite a few of the album's songs sound like they could have been recorded by either Gerald or the O'Jays, including the social commentary "More, More, More" and the sexy, seductive "Feeling You." Traces of the late, great Marvin Gaye can be heard in Cummings' voice on a few songs, especially the appropriately-titled "Marvin's Vibe."

Cummings' voice is an unperfect work-in-progress and he has a ways to go before he could be considered in the same company as the legendary singers mentioned above, but Cummings is definitely no slouch.

Much in the same way that Cummings went all-out during games as a bruising power forward in the NBA, he goes all-out in remaking himself as a tender, expressive singer. And like Wayman Tisdale, another NBA forward-turned-music-artist, Cummings shows and proves that his talent extends far beyond the basketball court.