ELAN TROTMAN SCORES BIG WITH TROPICALITY, STAR-STUDDED RELEASE SET FOR FEBRUARY 19

Tropicality is Barbados native Elan Trotman’s sixth solo album produced by both Trotman and guitarist Peter White, and it features 12 tracks recorded in Los Angeles, Boston, and Barbados. Trotman’s goal on this set was to bring the influence of the Caribbean to the masses - and he sure does succeed here. Trotman wrote or co-wrote seven of the collection’s nine original and selected a few covers, including the first single hitting radio – Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster”. With a refreshing and smooth sound, Tropicality  boasts not only smooth jazz, but also some reggae (“Master Blaster (Jammin’), Bob Marley’s “Wait in Vain”), as well as Caribbean zouk (Danca Ku Mi (Dance With Me).   After my first listen, I added all of the tracks to my Ipod and Itunes playlists.

Recording in three widely diverse cities afforded Trotman the opportunity to draw upon an international superstar talent pool that includes fellow compatriot and Barbados-born bassist and producer Nicholas Branker, British guitarist Peter White, French guitarist U-Nam, Brazilian guitarist Fabiano Da Silva, Arubian guitarist Serghio Hansen, Cuban percussionist Luis Conte, as well as an accomplished American contingent consisting of keyboarding and producer Jeff Lorber, guitarist and producer Paul Brown, guitarist Nick Colionne, drummers Terri Lynn Carrington, Ricky Lawson, and Tony Moore, trumpeter Lin Roundtree, bassist Alex Al and percussionist Lenny Castro.

Tropicality follows on the success of his 2011 release, Love And Sax, a Billboard Top 20 contemporary jazz album that spawned the single “Heaven In Your Eyes,” a duet that features keyboardist Brian Simpson, which reached #11 on Billboard’s jazz songs chart. Trotman is the three-time winner of the New England Urban Music Award as Best Jazz Male, the 2011 Barbados Music Award Instrumentalist of the Year, and was twice nominated for a Boston Music Award.

Trotman is no stranger to the industry, having lent his soulful horn flair to recordings and shared the concert stage with an extraordinary assortment of musicians including Roberta Flack, Patti Austin, Will Downing, Phil Perry, Earl Klugh, Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, Raul Midon, Brian McKnight, Jamie Foxx, Johnny Gill, Nathan East, Gerald Veasley, Don Grusin, Keiki Matsui, Raul Midon, plus Dave Koz, Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright, and Najee.

Here’s the full tracklisting for Elan Trotman’s Tropicality: 1. Master Blaster (Jammin”); 2. Tradewinds; 3. Bridgetown To Beantown; 4. Always With You; 5. Wait In Vain; 6. A Time And Place; 7. Sunset In Paradise; 8. Danca Ki Mi (Dance With Me); 9. Funkalypso; 10. Tropicality; 11. Island Groove; 12. Wave