You can almost smell the tangy barbecue sauce
dripping from the forthcoming third album “BWB” by chart-topping trio BWB, who
throw down like a sweaty garage band at a Memphis backyard house party on their
debut for the Artistry Music label arriving April 22. It’s the first time the
band made up of GRAMMY® winners Norman Brown (guitar, vocals) and Kirk Whalum
(saxophone, flute, vocals) and Rick Braun (trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone,
vocals) cooked up a festive, sticky-fingered feast of ten new contemporary
jazz, R&B, soul and funk joints.
Braun produced the session in his suburban
Los Angeles-area home studio where the band moved in with their families and
lived together for an entire week. The result is a collaborative disc
celebrating brotherhood and live music. The tantalizing title track is the
first radio cut, which enters Billboard’s Top 10 on next week’s singles chart
and appears to be ticketed for the top spot.
Anytime the
three solo stars get together to record, it’s an instant candidate for event
album of the year in the contemporary jazz world. BWB has been itching to
record original material ever since they first recorded as a high-wattage trio
in 2002 when they released a collection of covers entitled “Groovin’.” Over a
decade later, they reunited as a combo in 2013 with “Human Nature,” paying
tribute to Michael Jackson’s songbook and scoring their first No 1 hit with
“Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground).” This time around, they decided to
compose the material entirely on their own, creating party jams specifically with
their spirited live shows in mind.
As Braun
tells it, “A long time ago in a faraway galaxy, three brothers dreamed of
recording a CD of all original material as a band. Although the evil forces of
time and geography stood in their way for many years, a dream is a powerful
idea and ultimately the collective, creative force will prevail. And in that
spirit, Norman and Kirk moved into my house for a short week with their loved
ones. We played our horns, sang, drank wine, wrote, laughed and lived together.
Thus it began!”
Primarily
instrumental with a batch of tunes amped up by fun-filled vocal refrains and
catchy, sing-a-long choruses, BWB’s members wove DNA from their hometowns into
the music mix. With Whalum’s Memphis soul serving as the nucleus, Braun’s
Philly funk atoms and Brown’s Kansas City jazz genes add flavor, flair and some
old-school stank to the homegrown offering that struts and seduces with swagger
and sophistication along with a devilish dash of mischief. An equally important
nonmusical component is incorporating the enduring love and joy of treasured
friendships that exists between the musicians.
“As I grow
wiser, grayer and more awesomer (!), I realize just how important relationships
are to me –– much more important even than music. But how awesome it is to make
great music with great friends! This is a glorious bonus and a wonderful
journey. I am grateful for “the Chord of three strands” that is BWB,” Whalum
testified.
Brown
concurred enthusiastically. “I believe in the Master Mind! Two or more minds
joined in harmony with a common goal will surely connect to higher source
energy. BWB is a brilliant vibration channeling a spirit of joyful elevation. I
love my brothers!”
BWB are
touring throughout the year in support of the new album playing festival dates
including Boscov’s Berks Jazz Festival (April 8), Las Vegas City of Lights Jazz
and R&B Festival (April 16), St. Lucia Jazz Festival (May 7), Steel City
Jazz Festival (June 4), Tri-C Jazz Festival (June 25), QC Summerfest (July 31),
Wolf Creek Jazz Festival (September 4) and the Capital Jazz SuperCruise
(October 23) as well as a pair of Texas dates in Austin at the One World
Theatre (May 27) and Houston at Dosey Doe (May 28).
The songs
contained on “BWB” are:
“Triple
Dare”
“Bust A
Move”
“BWB”
“Bolly Bop”
“I Want You
Girl”
“Lemonade”
“Memphis
Steppin’”
“Hey Baby”
“North Star”
“Turn Up”
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