Delivering on his promise to
“Evolve,” the title of Jackiem Joyner’s last soul-jazz album, the saxophonist
became a father since his 2014 release, an elation-inducing experience that
informs the music he wrote and produced for his new Artistry Music set, “Main
Street Beat,” due June 30. The first single from the funky, dance inspiring,
Motown-influenced session that will be shipped to radio this month is the
exultant “Trinity,” named for Joyner’s first child whose presence on the track
is voiced by Steve Oliver’s incandescent acoustic guitar.
Joyner approached crafting “Main Street Beat” with a
three-pronged purpose. “I wanted to create something upbeat, fun to listen to
and something to dance to. ‘Main Street Beat’ originally started off as a
straight funk record that eventually became some of that, but a whole lot more
as I allowed the creative process to have its way with me,” said Joyner, a
Billboard chart-topper who plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone on
the date, often enriching the tracks by laying layer upon layer of horns to
form a powerhouse sax section.
The exuberant album opener, “Main Street,” exemplifies the
mighty wall-of-horns approach with Joyner playing lead harmonies on alto
reinforced by his sax section. Instead of tracking individually, Joyner brought
the band – drummer Raymond Johnson, bassist Darryl Williams, electric guitarist
Kyle Bolden and piano player Carnell Harrell - into the studio to record six
tracks old-school style, including “Back To Motown.” Nick Colionne guests on
“When You Smile” to flash his cool electric jazz guitar on the infectious
mid-tempo R&B cut. Taking his alto sax chops out for a strut, Joyner cranks
up the band for a fiery funk romp down “Southside Boulevard,” one of three
tunes that adds Nikolai Egorov’s trombone muscle to the horn section. On a pair
of urban joints – “That Good Thing” and “Don’t Make Her Wait” – Joyner plays
soprano sax. He takes full command on the stormy “Addicted,” playing every
instrument heard on the moody number. “Think James Brown on tenor sax” is how
Joyner describes the super funky “Get Down Street.” A pair of high-energy pop-R&B
covers – Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop The Feeling” and Bruno Mars’
“Treasure” – complete the outing, songs Joyner elected to record based upon
their buoyant, positive nature, which he says mirrors his young offspring’s personality.
“My little girl played a huge role in inspiring this album.
Having Trinity around during the writing process sparked an enormous font of
creativity and really kicked my writing into high gear. The first single, named
after her, really captures the excitement and joy of being a dad as well as the
exciting little girl that she is. Trinity was right there in the studio during
a lot of the writing process. Her jumpy and bouncy upbeat little self is really
reflected on this album,” said Joyner, who will launch the record with June
concerts in Cincinnati (June 9 at A Celebration of Black Music), Birmingham
(June 11 at Jazz in the Park), San Diego (June 25 at Mediterranean’s Jazz and
Supper Club) and Philadelphia (June 29 at South).
The release of “Main Street Beat,” Joyner’s sixth album,
coincides with his tenth anniversary as a recording artist. His 2007 debut
“Babysoul” earned Debut Artist of the Year honors from Smooth Jazz News. Two
years later, his sophomore set, “Lil Man Soul,” spawned two No. 1 singles on
the Billboard chart and won the Song of the Year trophy for “I’m Waiting For
You” from the American Smooth Jazz Awards. His self-titled 2010 album
solidified his position as a consistent hit-maker. Revisiting his non-secular
roots, Joyner issued the gospel-jazz “Church Boy” in 2012. “Evolve” placed his
infectious melodies amidst futuristic electronic sonicscapes. Joyner’s music
isn’t his only creative effort that ventured into extraterrestrial territory.
Last year, the Norfolk, Virginia native who resides near Los Angeles authored
his first book, the science fiction novel “Zarya: Cydnus Final Hope (Book 1).
For more information, please visit www.JackiemJoyner.com.
“Main Street Beat” contains the following songs:
“Main Street”
“Back To Motown”
“Can’t Stop The Feeling”
“Trinity”
“When You Smile”
“Southside Boulevard”
“That Good Thing”
“Treasure”
“Addicted”
“Don’t Make Her Wait”
“Get Down Street”
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