Wednesday, December 06, 2017

NEW RELEASES: PAUL BROWN – GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN; RICKY ALAN DRAUGHN – HOLIDAY BEST WISHES; GILI YALO

PAUL BROWN – GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN

Two-time Grammy winning producer, guitarist, recording artist and all around musical Renaissance Man Paul Brown had another banner year in 2017, adding two more Billboard #1 Smooth Jazz singles to his ever-expanding resume. He’s kicking back and keeping it silky smooth for the holidays! On this intimate, sensual rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” Brown glides his sultry electric melody lines and graceful improvisations over the lush keyboards and easy flowing bass and drums of Lew Laing. This version is perfect for a cozy fireside playlist when the temperature drops! ~ smoothjazz.com


RICKY ALAN DRAUGHN – HOLIDAY BEST WISHES

Ricky Alan Draughn might be new on the Smooth Jazz artist radar, but he’s been rated one of the hottest cutting-edge artists on the East Coast by virtue of his Tri-State area performances with the Slammin’ Band. Previewing next year’s full length holiday album, BEST HOLIDAY WISHES, the intensely emotional soul singer creates a dramatic, orchestra-enhanced version of “O Holy Night” under the guidance of two-time Grammy winning producer Chris “Big Dog” Davis. In addition to his towering vocals, the track is notable for its clever quoting of “My Favorite Things.” Draughn’s “O Holy Night” is one of the most inspiring tracks of the season! ~ smoothjazz.com


GILI YALO - GILI YALO

A fantastic debut from Gili Yalo – an important artist on the current Tel Aviv scene, but one with roots in Ethiopia, too – a mix of cultural modes that he works to great effect on this album! The sounds here definitely echo some of the hippest Ethio sounds of the 70s – but the approach is never too copycat at all, and Gili certainly brings a lot of new spirit of his own to the lyrics, and his use of funkier currents in some of the instrumentation! Yalo's probably got more right to reference these sounds than other contemporary artists – and that also seems to give him more of a chance to play with them openly, too – really hitting some new ideas on titles that include "City Life", "Tadese", "Selam", "Africa", "Hot Shot", "Sab Sam", "T'Ebik'Ew", and "Fire". ~ Dusty Groove


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