It took ten years for urban-jazz bass player Darryl Williams to
write, record and release “Here to Stay,” his Billboard top 10 single and the
title track to his second album. This week’s release of the follow-up single,
“Do You Remember,” proves that he doesn’t plan to go away anytime soon.
Plucking rubbery basslines on piccolo and electric basses on the slick
jazz-funk energizer that he wrote and produced, Williams is joined on the
dancefloor filler by chart-toppers Michael Lington (saxophone) and Adam Hawley
(guitarist).
Williams’
return to center stage as a frontman with the “Here to Stay” set resulted in a
2017 Best New Artist
nomination from the Smooth Jazz Network. The first-call bassman calls the
collection that he produced with sax powerhouse Euge Groove “a labor of love,”
featuring eight of his hand-penned originals along with a pair of remakes that
have personal meaning to the San Diego native who currently resides in
Temecula. A stellar list of his regular employers were quick to return the
favor by making guest appearances on “Here to Stay,” including Groove, who
ignites a pair of tunes including the title cut, two-time Grammy-winning
guitarist and producer Paul Brown, jazz-funk keyboard pioneer Jeff Lorber,
saxmen Marcus Anderson and Elan Trotman, and keyboardists Jonathan Fritzen,
Greg Manning and Scott Wilkie. The disc’s lone vocal number, a faithful
rendering of The Emotions’ “Don’t Ask My Neighbors,” is soul kissed by R&B
crooner Ashling Cole. Williams remembers his late mentor, Carl Evans Jr., by
revamping the former Fattburger leader’s sweetly redolent “The Doctor,” which
is graced by Michael Paolo’s caressing soprano sax.
“While to
some people, ‘labor of love’ is an overused cliché, it certainly applies to
‘Here to Stay.’ I began writing songs for the collection in 2007 before moving
my family to Temecula from Las Vegas. The compositions were inspired by
different experiences we went through in our journey throughout that period. It
was an important and formative time in my career as well. That’s when I first
started playing in Euge’s (Groove) band and did a tour with Jeff (Lorber) a couple
years later. In between is when my very good friend and mentor Carl (Evans Jr.)
passed, which was devastating. ‘Do You Remember’ was one of the last songs I
wrote for the record and it was inspired by reflecting on how far I’ve come
from growing up as a kid in Los Angeles and San Diego to playing in a funk band
with my brother as a teenager. It took me ten years to finish this album and
while it takes me back in time, the reaction from fans, radio and reviewers has
me looking forward with excitement. I couldn’t be more proud of this album,”
said Williams.
Williams was
a teenager when he opened for R&B acts Lakeside and Al Green along with
gospel legend Shirley Caesar. After studying jazz at San Diego State
University, Williams went from regular gigs backing many of San Diego’s most
prominent homegrown talent to the neon lights of the Las Vegas strip where he
accompanied such nationally-renowned headliners as Clint Holmes, Angela Bofill,
Tevin Campbell, Howard Hewett and Keith Washington, and did a road stint with
Chaka Khan. After moving back to California in 2008, Williams dropped his debut
album, “That Was Then,” garnering praise from JazzTimes and national airplay on
SiriusXM. He has become a fixture on the smooth/contemporary jazz scene where
he has shared the stage with the genre’s heavy hitters: Richard Elliot, Peter
White, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair, Brenda Russell, Darren Rahn, Jessy J,
Everette Harp and Jeff Kashiwa. He has also recorded with Jackiem Joyner, Blake
Aaron, Nils Jiptner, U-Nam and Kay-Ta Matsuno.
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