New Music Releases: Jason Palmer, Brendan Rothwell, Soulfusionseven

Jason Palmer - Rhyme & Reason

A really fantastic album from trumpeter Jason Palmer – one with a unique sort of group structure, which really brings out an edge in Palmer's playing! The lineup is piano-less – just Jason on trumpet, Mark Turner on tenor, Matt Brewer on bass, and Kendrick Scott on drums – working in these great blocky ways that have an inherent sense of rhythm, even though things are maybe looser and freer than usual too! Brewer's bass has this wonderfully rich tone, which deepens the record right from the get-go, and continues to hold strong – and Mark Turner's darker tones really bring out a different side of Palmer, especially in comparison to some of his "songbook" recordings. Kendrick Scott is always a delight on drums – and all tracks on the set are nice and long, with titles that include "The Hampton Inn", "Herbs In A Glass", "Kalispel Bay", "Waltz For Diana", "Sadhana", "Blue Grotto", and "Rhyme & Reason".  ~ Dusty Groove

Brendan Rothwell - Sentiment

Canadian bassist Brendan Rothwell traces his love of the instrument and its intense soul possibilities to hearing the legendary Marcus Miller play on Miles Davis’ 80’s classic TUTU. On the heels of a debut that charted both in the U.S and Canada, his latest album SENTIMENT, is an eclectic, deeply rhythmic sonic experience. He includes several picture perfect, frothy funk, Smooth Jazz tracks, but the collection’s deeper pleasures expand the emotional palette into neo-soul, jazz fusion and even ambient territory. Reminiscent of the most genre-transcendent works of Miller, Brian Bromberg and Stanley Clarke, these songs are meditative masterpieces, taking him to contemplative realms of expression rich with mood and immersive atmospheres. ~ smoothjazz.com  

Soulfusionseven – Acquital Of The Ego

Soulfusionseven are a collective of musicians originally founded by John Saltwell and Paul Baker to create a live act due to demand following the success of the single Summer Breeze written with singer Cheryl Aldridge. The song climbed to number 1 in the official UK soul chart in the summer of 2017 with the help of other band members Gary Richardson, Vicky Kaylor, Jude Linton and featuring the vocals of Amelia Melody. In early 2016 ‘Steppin’ up my love’ was remixed by a young Japanese producer called Yuki Tashahaki under the pseudonym ‘T Groove’ and it climbed to number 1 in Japan, number 1 in various other charts and number 6 in the official UK Soul Chart.They went to number 1 in the summer of 2017 in the Official UK Soul chart with their next release ‘Summer Breeze’ released on DSG records.