New Music Releases: James Bowman III, Samuel Lorenzo, New York/Paris Reunion Quintet

James Bowman III - Things On My Mind 

Colorful, uplifting, steady grooving and wildly inspiring, singer and songwriter James Bowman III's latest album Things On My Mind offers a seamless merging of gospel energy, sacred reverence and urban oriented Smooth Jazz. Having played with Brian McKnight and Mervyn Warren and opened for everyone from Edwin Hawkins, Kirk Franklin and BeBe & CeCe Winans, the multi-talented artist and seductive vocalist has plenty to communicate about - the Lord, marriage, family and relationship. Led by a spiritual lyrical reworking of an Earth, Wind & Fire classic, the collection offers a positive overall message to combat the harsh discourse occurring in the world today. ~smoothjazz.com

Samuel Lorenzo – Wishing You Were Here

Samuel Lorenzo is a creative singer-songwriter, keyboardist, percussionist, and producer whose roots began in Norfolk, Virginia. A quiet, soft-spoken artist with a vibe that reaches the very depth of his soul, genres such as R&B, Funk, Gospel, and Jazz have inspired Samuel Lorenzo's international, poignant and warm musical style. Hailing from Atlantic Records' funk/R&B group Mass Production, the group's #1 R&B hit "Firecracker", sampled by 2 Live Crew on their single "Me So Horny", propelled them onto the Billboards charts. A versatile musician, Gospel artists such as Daryl Coley, Morris Chapman, Helen Baylor, and Alvin Slaughter, inspired Lorenzo. He was also fortunate to share the stage with them as well as other celebrated artists such as The Isley Brothers, The Gap Band, Sister Sledge, Rick James, Teddy Pendergrass, Stephanie Mills, Cameo, Peabo Bryson, Lakeside, Atlantic Starr, SOS Band, Skyy, Brass Construction, Con Funk Shun, Slave, The Spinners, The Dazz Band, and most recently Brick, The Fat Back Band, Instant Funk, The Ying Yang Twins, and Chingy. This new release, Wishing You Were Here, is inspired by his wife. Lorenzo masterfully captures on the piano the phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" with this sultry and seductive melody.

  

New York/Paris Reunion Quintet - Live At The Bird's Eye Club, Basel 

A great group of players from both the New York and Paris scenes – coming together here in a live recording that's got a wonderfully classic vibe, right from the start! The best-known player in the group, at least to our ears, is trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, who always sparkles on his solos – but the group's also got some really fantastic alto work from Dmitry Baevsky, a player we know a lot less, but who really blows us away with the depth and texture of his tone – an approach that uses the alto with a hell of a bite, at a level we maybe haven't heard this great since the early bop recordings of Jackie McLean! Pianist Jeb Patton is great, too – very romping some moments, but personally pointed at others – and the group also features rock-solid work from Fabien Marcoz on bass and Bernd Reiter on drums, a duo who are especially nice when hard-swinging. Titles include "Brooklyn", "Mr Kenyatta", "Truth Tellers", "Bittersweet", "Conception", and "Everything I Love". ~ Dusty Groove