Steve Arrington – Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions
After a 7-year hiatus, funk legend Steve Arrington returns with his uplifting and soulful new album ‘Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions’, with artists including Mndsgn, Knxwledge and Jerry Paper on production. The album portrays his diversity of influences, which sees Arrington drawing on funk, soul, jazz, electronic and R&B. Steve Arrington is known for his innovative vocals on classics including ‘Watching You’ and ‘Just A Touch of Love’, with Slave, as well as his solo work with tracks including ‘Dancin’ in the Key of Life’, ‘Weak at the Knees’ and ‘Nobody Can Be You’. His music has greatly influenced the hip hop generation, having been sampled by Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest, Pharrell, 50 Cent, 2Pac, De La Soul, Snoop Dogg and many more. ‘Down To The Lowest Terms: The Soul Sessions’ is Steve Arrington’s first solo album since 2009’s ‘Pure Thang’.
Horizons Jazz Orchestra is a swinging big band comprising some of the finest musicians in South Florida. They are now releasing their debut CD, The Brite Side. On The Brite Side, the Orchestra plays the music of Lee Harris, a baritone sax player, composer, arranger, and bandleader who worked along the East Coast. Harris and trumpeter Dennis Noday, an alumnus of the Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson bands, co-founded and co-led SUPERBAND, a big band that mainly performed Harris’ original compositions and arrangements. Harris passed away before the album was completed, and since some of the original musicians had moved onto other projects, executive producer Jeannette C. Piña and musical director Michael Balogh decided to rebrand and changed the name to Horizons Jazz Orchestra. The band’s music is lush, melodic, and very approachable. It doesn’t try be avant-garde; rather, it has a dance-able, crowd pleasing appeal. With sterling musicianship, exciting arrangements, and some rarely heard compositions that could have been taken right out of the Great American Songbook, The Brite Side is a loving tribute to Lee Harris, an unheralded but much appreciated composer and arranger in the jazz world.
Mon David (pronounced moan da-VID) had a successful career as a touring drummer and singer in the Philippines, recording and performing mostly pop music with popular groups that toured around the world. But the vocalist, composer, arranger, and musician decided to fulfill his dreams to pursue a career as a jazz vocalist, so he brought his family from the Philippines to the U.S. in 2007 and has since become a popular mainstay on the Southern California music scene. David is now releasing DNA, his fourth U.S. release. The album, which is a program of mostly standards, is a duo project featuring Josh Nelson, the highly respected pianist, composer, and arranger, who has performed with some of the top names in jazz. Mon David sings straight from the heart. He is emotive without being cliched or pedantic. A trained instrumentalist as well as a vocalist with a wide range and excellent vocal control, his singing is endlessly improvisational and creative. His collaboration with Josh Nelson on DNA demonstrates that an entire symphony of sounds can be created by two seasoned, master musicians.
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