The pandemic silenced concert stages, but it couldn’t mute Detroit’s flute phenom Alexander Zonjic. With festivals on ice, the Windsor-born virtuoso finally carved out space to finish his 13th album—his first in over ten years. Dropping October 9 on Hi-Falutin Music, Playing It Forward surges with jazz-funk-soul fusion, propelled by GRAMMY-winning keyboard titan Jeff Lorber on production for all but the lead single, the retro-R&B earworm “Motor City Sway.” Penned and produced by Pieces of a Dream’s James Lloyd, the track has topped Billboard’s Most Added chart two weeks running.
The title nods to Zonjic’s lifelong ethos of giving back—fueling fundraisers for a dozen Detroit nonprofits alongside his son, hosting WVMV’s morning drive since ’98, and helming his TV showcase Alexander Zonjic: From A to Z. “This record is forward momentum,” he says. “Pure energy.” That promise detonates across six originals (five co-penned by Lorber) and five reimagined covers, featuring guitar aces Chuck Loeb, Paul Jackson Jr., and Michael Thompson; drummer Gary Novak; horn arranger David Mann; and 14-year-old South African keyboard comet Justin-Lee Schultz.
Loeb’s final co-write, the lush downtempo “Musaic,” lets Zonjic’s flute converse tenderly with the late master’s guitar—a poignant farewell. Elsewhere, Zonjic salutes his roots: a slinky “Night Crawler” tribute to mentor Bob James (who discovered him at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in ’81); a haunting “Nature Boy” that treats the flute like the human voice it mimics; and a long-overdue Jethro Tull nod with a 5/4-time “Living In The Past” laced with grunts, groans, and classical flair. The roof-raiser? A gospel-charged “Rolling In The Deep” ignited by the Selected of God Choir—sparked not by Adele but by Aretha Franklin’s blistering Letterman performance.
A teenage rock guitarist turned flute messenger, Zonjic has collected three Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards, 15 Detroit Music Awards, and a reputation for trading solos with giants. He’s ready to do it again—faster, louder, and with zero plans to wait another decade. Stream Playing It Forward and feel the Motor City sway.
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