Chris Stamey’s collaboration with the Fellow Travelers, A Brand-New Shade of Blue, was inspired by the intimate small-combo sound of the late ’50s and early ’60s — a time when the “cool jazz” compositions of such luminaries as John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, and Thelonious Monk lived alongside the expanding pop vocabulary of Burt Bacharach and Jimmy Webb. “These are songs for late nights and rainy days,” Chris explains. “I wrote most of it in the dark of winter, in whispers, in the ‘wee small hours of the morning,’ that magic time ‘when the whole wide world is fast asleep.’ And these great singers and musicians kept that mood alive throughout the sessions that followed.”
The music started as song sheets, in the old style: just words and melodies on paper. Members of an N.C. ad hoc collective of singers and players, known informally as the Fellow Travelers, next gathered in Stamey’s Modern Recording studio in early 2020 to read through the songbook and bring the tunes to life. “I’d put down a rudimentary piano pass, then hand out the sheets,” Stamey explains, “and let the players take it from there.” First up was vocalist Brett Harris, who became the primary singer on the set. Brett, a solo artist with three excellent albums under his belt, had worked with Chris before, not only as a featured performer with the acclaimed Big Star’s Third concert series but also as a touring member of the dB’s. He was joined by the accomplished trio of Charles Cleaver (piano, also from the Third concerts), Dan Davis (drums), and Jason Foureman (acoustic bass), with Chris on guitar.
Next came thrillingly expressive solos by 19-year-old tenor-sax prodigy Elijah Freeman and N.C. jazz-scene linchpins Foureman, Will Campbell (alto and soprano sax), Evan Ringel (trombone), and Ben Robinson (trumpet), which connected and underlined the detailed, evocative lyrics. Vocalist Django Haskins (the Old Ceremony) chimed in on “Dangling Cheek to Cheek.” And wunderkind Lithuanian chanteuse Ramunė Martin joined for a song (“I Don't Think of You”) and charmed them all.
The project was well underway when the pandemic stopped in-person sessions cold. But the undaunted Fellow Travelers were able to assemble home studios, some for the first time, and complete the arrangements. As the songs took shape, additional sonic details came from Dale Baker (bongos), Matt Douglas (Mountain Goats) (bass clarinet, bari sax), Karen Galvin and Libby Rodenbough (Mipso) (violins), Peter Holsapple (The dB’s) (banjo), Rachel Kiel (flute and harmonies), Slippy McGhee (harmonica), Mark Simonsen(vibraphone), and Josh Starmer (’celli).
Stamey recalls: “The title track is somewhat of an homage to Coltrane, through my own blue-colored glasses of course. Some of the new ones . . . are more clearly Tin Pan Alley-ish in their musical vocabularies, including the jolly, stride-piano-style exposition of ‘Come Home to Me’ and the bittersweet sixth chords of ‘It Must Be Raining Somewhere.’ In ‘I Don’t Think of You,’ I was exploring some of Burt Bacharach’s and Jimmy Webb’s harmonic vocabulary, thinking perhaps of the woman in ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix.’ ‘In a Minor Key’ reflects my vast admiration for Monk’s classic sharp-nine and flat-five noir masterpiece ‘’Round Midnight,’ and that harmonic language plays a part in ‘Un Autre Temps’ as well. ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ came after a similar summerlong obsession, with the gentleness of Jobim. I imagined Harold Arlen looking over my shoulder for ‘There's a Dream Around the Corner.’ ‘Speechless’ tries to pry open a cliché to see what might be hidden inside it, and ‘Dangling Cheek to Cheek’ springboards off of Peter Holsapple’s banjo into a Great Depression-style hoedown, with images of the end of the Roaring ’20s amidst anachronisms such as Muhammad Ali and the three-pointer shot.”
The set follows Stamey’s 2019 release New Songs for the 20th Century, Vols. 1 & 2. Of that album, Downbeat noted: “Musicians from Rod Stewart to Bob Dylan have turned to the Great American Songbook to revive their creative juices. But Chris Stamey has taken a different approach. Instead of singing other people’s compositions, he’s . . . written a raft of new ones that are akin to material for a 1958 recording session by Frank Sinatra or Ella Fitzgerald.” Americana Highways opined: “This is a prodigious project that asks for real attention. Fortunately, the gift of this music pays off in timeless beauty and unlimited inspiration. It’s like the past has been reinvigorated by the present, with nothing lost and everything gained.”
Chris Stamey is a co-founder (with Peter Holsapple) of influential American indie-rock band the dB’s. He operated Car Records, releasing both his own recordings and those of Big Star cofounder Chris Bell, and played with Alex Chilton, who shared his love of Charles Mingus and introduced him to the music of Chet Baker. Stamey and Holsapple together have three duo albums, including Mavericks and the recent Our Back Pages. Stamey also has several albums of his own including, most recently, Lovesick Blues and Euphoria (Yep Roc). His 2019 release New Songs for the 20th Century, Vols. 1 & 2 was a collection of Great American Songbook-influenced original songs featuring many notable guest appearances. He is the author of the book A Spy in the House of Loud, in which he recalls songwriting during the early days of punk and new wave in and around New York City. He owns Modern Recording, a studio in North Carolina, site of his numerous productions for artists including Whiskeytown, Le Tigre, Skylar Gudasz, and Millie McGuire, to name just a few.
Baritone saxophonist Claire Daly celebrates the music and influence of the great Rahsaan Roland Kirk with all the enthusiasm promised by the title of Rah! Rah!, her new album. Set for an October 2 release on Ride Symbol Records, it’s a quartet date featuring pianist Eli Yamin, bassist Dave Hofstra, and drummer Peter Grant. It also includes eight tunes from Kirk’s repertoire, as well as two original compositions in which Daly reworks a pair of Kirk’s seminal pieces. (Kirk, who died in 1977, would have turned 85 today.)
Blind, eclectic, and larger than life, multi-reedist Kirk was also the musician who inspired the 18-year-old Daly’s direction in the music. “There was this spirit in his sound that I had never encountered,” she recalls. “He was such a force of nature. He made me so happy, and still does.”
The spirit, the force, the happiness—all of it radiates throughout Rah! Rah! Whether in Daly’s sashaying, Afro-Cuban take on Kirk’s “Theme for the Eulipions,” her uproarious interpretation of “Volunteered Slavery” (which
morphs in its middle section into Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People”), or the hard-driving aplomb she brings to “Blues for Alice” (a Charlie Parker composition, Kirk’s 1962 cover of which was his breakthrough recording), one can feel the icon’s zest for life and for bebop—and the lessons in both that Daly soaked up from him.
Daly also honors Kirk on the album, and indeed throughout her career, by playing multiple instruments. Her vocals appear on the aforementioned “Volunteered Slavery/Everyday People” as well as on Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Alfie,” both delivered with an understated charm. Kirk was also a key exponent of modern jazz flute, as Daly acknowledges with her agile fluting on “Serenade to a Cuckoo,” “Funk Underneath,” and “Momentus Brighticus,” Daly’s light-footed contrafact of Kirk’s “Bright Moments.”
That said, Daly pointedly did not go overboard in paying respects to her idol. “I wasn’t interested in mimicking Kirk or playing two horns at once like he did,” she says. Surely, if there was any message Kirk intended to impart through his art, it was to be steadfastly, defiantly oneself. With Rah! Rah!, Daly manages to both adhere to that message—“I think he gave me the freedom to have my own vibe,” she muses—and to give the messenger his just deserts.
Born in Yonkers, New York, Claire Daly was 12 years old when she picked up the alto saxophone in her Catholic school’s brand-new music program; however, she truly became a saxophonist a year later, in a moment so profound she’s never forgotten the date: September 23, 1971. That was the day her father took her to see a big band festival ending with a set by the Buddy Rich Big Band, and the sound of his saxophone section tearing into the Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood” absolutely electrified her.
Daly attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music as a saxophonist whose life changed when she encountered Rahsaan Roland Kirk through his 1976 release Return of the 5000 Lb. Man. She had not yet settled on the baritone sax, making her way through Berklee on alto and tenor. Upon moving back to New York, Daly had the opportunity to purchase Howard Johnson’s first bari sax, which provided the next epiphany of her life: “This is where I live. I am a baritone player.”
In New York, Daly built a prolific freelancing career, including work accompanying the likes of Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Rosemary Clooney, and Taj Mahal; playing in saxophonist Sahib Shihab’s big band; and holding the founding baritone chair in Sherrie Maricle’s DIVA Big Band, which she retained for seven years. In 1999 she made her solo debut with Swing Low.
In the years since, Daly has become an acclaimed soloist and bandleader. She is a three-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Baritone Sax of the Year” Award and has made multiple appearances in the annual polls administered by Down Beat, JazzTimes, Hot House Jazz, and others. Rah! Rah! is her seventh release.
“If there was ever an inspiration to me at this time in history,” says Daly, “it is the unstoppable, fearless courage of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Let us all summon his energy to move forward and find our new reality. Dream on.”
Craft Recordings has reissued two significant titles from New Orleans royalty: Classified from R&B piano virtuoso James Booker and the GRAMMY® Award-winning After the Rain, from soul singer Irma Thomas. These albums are not only significant to the rich, musical culture of New Orleans but are also standouts in Rounder Records’ vast
catalog. The legendary roots label, which is celebrating its 50th year throughout 2020, will be reissuing key titles, as well as special box sets via Craft Recordings. Additionally, the label will be planning events, an original podcast series, curated playlists, exclusive video content, and limited-edition merchandise.
James Booker — Classified
Throughout his short but blazing career, James Booker was one of the most unique and innovative talents in the jazz and R&B world. Known for his dizzying technique at the keyboard, the flamboyant artist coined a myriad of titles for himself: from “The Piano Prince of New Orleans” to “The Bayou Maharajah” to “The Bronze Liberace.”
The New Orleans native’s musical talents were apparent early on, and he made his recording debut while he was still a teenager—releasing a series of singles in the late ’50s and early ’60s, including “Gonzo,” which hit No. 3 on the R&B Chart. Throughout the ’70s, the artist was a regular fixture in Dr. John’s touring band, while in the studio, Booker recorded as a sideman for Ringo Starr, The Doobie Brothers, John Mayall, and Labelle, among other major acts. The artist also spent time in Europe, where he enjoyed a warm reception as an artist. While abroad, he made appearances at the renowned Montreux and Nice Jazz Festivals in France and performed on the BBC in the UK. Sadly, Booker, who struggled with drug addiction throughout much of his life, died at the age of 43.
A deeply complex character, Booker only released two studio albums in his lifetime. However, Classified—his unintended swan song—offers one of his greatest commercially released performances. Recorded in 1982, Classified is primarily the result of a whirlwind, four-hour session, in which Booker gave it his all, after a frustrating few days in the studio. In addition to several originals, the tracklist includes a jaunty repertoire of mainly local fare, including Fats Domino’s “One for the Highway,” a Professor Longhair medley, “Bald Head”/”Tipitina,” and Lloyd Price’s “Lawdy Miss Clawdy.”
Jazz Times called Classified “A masterful work,” declaring that “Booker was at the top of his game,” while AllMusic proclaimed the recording to be “One of the great blues albums of the ’80s,” praising that the tracks on the album “showcase his idiosyncrasies; how he simultaneously builds on tradition while playing with it.”
In the liner notes for a 2013 expanded edition of the LP, the session’s producer, Scott Billington, wrote, Classified is by no means James Booker’s best album. In fact, that mythical recording is still out there, on the cassette tapes that fans around the world…traded for the past thirty years. Yet, the album offers material and perhaps an attitude that can be heard nowhere else.” He adds, “One can imagine so many ‘if only…’ moments that might have led James Booker down a different path, but perhaps the life he lived was the only one possible for him, and that his recklessness was the counter-balance to the musical heights he could so often achieve. As [tenor saxophonist] Red Tyler said to me after Booker left the studio, ‘It’s like trying to capture the wind.’”
On August 14th, Vinyl Me, Please will be releasing an exclusive color variant (taupe splatter) of the James Booker Classified vinyl in celebration of Rounder’s 50th.
Irma Thomas — After The Rain
While James Booker was “The Bayou Maharajah,” Irma Thomas continues to reign as the “Soul Queen of New Orleans.” The singer, who scored her first charting R&B single, “Don’t Mess With My Man” before her 20th birthday, has enjoyed a long career, working with some of the greatest songwriters of the modern era. Early on, Thomas collaborated with songwriter, musician, producer and fellow New Orleans icon Allen Toussaint, releasing singles like “It’s Raining” and “Ruler of My Heart” (which was later reworked by Otis Redding as “Pain in My Heart”). In the mid-’60s, Thomas scored a string of popular songs including, “Wish Someone Would Care,” “Breakaway” (written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley), and “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand),” co-written by Randy Newman. In the span of her sixty-year career, Thomas has released 21 albums and over 30 singles.
For her 18th studio album, After the Rain, Thomas lent her rich and deeply nuanced vocals to a varied repertoire that spanned 75 years of American songwriting—from Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas’ “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” to Blind Willie Johnson’s “(The) Soul of a Man” to Eleni Mandell’s more recent “Another Lonely Heart.” It was an unusual selection of songs for Thomas, but Billington—who was about to produce his seventh album for the singer —“wanted to try something new,” he recalls. “I felt that we were repeating ourselves—going for a kind of ’70s New Orleans R&B vibe. I began to imagine instead a mostly acoustic setting for Irma, with songs that were chosen simply because they would resonate with her—because she would sound good singing them, and they could showcase her voice without horns or a big band.” Thomas was hesitant at first, but decided to give it a try.
Billington enlisted an all-star collection of local talent to join Thomas in the studio, including singer-songwriter Marc Broussard on backing vocals, blues and reggae artist Corey Harris on acoustic guitar, jazz and funk percussionist Stanton Moore on drums, the late David Egan on piano, and bassist James Singleton (who was also, coincidentally, the bassist on Classified). As Billington predicted, the band’s spare, often acoustic accompaniment allowed Irma’s soulful vocals and direct-from-the-heart delivery to be the focal point on each track.
Recorded at the rural Dockside Studio in Maurice, Louisiana only months after Hurricane Katrina, After the Rain is a remarkable declaration of resilience. Though the majority of the songs were chosen prior to the hurricane—which destroyed Thomas’ home—the album’s eerily prophetic themes offer a poignant message of hope after loss. “It was the first time any of the musicians had seen one another, and it was very emotional,” remembers Billington. “Even though we had chosen all of the songs before the storm, every one of them seemed now to be about the loss everyone had suffered. We added only one song—Stevie Wonder’s ‘Shelter in the Rain.’”
Upon its release, After the Rain received wide acclaim. The Austin Chronicle called the album “a statement of [Thomas’] extraordinary strength, as well as her ability to inhabit a surprisingly varied repertoire,” while AllMusic praised that Thomas “gives each song a kind of elegant resignation with her low-key vocal approach, until the whole album seems like one long, whispered effort to recapture hope in the future.” After the Rain also earned Thomas her first GRAMMY® win—for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 49th annual awards ceremony.
compositions in the world. Its rich and storied repertoire includes legendary artists such as Joan Baez, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Vince Guaraldi, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, Nine Inch Nails, Thelonious Monk, Otis Redding, R.E.M. and Traveling Wilburys, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Concord, Fania, Fantasy, Milestone, Musart, Nitro, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Sugar Hill, Vanguard, Vee-Jay and Victory Records, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation-ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord Music.
The architects of soul are back with a stunning new 20-track collection for 2020. Once again we uncover the building blocks of modern soul with a playlist of classics and rarities, and, incredibly, yet again, over a third are NEW-TO-CD!
Simone Hutsch supplies are cover photo taken at Canary Wharf, London, quite appropriate since our first two tracks are all about fishing! Fortunately not in the literal sense, the waters on the Wharf probably wouldn’t yield the greatest catch! Our show opens with the Turner Brothers, an Indianapolis band ranging in age from 12 to 27, with their 1974 crossover masterpiece “Let’s Go Fishing” taken from the super rare ‘Act 1’ LP. Just as obscure, and also “angling” for top spot (pardon the pun) are the New Creation with “The Fish Song”. It was produced by the legendary H B Barnum, and finally makes its CD debut.
Ernest Ernie also makes it to CD with the superb 2019 release “My Eyes”, a follow-up to the in-demand “Do Something”. Lounge singer Buddy Greco also makes the CD cut with his take on Gamble-Huff-Butler’s classic “Never Gonna Give You Up”. Phillip And Lloyd (aka the Blues Busters) finally get our appreciation for their soulful 1975 Scepter single “Baby I’m Sorry”.
How did Freddie Waters’ “This Is The Life” escape our attention until now! What a fine example of southern tinged crossover soul that segues perfectly into Sonny Munro’s “I’m Never Gonna Hurt Again”.
Volume 11 is brought to a close by the fabulous Gloria Walker and her soul drenched stroller “My Precious Love”. A Real Side favourite!
Singer-songwriter-keyboardist Jarrod Lawson emerged seemingly out of nowhere, at the age of 37, with a self-produced debut album that took the world of soul and jazz by storm.
Within a whirlwind couple of years the former stonemason and piano tuner from Portland, Oregon played sold-out shows at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Club and Jazz Cafe, headlined the London Shepherds Bush Empire, performed at the London Jazz Festival, Love Supreme and North Sea Jazz festivals and powered his way into the Dutch Top 40 album chart. He has since performed at Billboard Live in Tokyo, in Melbourne, at Indonesia’s Java Jazz festival and at leading jazz venues across the United States, Describing him as the “blue eyed soul boy of jazz”, the London Evening Standard wrote: “It’s not just Lawson’s wide ranging tenor and ability to swing, scat and groove that has made him the biggest soul-jazz sensation in years. It’s the way he’s bringing spirituality back to a genre that had lost its depth”.
Lawson is now back, with his long-awaited second album “Be The Change”, accompanied by a talented band that benefits from the rhythmic presence of Grammy-nominated percussionist Sammy Figueroa, whose playing in a lengthy career has graced dozens of albums from artists as diverse as Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Quincy Jones to Hall & Oates, Chic and Carole King.
Lawson’s trademark layered harmonies and vocal phrasing, his jazz fusion arrangements and his stunning keyboard skills are in evidence throughout the album, notably on title track “Be The Change”, “Universal Chord” and “How Long”. On the beautiful, intimate “I’ll Be Your Radio” he is joined by Moonchild’sAmber Navran on vocals and flute and her fellow members of the Los Angeles alternative R&B trio who contribute clarinet and flugelhorn, and on the smouldering torch song “Love Isn’t Always Enough” Max Ribner’s trumpet and flugel provide the perfect mood-setting accompaniment.
Even if you don’t know her name – you will know her voice.
It’s ‘Melbourne’s High Priestess Of Soul’ Kylie Auldist’s unmistakable vocals on the 2016 global dance hit ‘This Girl’ by Kungs vs Cookin’ on 3 Burners – the track that not only topped almost every pop chart across the planet, featured in many TV shows, adverts and films and social media memes, and has achieved over 1 billion streams & climbing. But of course, that’s far from the whole story. Kylie established her enviable reputation as the featured vocalist in the awesome Australian outfits The Bamboos, and Cookin’ On 3 Burners, and her fantastically well received solo albums for Tru Thoughts; ‘Just Say’ (2008), ‘Made of Stone’ (2009) and ‘Still Life’ (2012) and ‘Family Tree’ Freestyle Records (2016).
Kylie’s brand new album – ‘This Is What Happiness Looks Like’, her first for Greg Boraman’s brand new label Soul Bank Music, further develops the musical approach she began on it’s predecessor ‘Family Tree’ – and is very firmly entrenched on an electro boogie tip, rooted deep in the New York club scene of the early 80’s. The opening track ‘Everythink’ sets out that 1980’s electro-boogie sound and then fuses it with the song writing of a classic Wham or Hall & Oates tune – it has an infectious, slinky Moog synth bass line that will lodge itself in people’s minds. Kylie’s simply stunning vocal performance on this breezy and summery tune will surely make it a future classic.
Producers Warren Hunter and Lewis Moody skills in the studio have brought forth many musical highlights on this album, but special mention has to be made for Is It Fun? This is where a brilliant and incredibly infectious composition is further enhanced by some top notch instrumentalists, perfectly executed production, a simply beautiful vocal performance, and results in what should surely end up being an anthemic, brand new ‘soul weekender’ style classic.
Soul boys & girls, funkateers and disco fans won’t be able to stop themselves falling deeply for this new collection of tunes, because it’s not only a highly original take on a classic sound, but it was conceived, performed and recorded with a genuine passion and love, as Kylie says “Some albums are written fast, some take a long time, some albums experience setbacks, become beset by creative blocks and personal issues, and can generally be a whole lot of hard work which makes you question why you even bothered to start it in the first place – this was not one of those albums – hence the title ‘This Is What Happiness Looks Like’!
Gregory Porter – All Rise
A heck of a step forward for Gregory Porter – and we're stunned to say that, because he's already had so many great steps forward in his career! Gregory's already been a hell of a singer for years – we've loved him since the very first note he ever recorded – but with a record like this, he continues to rise into the stratosphere of a rare few singers who can transcend both their roots and their genres – with the kind of trans-generational music that will have folks listening to this set for decades – and around the world, in so many different ways! The All Rise in the title is very fitting – as this is definitely a set to lift up the world – with titles that include "Mr Holland", "Concorde", "Dad Gone Thing", "Revival", "Merchants Of Paradise", "Long List Of Troubles", "Everything You Touch Is Gold", "Merry Go Round", "Thank You", and "Phoenix". ~ Dusty Groove
Steve Fidyk - Battle Lines
Drummer Steve Fidyk does a great job here – driving on a group that bristles with energy, and which also showcases a large number of original tunes by Steve himself! We first heard Fidyk as a leader on some of his dates for the Posi-Tone label – and there's definitely a bit of that spirit here, maybe because labelmate Joe Magnarelli does such a great job in the group on trumpet and flugelhorn – alongside Xavier Perez on tenor, Peter Zak on piano, and Michael Karn on bass. Yet there's also a different quality going on than those earlier records – maybe more of a sense of urgency, and a slight current of darkness – on tracks that include "Battle Lines", "Loophole", "Lullabye For Lori & John", "Churn", "Bootlickers Blues", and "Bebop Operations".~ Dusty Groove
Throttle Elevator Music - Emergency Exit
Throttle Elevator Music have done a great job of evolving their sound over the years – working with core contributions from Matt Montgomery on bass and piano, Erik Jekabson on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Gregory Howe on guitar, bass, Hammond, and keyboards – all rounded out nicely by the tenor contributions of Kamasi Washington! Washington sounds great here – stretching out at some key moments – but the sound is definitely that of the group, with Kamasi acting as a strong sideman, rather than forcing his own sound on the set – in a batch of shorter tracks that all nicely demonstrate a sense of economy from all players. Titles include "Art Of The Warrior", "Marching Instructions", "Sublime In The Base", "Third Reflection", "Second Breather", and "Another Moth Drawn To City Light". ~ Dusty Groove
Vibes Alive - Vibrasonic
The winds have brought change to life as we knew it. “New” and “different” have taken over virtually every aspect of daily living and that extends to music as well. Leading with vibraphone and guitar as instrumental voices, Vibes Alive’s (http://vibesalivemusic.com) recently released “Vibrasonic” sounds different. The pairing creates a “different” soundscape than what is typically heard in contemporary jazz, yet the album is being received by radio programmers and record reviewers as a welcome bit of “new.” “Vibrasonic” is the third album from the duo consisting of vibraphonist Dirk Richter and guitarist Randall Crissman (an Emmy nominated composer), who wrote and produced the collection. As on their previous recordings, they are joined by GRAMMY-winning fusion keyboardist Jeff Lorber who brought in an A-list rhythm section (drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Jimmy Johnson and percussionist Luis Conte) to construct the tracks.
Bluenotes ft. Sugarbear - Never Too Late
Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes were one of the dynamic groups that came out of Gamble and Huff’s Sound of Philadelphia and went on to become one of the most popular acts of the 1970s. Through the inspiration of longtime member Larry Brown and the mutual verbal agreement with Trudy Melvin and Oliva Melvin, talented vocalists Arthur Aiken, Frank E. Lee, Sonny King and Roger Banks carried on the longstanding tradition of excellence. “The Legendary Bluenotes” now consist of Sugarbear Aikens, Addison King, Darrell R. Bentley and the aforementioned Mr. Lee. The Legendary Bluenotes have teamed up with the iconic Philly soul music producer Butch Ingram in support of the Black Lives Matter movement to release the inspiring single "Never Too Late," to amplify the voices of the righteous protesters in the streets and to stand with them in solidarity - and all others around the world fighting for racial justice and a better world. It's never too late to stand up and be heard.
Raphaël Pannier / Miguel Zenón - Faune
With musical direction by one of Pannier’s key mentors, MacArthur recipient and alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, Faune presents a sequence of the drummer’s vibrant originals along with unique interpretations of French classical works and American jazz standards. Zenón has long been recognized for his work bridging his Puerto Rican roots with modern jazz, and his phenomenal balancing of tradition and modernity. Like his mentor, Pannier also links two traditions, French classical and American jazz, in startlingly innovative ways. “This album really does bring together my two worlds: my European upbringing and early classical studies with my American life and jazz education,” Pannier says. “In this, it has been such an honor to work with Miguel Zenón, a real hero of mine for the way he has melded his Puerto Rican roots and Latin traditions with socially conscious modern jazz.”
The BritFunk Association - Lifted
“Lifted” is the second album from The BritFunk Association, a band which includes founder and original members of Hi Tension, Light of the World, Beggar & Co and Incognito. Thirteen original tracks that maintain the early jazz funk influences of early Kool & The Gang, Blackbyrds, Cameo, Brass Construction and other heavy hitters of the genre. A collections of new songs with some funky grooves, joyful vocals and instrumental solo prowess. The band have a number of national chart records between them, giving rise to live shows that highlights the range of material that they now share on stage creating vibrant live performances. They will be back on the road after lockdown in support of this and their previous album “Full Circle”.
Ron Ellison – Listen
Ron Ellison's new single "Listen" is an enchantingly soulful single, is now available in stores and on all music platforms. An extremely talented soulful singer originally from Chicago, Ron Ellison became associated with the Philly Soul scene as the studio voice for the legendary Delfonics and as part of the Om-Ni Philly Legends group. Currently based out of San Francisco, Ellison has opened shows for Smokey Robinson, The Zapp Band and The SOS Band. He recently went into the studio with long-time Philly Soul producer Butch Ingram and is back with a brand-new single, a captivating soulful tune simply titled "Listen.”
Jaga Jazzist - Pyramid
Jaga Jazzist have always had a somewhat spiritual sounding name, but this album might be the first to really deliver on that promise – a set of long tracks that unfold openly in a mix of electronic elements and more jazz-based touches – tunes that really take the right amount of time and space to find their sound, then really soar off into the boundless sonic territory! Lars Horntveth is at the core – handling a range of guitars, keyboards, vibes, and saxes – and he also wrote and arranged the album – but there's lots of other contributions on horns and added keyboards, and a bit of vocals from a few members too, although the set is a mostly instrumental affair overall. Titles include "Spiral Era", "Tomita", "The Shrine", and "Apex". ~ Dusty Groove
Kenny Washington – What’s The Hurry
For Kenny Washington fans across the country and around the world, it’s about time that this admired vocalist is releasing his first studio album. Aptly titled, WHAT’S THE HURRY comprises Washington’s impressive renditions of standards from the Great American Songbook. The tunes are delivered with a burnished, warm voice that has garnered legions of fans for this accomplished yet humble artist, of whom Wynton Marsalis has said, “I love this man! He’s a consummate professional, with impeccable intonation. He’s a real improviser who brings depth to everything he does. We all love Kenny. If you love music, you’ve got to love Kenny!” Washington performs around Europe and Asia. He’s made several appearances at Jazz at Lincoln Center, and in 2013, he performed a featured role with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio Blood on the Fields. Kenny Washington is one of the most sensitive interpreters of jazz standards. His warm tone, fluid swing, spot on intonation, and intimate, conversational approach to lyrics have earned him the sobriquet “the Superman of the Bay Area jazz scene” by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Nyah Grace - Honey-Coloured
18-year-old Nyah Grace grew up on her grandparents’ farm in Oregon, but now she’s a budding UK-based neo-soul/jazz star releasing her soul-stirring debut HONEY-COLOURED. The collection is driven by her romantic storytelling and hip, sensual and deeply intimate collaborations in England with producers Steve Chrisanthou and Michael Kwesi Graves. Chrisanthou was Grammy nominated for his similarly elegant work with Corinne Bailey Rae, who adds her inimitable vocals to the hit track, “My Sista Told Me.” Sultry, heartfelt and world wise beyond her years, Nyah has earned comparisons to Alicia Keys and Billie Holiday – but you may hear a bit of the other Billie… Eilish, on a few beautiful occasions. ~smoothjazz.com
Dan Pitt - Monochrome
Monochrome is the experimental solo guitar album of guitarist Dan Pitt. It features spontaneous compositions, improvisations and sketches that captures a broad range of styles and sounds from jazz and folk to avant-garde and rock/metal. Pitt combines various combinations of acoustic and electric guitars with electronics and sampler phrases to create a wide array of sounds on the instrument that can be described as atmospheric yet raw and unfiltered. Pitt is a guitarist, composer and improviser currently based in Toronto, Canada. Along with his formal education in music, Dan has an impressive 10 year background of private studies under the guidance of notable musicians such as Bob Shields, David Restivo, Geoff Young, Andrew Downing, Brad Shepik, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder and David Torn. Dan performs regularly throughout Toronto in a variety of music genres and ensembles. He leads his own creative improv group, Dan Pitt Trio, which features bassist Alex Fournier and drummer Nick Fraser. Dan has performed across Canada and in New York City with musicians such as Pat Collins, David Braid, Terry Promane, Andrew Downing, Dave Young, Lina Allemano, Tim Berne, Michael Attias and Michael Formanek. Dan also appears on recordings with Canadian groups including Harrison Vetro's Northern Ranger, The Hamilton All Star Jazz Band and the University of Toronto 12tet.
Average White Band - Average White Band Anthology (5CD set)
A really well-done collection of tracks by the Average White Band – one that not only includes most of their funky classics, but also focuses on heavily sampled cuts, and then presents rare 7" and 12" single versions – as well as some rarities and live material too! The inclusion of all those extra bits make the whole thing way more than just a "hits" package – as the whole thing is still essential, even if you own many of the group's classic records – and the set is a book-styled package, with memories on the music from Hamish Stuart and Alan Gorrie. CD1 features The Classics – titles that include "Cut The Cake", "Star & The Ghetto", "Work To Do", "Pick Up The Pieces", "Feel No Fret", "School Boy Crush", "Put It Where You want It", "Whatcha Gonna Do For Me", and many others. CD2 and CD3 feature heavily-sampled tracks – including "Got The Love", "Sweet & Sour", "Person To Person", "Big City Lights", "Back In 67", "Daddy's All Gone", "If I Ever Lose This Heaven", "Get It Up For Love", "For You For Love", "Love Of Your Own", "Digging Deeper", "Love Your Life", "I Can't Just Give You Up", "TLC", and other cuts too. CD4 features 7" and 12" versions, plus early takes on tunes too – including "Reach Out (first version)", "Pick Up The Pieces (early version)", "Queen Of My Soul (7")", "How Can You Go Home", "Cut The Cake (7" edit)", "Your Love Is A Miracle (7" edit)", "How Sweet Can You Get (12" version)", "Walk On By (12" version)", "The Jugglers (first version)", and "Let's Go Round Again (12" version)". CD5 features rarities and live material – including "McEwan's Export", "In The Beginning", "This World Has Music", "White Water Dreams", "Kiss Me", "Miss Sun", "Love Won't Get In The Way", "Pick Up The Pieces (live)", "Heard It Through The Grapevine (live)", and "Wasn't I Your Friend". 73 tracks in all! ~ Dusty Groove
Charles Tolliver - Connect
A stunner of a set from legendary trumpeter Charles Tolliver – and a record that shows that he's lost none of his brilliance since the years of his 70s recordings for the Strata East label! The format here is a bit like those – long tracks by a small group, with an outward appearance of familiarity – but a clearly resonant sense of individuality right from the very first note! All tracks are originals by Charles, and have that soaring quality that's always made him one of the most righteous talents in jazz – working with a group here that features Jesse Davis on alto, Keith Brown on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Lenny White on drums. The group's also joined by the great Binker Moses on tenor on two tracks – and titles include "Suspicion", "Copasetic", "Emperor March", and "Blue Soul". ~ Dusty Groove
Antonio Adolpfo – BruMa: Celebrating Milton Nascimento
Antonio Adolfo is one of the premier pianists, composers, and arrangers to emerge from Brazil. A multi-Latin Grammy and Grammy nominee, Adolfo is an internationally recognized Latin jazz star. A prolific recording artist, Adolfo is now releasing BruMa: Celebrating Milton Nascimento. After over 50 years of friendship and admiration, Antonio Adolfo has decided it was finally time to dedicate an album to Milton Nascimento. “His compositions broke traditional harmonic and rhythmic patterns, with his modalism and some natural odd rhythmic meters, all in a spontaneous, intuitive and natural way,” says Adolfo. Although Adolfo admires Nascimento’s beautiful melodies and interesting harmonies, he is an artist with his own vision and approach. He brings something new and different to each of these compositions. With his lush, soulful arrangements, Antonio Adolfo has taken Milton Nascimento’s music and made it truly his own. BruMa: Celebrating Milton Nascimento is more than an homage to the famous composer. It is a beautiful, artistic statement from a prolific and formidable composer/arranger and a renowned keyboardist in his own right.
Homero Alvatez Sep7ett
This is the new project from the composer and guitar player Homero Alvarez who now spreads his wings and releases a first EP with new composed music. A great septet of well known musicians from the Swedish jazz scene. The group includes the following line up. Homero Alvarez – guitars, Karl Olandersson - trumpet, Karin Hammar - trombone, Arnold Rodriguez - piano, Juan Patricio Mendoza – bass, Ola Bothzén – drums, and Andreas Ekstedt – percussion. Homero Alvarez earlier works has been together with many different Brazilian vocalists in the Swedish jazz scene as Rafa Oliveira Group, Deise Andrade and Simone Moreno. He also formed the samba jazz quartet Latin the Mood who released three albums. The Brazilian rhythms are still represented with both baião and samba rythms in up-tempo beats but there is also bigger space for the arrangments and solists.
CeeLo - CeeLo Green Is Thomas Callaway
A fantastic new chapter in the career of CeeLo Green – reemerging here as an old school southern soul singer, with a vibe that's in the best legacy of Al Green and some of the underground talents of his generation! The set was recorded in Nashville, produced by Dan Auerbach, and has a nicely laidback vibe throughout – not smooth soul, but a back-to-basics approach that's more basic than Cee-Lo ever had at the start – with a very strong focus on the strength of his vocals, without any too-pop or hip hop production in the mix. Titles include "You Gotta Do It All", "Doin It All Together", "The Way", "Thinking Out Loud", "Lead Me", "Little Mama", "I Wonder How Love Feels", and "People Watching". ~ Dusty Groove
Horace Tarscott - The Giant Is Awakened (Black Vinyl Edition) LP
Horace Tapscott fathered two groups crucial to the flowering of modern jazz in the Los Angeles area, the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra (or P.A.P.A.; the name is an homage to Tapscott’s predecessor and peer, Sun Ra), which eventually became part of a larger umbrella organization, Union of God’s Musicians and Artists Ascension (UGMAA). Out of UGMAA came a host of LA-bred musicians, singers, and poets, including Arthur Blythe (who goes by Black Arthur Blythe on this recording), Stanley Crouch (who wrote the original liner notes), David Murray, and Butch Morris among other luminaries. So Tapscott’s 1969 debut record, aptly entitled The Giant Is Awakened, was and is a big deal indeed for modern West Coast jazz…we reissued this previously in a neon green vinyl pressing that sold out in a heartbeat, but this time we’ve pressed it in black vinyl knowing that a lot of jazz fans prefer that format.
Eugene “Gene” McDaniels first broke through in the early ‘60s with pop soul hits like “A Hundred Pounds of Clay.” But that was a different time...and a different man. By the time McDaniels recorded his 1970 album Outlaw, he had re-christened himself “the left rev mc d” and penned the soul-jazz protest anthem “Compared to What,” first recorded in 1966 by Les McCann and turned into a standard by McCann and saxophonist Eddie Harris on their 1969 album Swiss Movement.
Indeed, the front cover of Outlaw left no doubt as to the radicalization of McDaniels’ politics. As Pat Thomas puts it in the liner notes that we have added to this reissue, “One sees Middle America’s worst nightmare coming to life. There’s the badass Reverend Lee himself holding a bible. Righteous Susan Jane in a jean jacket and black French resistance turtleneck is wielding a machine gun, and McDaniels’ then-wife Ramona appears as a soul sister with cross your heart Viva Zapata! ammo belts. In the forefront is a large human skull, just in case you didn’t already get the message.”
The Nixon White House sure got the message; legend has it that the administration was so offended by the lyrics to “Silent Majority” (“Silent Majority is calling out loud to you and me from Arlington Cemetery”) that either Spiro Agnew or Nixon’s Chief of Staff personally called Atlantic, asking them to stop working with McDaniels. Politics aside, Outlaw offers a heady blend of soul, jazz, folk, and rock grooves played by Ron Carter, Eric Weissberg, and Hugh McCracken among others, with legendary producer Joel Dorn at the controls and cult favorite William S. Fischer operating as Musical Director. Oft-sampled, and never more relevant, Real Gone’s 50th anniversary release of Outlaw comes in a neon red vinyl pressing limited to 700 copies. And those liner notes we mentioned previously? They come with some pithy McDaniels quotes that confirm his revolutionary fervor remained unquenched till his death in 2011.
An upbeat fusion of soul and funk, featuring live instrumentation, is on full display in Crushed Velvet and the Velveteers' new single, "Good Thang." Founded by multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, sound engineer and producer, Alan Evans—who is also the co-founder of acclaimed jazz fusion trio, Soulive—Crushed Velvet and the Velveteers the self-proclaimed guitar player "alter ego" for Evans.
Filled with a star-studded group of funk and jazz musicians, the track features vocalist Kim Dawson (Matador Soul Sounds, Pimps of Joytime) along with Evans’ musical cohorts Darby Wolf (DJ Williams Shots Fired, Rubblebucket) on organ, Pete Aleksi (Curtis Mayflower) playing 2nd guitar, Brian “BT” Thomas (Akashic Record, BT ALC Big Band) on trombone, Alex Lee-Clark (ALC Funktet, BT ALC Big Band) on trumpet, Tucker Antell (BT ALC Big Band) on alto and tenor saxophones and Jared Sims (BT ALC Big Band) on baritone saxophone.
“Crushed Velvet and the Velveteers is all about spontaneous creation for me and the very creative friends I get to call on to be a part of it. 'Good Thang' is a perfect example," remarks Evans. "Initially I went into the studio, picked up the guitar and let whatever I was feeling come out without worrying about what kind of song it was." He continues, "Before I knew it, I had a really great feeling bed of bass, drums and guitar laid down. From there, I asked my great friends Darby, Pete, Brian, Alex, Tucker, Jarad and Kim to take what I started and record exactly what inspired them to play. That is the best part of making music for me, creating something that will inspire people."
Crushed Velvet and the Velveteers is the alter ego of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, studio engineer, and producer, Alan Evans, who is also co-founder of the band Soulive. In 2008, while Soulive was on break from touring, Alan spent most of his time recording and mixing bands from around the world in his Western Massachusetts recording studio. On his days off, he would go into the studio and play guitar, yielding a collection of songs that he did not feel were songs for Soulive or those he wanted to release under his own name. Crushed Velvet is for Evans' guitar player alter ego.
Brian Bromberg – Bromberg Plays Hendrix
Brian Bromberg presents a digital remastered and remixed version of his surprising 10-song collection of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix’s hits, which was recorded without the use of a single guitar. In fact, it is just Bromberg and Vinnie Colaiuta on the album. “If it is not drums, then all the instruments you hear are me," Bromberg says. "This project is not a gimmick; it’s very musical and real. It’s all about the music for me.” This new 2020 Remix and Remastered version includes one bonus track written by Bromberg as a dedication to the guitar legend, simply titled "Jimi."
Paul Brown - Ones Upon A Time
Producing dozens of #1 hits for himself and countless Smooth Jazz greats, Paul Brown has helped define the genre’s sensual and grooving aesthetic over the past three decades. Putting a fresh spin on the traditional “greatest hits” concept, the two-time Grammy winning guitarist/composer’s cleverly titled latest album Ones Upon A Time offers exhilarating re-imaginings of classic tracks he originally produced for everyone from Boney James and Larry Carlton to Kirk Whalum and George Benson. In addition to focusing the lead melodies on his inimitable, blues-inflected electric guitarisma, he offers some hip new arrangements and colorful sonic details which take the tunes to another level. On hand to help Brown re-create the magic are Euge Groove, Rick Braun, Gregg Karukas, Richard Elliot, DW3, Darren Rahn and Jeff Ryan. ~ smoothjazz.com
Jana Herzen / Charnett Moffett - 'Round The World
Singer, songwriter, guitarist and Motema label founder Jana Herzen and renowned bassist Charnett Moffett are true jazz legends in their own right. Yet their latest collaboration ROUND THE WORLD so artfully blends soul sensitivity and quirky originality in its acoustic arrangements, it could just as easily be considered alt-pop or modern folk. The collection is a spirited, twist and turn filled extension of the duo’s 12-year creative partnership that includes an initial duo project in 2012 and touring together. Intuitive in their breezy yet sometimes off the beaten path arrangements, they blend graceful and jaunty re-imaginings of classics by The Beatles, Men at Work, Kermit the Frog, Roberta Flack and Maria Muldaur with heartfelt, easy grooving originals that fit snugly and seamlessly amidst the more familiar fare. ~ smoothjazz.com
Multi award-winning saxophonist and composer Nubya Garcia is back with her much anticipated debut album, SOURCE. Her first release on Concord Records, under the iconic Concord Jazz imprint, SOURCE is due for release on August 2020. The album is produced by Garcia in collaboration with the celebrated producer Kwes (Nerija, Bobby Womack, Solange). Garcia returns with Joe Armon-Jones (keys), Daniel Casimir (bass) and Sam Jones (drums).
The album follows her 2018 self-released EP, WHEN WE ARE, the title track of which was described as “effervescent” by The New York Times and named one of NPR’s Best Songs of 2018. Her debut EP, NUBYA’s 5IVE, released in 2017, was hailed as “exceptional” by The Vinyl Factory and sold out on vinyl within 24 hours. In 2018, Garcia also featured on five of the nine tracks on WE OUT HERE, the Brownswood compilation project celebrating London’s young and exciting jazz scene. She won the Jazz FM Breakthrough Act of the Year Award and the Sky Arts Breakthrough Act of the Year Award in 2018, and the Jazz FM UK Jazz Act of the Year Award in 2019.
A collection of sonic mantras to live by, SOURCE is a deeply personal offering in which Garcia maps cartographies around the coordinate points of her identity, her family histories, grief, afro-diasporic connections and collectivism. SOURCE is fundamentally about getting grounded within yourself, so that you can be present with others. It's about a realization of personal and collective power: the evolution of the saxophonist’s values as she re-connects with herself, her roots and her community. Garcia digs deep to present an album with a global outlook: from London to Bogota, Caura to Georgetown, it's a record drawing inspiration from the many places Garcia calls home.
Garcia’s erudite blend of broken beat, soul, dub-step, afro-diasporic sounds - from cumbia to calypso expands further on this record, all whilst never losing her deep jazz foundation. The album takes as much inspiration from Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter as it does from Flying Lotus, Calypso Rose, Mala and Nidia Góngora. SOURCE is about a radical, relentless belief in our capacity to surmount the individual and collective challenges we face now, and those to come.
The record opens with Pace, a purposeful composition, the track swings between spatial quietude and intense peaks, which Garcia likens to crashing waves. The track's relentlessness mimics the hustle and hyper productivity of modern life, a mode of living that can leave us collectively “very isolated and disconnected from ourselves and each other”, Garcia says. As an antidote, Garcia wanted “to think about what makes each of us joyful, what things we personally reach towards to feel grounded.” Moments of rest on the record are “like sweeping your hands for stillness before you go back out again, on whatever journey you’re on.” The irony of the track’s title and intentions aren’t lost on Garcia in the midst of this pandemic - it's a track about reassessing her own values, something the uncertainty of the current moment demands we all do.
Where Pace is about an internal sense of grounding, with its steady, questing solos and capacious grooves, The Message Continues is about taking root in the stories and experiences of our elders. Garcia hones in on the importance of learning about and passing on stories from the past, so that knowledge isn’t forgotten.
The album’s title track, Source, arrives reworked in steamy dub overtones, blending together reggae, jazz and myriad sounds from her youth. The sweltering heat generated in the track’s basslines and Garcia’s militant sax place the track as a paean to personal power. It's a theme that carries over into Together is a Beautiful Place To Be, a soaring ballad dedicated to her late stepfather. Dancing on the outer edges of soul and gospel, it’s a meditative space, a wake of sorts, set to high hat soft blows, a delicate accompaniment from Sheila Maurice-Grey and Joe Armon-Jones’ gentle keys. “I miss him,” Garcia reflects. “I’m thankful that I got to say goodbye. When I take my experiences out of the song, it’s about being with your family, your people and your community.”
Stand With Each Other is built on serpentine nyabinghi grooves. Here, Garcia is joined by Kokoroko’s Richie Sievwright, Cassie Kinoshi and Sheila Maurice-Grey on standout vocals recalling classic reggae harmonies from the likes of the Wailers and The Congos: “I love the three of them singing so much, the blend is like for a really long time - I wanted the vocals to sound like a classic Lover’s Rock tune and they nailed it,” Garcia shared. It’s a celebration of collectivism, particularly of women: Garcia wants to celebrate the incredible artists she’s in community with, and at the same time, wants the industry to move beyond viewing artists only in terms of their genders: “I'm more than a woman. And I'm not the only woman [on the scene],’ she shares.
On La cumbia está llamando, the lyrics say it all: ‘'the cumbia is calling me.’ Last year with the British Council, and alongside other members of the London Jazz Scene, Garcia spent a week in Colombia where she first met multi-instrumentalist Diana San Miguel of La Perla, a young trio celebrating the nation’s traditional music. Garcia was so enamored that she went back this past winter, soaking in the sounds across her travels through Cali, Bogotá (where the track was recorded at the renowned Mambo Negro studios), and Timbiquí.
Curious to know more about her family’s lives and histories, Before Us: In Demerara & Caura follows deep dive excavations into Garcia’s family histories. Musically, Garcia draws from a rich web of Guyanese folk songs and carnival culture both in London and the Caribbean. Through the track, it's an attempt to honor those experiences, and to attend to the alienation she feels from distant homelands.
Anchored on Daniel Casimir’s pliable bass and the haunting control of Chicagoan vocalist Akenya, the album’s closer Boundless Beings, in Garcia’s words, sums up the sentiment of the album. A dystopian anti-ballad, it’s a testament to personal triumph. It brings to mind the erotic - in Audre Lorde’s definition - as a mode of survival, one that is generative not only for each of us personally, but each other and the planet - all concerns that Garcia shares. It's about radical, relentless belief in our capacity to surmount the individual and collective challenges we face now, and those to come.
Garcia studied under pianist Nikki Yeoh at Camden Music, before joining Gary Crosby’s Tomorrow’s Warriors in her late teens and completed her training at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music. She is a member of the contemporary septet, Nerija, and has toured extensively internationally, playing venues and festivals across Latin America, Asia, Europe, Australia, and the United States. Garcia’s reputation as a DJ is also burgeoning; she currently helms a hit radio residency on NTS and plays a growing number of live sets across Europe.
Torrential rain poured on the dark and dismal day that Southern Californians were ordered to shelter in place last March due to the coronavirus. Despite the unsettling time, Billboard chart-topping contemporary jazz guitarist Blake Aaron sat down to write a song to communicate hope. Using a tropical soca rhythm and infused with bright energy and joy, “Daylight” is Aaron’s newest single moving up the Billboard chart from the forthcoming “Color and Passion,” his sixth album that drops September 18 on Innervision Records.
“‘Daylight’ was written on and inspired by the day the coronavirus was officially declared a pandemic. It’s a song completely opposite of that rainy, dreary day written with the hope that we would soon see ‘daylight.’ The coronavirus has brought more pain to more people for much longer than we possibly could have imagined. ‘Daylight’ represents my musical hope and celebration of a new day for all of us,” said Aaron, who produced eight tracks, wrote seven songs and co-wrote three tunes for “Color and Passion.”
“Color and Passion” is Aaron’s first collection since 2015’s “Soul Stories,” and like that outing, half of the new album is made up of hit singles that were released over the last few years along with some newly completed cuts, many of which bode to be issued as singles. Two singles from “Color and Passion,” the melodically rich “Fall For You” and “Groovers and Shakers,” a duet written and produced with hitmaking saxophonist Darren Rahn, went No. 1 on the Billboard chart. Invigorating and illumined by a horn section, “Vivid” climbed into Billboard’s top 10 as did “Drive,” another propulsive collaboration with Rahn that was the No. 1 song of 2019 on the Radiowave chart.
In addition to featuring Rahn, Aaron spotlights several more Billboard chart-toppers on “Color and Passion.” He wrote the exhilarating “Sunday Strut” with guitarist Adam Hawley, a song graced by urban-jazz icon Najee on tenor and soprano saxophones. The album closes with a Latin percussive treatment of Stevie Wonder’s anthemic classic “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” that includes Kim Scott’s impassioned flute engaging in a dalliance with Aaron’s fiery electric guitar.
Virtually every song on “Color and Passion” sounds like a single because of Aaron’s innate ability to write ensnaring hooks that he animates with dexterous and technically-astute guitarwork along with an assortment of first-call musicians, the likes of which include bassists Darryl Williams, Hussain Jiffry and Mel Brown; drummers Tony Moore and Eric Valentine; keyboardists-pianists Rob Mullins, Tateng Katindig and Mike Whittaker; horn players and arrangers David Mann, Lee Thornburg and Scott Martin; and strings arranger Craig Sharmat.
“I’ve never been a believer in throwaway album cuts, so I write every song on my CDs with the hopes of it having a good shot at being a radio single. I’ve been lucky because I’ve had quite a few radio singles from both ‘Soul Stories’ and ‘Color and Passion.’ My radio promoter jokes that my albums are like greatest hits CDs even before they’re released.”
Aaron’s catalogue has consistently explored a wide range of musical styles – jazz, R&B, pop, Latin, Caribbean, funk, fusion and rock - and writing and recording over an extended period of time perhaps enhances the diversity heard on “Color and Passion.”
“‘Color and Passion’ refers to the way I see the wonderful and beautiful vast array of different styles and moods of music as colors, how those colors represent different paths, twists and turns on the journey through life, and the passion I have always had for and expressed through my music that hopefully shines through in my playing style, especially on songs like the title track,” said Aaron, who then got introspective.
“Having such a love for so many diverse musical styles and experiences has been mostly a blessing, but also slightly a curse. It’s been a blessing because I have never been bored and have been on this amazing journey both musically and personally that continues to unfold with new and exciting adventures. It has slightly been a curse because I may have gotten to where I was going with my music and my personal life a little faster without so many twists, turns and detours in the road.”
Releasing a new album during this uncertain time is not easy. All of Aaron’s supporting concert dates have been canceled or postponed for the time being. But he remains an eternal optimist and purposely closed “Color and Passion” offering a note of optimism.
“I must admit the one good thing for me that came out this terrible coronavirus situation was it allowed me to focus and finally finish ‘Color and Passion.’ I ended the album with Stevie Wonder’s uplifting and joyful ‘Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing’ because that is the last feeling and encouraging impression I want listeners to take with them. I hope this album provides a musical glimmer of hope and belief that we will get through this together.”
