Smooth Jazz Therapy

Wayne Jones Is Closed For The Holidays

Bass player and songwriter Wayne Jones may in fact be Australia’s best smooth jazz secret. After two impressive CD releases over the past five years he has just launched the tremendously appealing EP ‘Closed For The Holidays’ which, with six outstanding tunes, is brim full of highly accessible and deeply enriching contemporary jazz. Guest performances include those from sax-man Mike MacArthur and, significantly, smooth jazz super-star Rick Braun whose contribution on the sunshine filled title cut is an absolute joy.

Sample each track right now at www.wayne-jones.com

Gordon James - A New Kind Of Love

Trumpet and flugelhorn player Gordon James first caught my attention in 2007 with his excellent CD ‘In Joy’. It marked him out as a performer with a tone brim full of sensuous warmth and now he is back with the equally comforting ‘A New Kind Of Love’. Make no mistake, with sixteen tracks in all, this is a collection where quantity is never a problem but, with a combination of nine new songs and seven covers, James also ensures that quality is not overlooked.

Dreaming In Colour - New For 2012

Contemporary, instrumental jazz group Dreaming In Colour is the hip, cutting edge vehicle for musicians Kevin Ellis, Chris Noonan and Joe Calandrino. Over the years their sound has often been complemented by some of the genre’s top artists and this is particularly so with the bands new album that is due for release early in 2012. Joining Ellis, Noonan and Calandrino will be Jeff Lorber, Eric Marinthal and Nelson Rangell for a project that is already generating huge anticipation.

Dreaming In Colour are pictured here with Lorber and Marienthal at The Bistro in St Louis in October of this year. Check back here soon for more news and a full review of Dreaming In Colour.

Roberta Flack - We Can Work It Out

It is certain that for all those with a passion for R & B the legendary Roberta Flack will have, in some way, contributed to the soundtrack of their lives. Her seminal collaboration with Donny Hathaway, ‘The Closer I Get To You’ was taken from their 1977 album, ‘Blue Lights In The Basement’ and became a runaway hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

Now she is back with an album of Beatles songs. Titled ‘Let It Be’, and due for release February 7, 2012 on the Savoy label, the collection should provide a fitting tribute to a group of musicians who could arguably be described as the greatest songwriters of all time.

The first single from ‘Let It Be’ is ‘We Can Work It Out’. It is available now on iTunes.

Maysa - Motions Of Love

Often described as the best kept secret on urban AC radio, the incredible Maysa has just released her ninth solo CD, the totally outstanding ‘Motions Of Love’. Substantially produced by Chris “Big Dog” Davis, the album is, in part, Maysa’s way of moving on from a recently broken relationship yet, in purely musical terms, the original intent was to deliver what for her would have been a first, an all R&B recording. In the event it has evolved into a fourteen-track R&B collection dappled with funk, jazz and disco with a little New Orleans gumbo thrown in for good measure. Without doubt it is Maysa’s most commercial project to date and at long last looks set to open her appeal to the wider urban mainstream.

East Bay Soul 2.0 Approaches - Artwork Finalized

Now for the latest Smooth Jazz Therapy update on the incredible adventure that is ‘East Bay Soul 2.0’. Recording is now underway, six of the ten songs are now complete, song titles are currently being registering with ASCAP and BMI and the album artwork has been finalized.

East Bay Soul 2.0 will feature five instrumental and 5 vocals songs with the release date still being planned for early in 2012.

Readers will recall that ‘East Bay Soul 2.0’ became possible after a sensational campaign to raise the $25,000 necessary to record the album hit its target.

Of course bandleader Greg Adams was the founding member of Tower of Power where his signature sound as performer and arranger made the Tower of Power horn section a sought out entity all it's own. Now, factor in Darryl Walker's powerful soul drenched vocals, add eight other world class artists and the result is a singular vision of instrumental funk, jazz and soul music brought to audiences in a fresh new way. This is new a movement in Urban Jazz; this is ‘East Bay Soul 2.0’.

Jeff Lorber Fusion - Galaxy

It was in 2010, with the CD ‘Now Is The Time’, that Jeff Lorber revisited the sound that he had helped to pioneer. This return to jazz fusion was heralded with critical acclaim and now, for part two, he is back with ‘Galaxy’. Full of the same funk driven energy that was a feature of ‘Now Is The Time’, and with the likes of Eric Marienthal, Jimmy Haslip and Lenny Castro all involved, ‘Galaxy’ is a wonderful throwback to the halcyon days of jazz fusion. Not only that, this 21st century version of the Jeff Lorber Fusion includes contributions from trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarists Paul Jackson Jr. and Larry Koonse plus drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and Dave Weckl. With eleven original compositions, including four tracks from the Jeff Lorber Fusion’s early catalogue, ‘Galaxy’ really is something to savor.

Paul Taylor - Horizon

When Paul Taylor’s ‘Prime Time’ was released in May of 2011 there was little doubt it would provide Taylor with another runaway success. The first single to be offered to radio was the excellent ‘Push To Start’ which monopolized the airwaves thereafter and now he is back on radio with the easy grooving ‘Horizon’.

Although in the past some of Taylor’s most memorable cuts have been those that featured vocalists, this is an instrumental with includes an excellent contribution on guitar from the much under-rated Steve Oliver.

Check out ‘Prime Time’ soon. You will not be disappointed.

Chris Standring & Kathrin Shorr - Send Me Some Snow

Amongst the current crop of contemporary jazz musicians, guitarist Chris Standring can always be relied upon to push the envelope. Consequently, no one should be surprised that with ‘Send Me Some Snow’ (his excursion in to the world of seasonal music) Standring has eschewed the usually crop of holiday standards in favour of ten totally charming and easy grooving originals. In doing so he has teamed with award winning folk – pop singer songwriter Kathrin Shorr to evoke the vintage sound of Christmas in a way that might have been heard on a classic long player from the 40’s or 50’s. The result is not your usual smooth jazz festive collection but then again Standring is far from being your usual smooth jazz artist.

Robin Thicke - Love After War

When, in 2008, three time Grammy winner Robin Thicke released the album ‘Something Else’ I quickly placed the radio single ‘Magic’ into my top twenty of that year and described him as being the new darling of smooth jazz radio. His style of cross over R & B checked every box imaginable and a year later he was back with ‘Sex Therapy’. Now, his latest project ‘Love After War’ will be released December 6 on Interscope Records and the title track is the first single to be offered to radio.

Not surprising for someone who has written and produced for Michael Jackson, Lil’ Wayne, Mary J. Blige, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Marc Anthony and Jennifer Hudson, ‘Love After War’ is packed full of everything that Thicke does best. His breakthrough single, ‘Lost Without You’, from the 2006 album ‘The Evolution of Robin Thicke’, rapidly went platinum while elsewhere he has contributed to over 40 gold and platinum records by other artists.

Check out ‘Love After War’. It’s a beauty.

Chazzy Green - It's Alright

Currently on tour with Bobby Womack, saxophonist Chazzy Green has performed with artists as diverse as The Brand New Heavies, Macy Gray and Cameo. His latest solo album is ‘The Funky Sax Man’ for which the title pretty much says it all and as if to underline the funky nature of this choice collection the first single to be serviced to radio is the entirely appealing ‘It's Alright’. With a lushness of tone that is magical and a hook that could prove addictive this one is a certainty to do well.

Green’s first solo recording since his 1999 project ‘Street Sax’, ‘The Funky Sax Man’ also includes guest performances from Ray Parker Jr and Tony Moore.

Check back here soon for a complete review of ‘The Funky Sax Man’.

Lloyd Gregory

Raised in Cleveland and now domiciled in San Francisco, guitarist Lloyd Gregory is a well established figure on the Bay Area music scene. As well as releasing five critically acclaimed solo albums he has also recorded with Martha Reeves and performed on-stage with Rodney Franklin, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Gerald Albright, The Dells and Freda Payne. Indeed, this connection with Stanley Clarke is significant as Gregory has recently signed with the bass legend’s own label, Roxboro Entertainment, to release his latest (and self titled) CD. It is a splendidly sophisticated collection of contemporary jazz for grown-ups which fuses soul, pop and jazz in the most inviting of ways.

Pete Gitlin On Radio With Lucky In Love

Guitarist Pete Gitlin first came to my attention in 2008 with his excellent album ‘Full Circle And The Great Temptation’. It marked him out as one to watch and now he is back with the CD ‘Amplifier’ which is due to hit the streets in January of 2012. Ahead of this date the single ‘Lucky In Love’ has just been released to radio and has a smoothly grooving style with which followers of Gitlin’s music will be familiar. Not only that, with tantalizing flashes of velvety horns, this one is radio ready and then some.

Check back here soon for a complete review of ‘Amplifier’.

Aaron Bing's Enduring Hope For Haiti

With the release of his blistering new album ‘Rebirth’, rising sax-star Aaron Bing certainly has a lot going on. However, what should not be forgotten is that his own compelling and enduring contribution to the people of disaster torn Haiti continues unabated. Released in March 2010, the tremendous three track collection, ‘Hope for Haiti’, remains available on iTunes and is one not to be missed. With the timeless ‘Amazing Grace’ combined with fine re-mixes of the enchanting ‘Missing You’ from his 2005 album ‘Always’ and the equally spine tingling ‘Cover Me’ from the 2009 collection ‘Secret Place’ this is a project very close to Aaron's heart. Given the way that the media quickly dropped this tragic story in a way that could be arguably described as shameful it is reassuring to know that Aaron Bing and others like him recognize that the Haitian people will need help for years to come.

Check back here soon for a complete review of ‘Rebirth’.

Attila Molnar - In Conversation

From Budapest by way of Washington DC, writer, producer and keyboard player Attila Molnar is currently in the United Kingdom as part of smooth jazz superstar Peter White’s touring band. When recently I caught up with him at the Cinnamon Club, in the southern suburbs of Manchester, he had just come off stage after playing the first set of the first night of White’s now customary UK autumn tour and I began by asking him what the experience had been like.