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Back in 2007, when reviewing the CD ‘Chase The Sunset’, I described trumpeter Bill McGee as a special kind of guy with a biography just waiting to be written. More of that in a moment but for now the hot news is that after a nine-year absence Bill is back with the appropriately titled ‘Still Bill’. Many of the eleven choice tracks are a reflection on his early life as a young trumpet player and the time he spent learning songs such as ‘Watermelon Man’ and ‘Cantaloupe Island’. Consequently it is no surprise that the latest single from the album is ‘Cantaloupe and Watermelon’, Bill’s tribute to Herbie Hancock and a well crafted ‘mash-up’ of these two classic tunes.
Read on for more about Bill McGee.
Former keyboard player with Taste of Honey, John Novello has toured and recorded with the likes of Donna Summer, Manhattan Transfer and Ramsey Lewis. His CD ‘B3 Soul’ (which he recorded with songwriter and producer Andy Goldmark) garnered critical acclaim and he has now reunited with Goldmark for the forthcoming album ‘Ivory Soul’. The lead single is the edgy, high-octane ‘Crush’ that features Gerald Albright on sax and is undoubtedly a track of which we will hear more.
Released as an EP ahead of the full length CD that is expected later this year, ‘One Of A Kind’ by composer, producer, arranger and instrumentalist Cedric Givens is his first solo project and very much a walk on the smooth side for this DC based artist who is known for his work with the bands Nemesis Bleu and N-Groove. It’s a sumptuously tight four-track collection embellished by featured performances from notables such as Ragan Whiteside, Drew Davidsen and John Tropea plus input from the up and coming Maria Dumas.
Released in July of 2015 (and featuring an array of musical talent such as Dave Grusin, Patrice Rushen, Ernie Watts, Melvin Lee Davis and Dave Weckl) ‘A Twist Of Rit’ by timeless contemporary jazz pioneer Lee Ritenour was very good news indeed for serious lovers of the genre everywhere. Now Concord Records has raided the collection one more time for the radio bound ‘Ooh Yeah’ that with its languid groove evokes Ritenour’s contribution to the band Fourplay of which he was an original member and a mainstay for the first six years of its existence.
Nice track.
If you like your west coast contemporary jazz grooves tantalizingly fused with a (blue eyed) old school vibe then you will absolutely love ‘Only You’ by Swedish collective Soweco. Keyboard player Mattias Roos and drummer Peter Gustavsson formed the band in 2011 and their 2012 project ‘Don’t Hide Your Love’ put down an early marker as to what their music was all about. This has been confirmed and then some by ‘Only You’ which, as a shimmering showcase for the best in soulful jazz fusion, is all the more remarkable for the fact its decidedly LA feel was devised and delivered by a group of European musicians at the very top of their combined game.
With albums such as ‘Feel The Vibe’, ‘Moving Up Quickly’ and ‘Get It’, the band Threestyle has been doing its bit to disprove the myth that Eastern Europe doesn’t do smooth jazz. In fact this cool collective, the creation of German guitarist Robert Fertl and Czech saxophonist Magdalena Chovancova, have really been turning some heads and look set to continue doing so with their latest CD that is due out later this year. The lead single from the album, ‘A Little Longer’ is a great showcase for the instantly recognizable style that Threestyle has developed and is likely to endure as one of the best tracks of 2016.
Check back here soon for a complete review of the entire album.
With an A-List of collaborators and ten self penned songs, the excursion by keyboard player Mark Etheredge from his new age roots to leading edge smooth jazz is nothing short of remarkable. Indeed Etheredge made his recording debut in 1990 with ‘As Dawn’ and although his 2012 project ‘Change Coming’ was slanted toward adult contemporary vocals his latest offering, ‘Connected’, (that is due for release on February 26) makes one wonder what took him so long to find his smooth jazz instrumental groove.
New York collective The JT Project made its recording debut in 2009 with the independently released ‘Love Passion Correspondence Vol. 1’ and three years later maintained that theme with ‘Love Passion Correspondence Vol. 2’. ‘Love Passion Correspondence Vol. 3’ and ‘Under The Covers’ followed in 2013 and 2014 respectively but now, within the friendly confines of Trippin N Rhythm records, the band is all set to take to the next level with the CD ‘Moments Of Change’.
Former sax-man for the five time Grammy® Award Winning Little Joe and La Familia, Patrick Trahan (as well as being active as a music educator at the University Of Texas, Brownsville) is a seasoned sideman who is about to breakout with his excellent new single ‘Small Talk’.
The first new music of 2016 comes from sax-man Donald Hayes who, as well as being an arranger and composer of music for film and television, is also an integral member of Robin Thicke’s touring band. Born in Memphis, TN, but now living in Los Angeles, Donald has just released his first solo project, ‘Front Ground’ from which the excellent ‘Riverside Drive’ comes.
A great blend of instrumental R&B and soul; it’s a great way to start the year.