Smooth Jazz Therapy

Julian Vaughn - Afro Calypso

Back in 2012 when smooth jazz bass player Julian Vaughn released the appropriately titled ‘Breakthrough’ on the Trippin n Rhythm label it signalled an enduring association that to date has resulted in a string of hit albums including his 2015 ‘Limitless’, ‘Bona Fide’ that followed two years later and, most recently ‘Supreme’ that hit the streets in June 2019.

In all ‘Supreme’ is Vaughn’s sixth album release and is currently being showcased on radio by the delicious ‘Afro Calypso’.  This easy grooving number has a wonderful vibe and is well worth looking out for.

Eric Darius - Fired Up

Taken from his 2018 project ‘Breakin Thru’, the hot new radio single from sax man Eric Darius is titled ‘Fired Up’ and chances are it will get you doing just that.  Writtenand produced by Darius with Rodney Jones Jr (who also features on keys, drums and bass) this feisty cut includes contributions from guitarist Calvin Frazier and horn player Phillip Lassiter.

Recommended.

Cindy Bradley - Wind Chill Factor

Trippin & Rhythm recording artist Cindy Bradley, who most recently enjoyed unbridled success with the CD ‘Natural’, is doing it all again with ‘The Little Things’ that was released earlier in 2019.  The latest single to be serviced to radio is the sophisticated ‘Wind Chill Factor’ that confirms Cindy as being right up there in the upper echelons of smooth jazz trumpet players.

LaShawn D Gary - Now Is The Time

Now for something tuneful, rhythmic and sophisticated; ‘Now Is The Time’ from composer, producer, arranger and pianist LaShawn D. Gary is taken from his current CD ‘Love Peace & Praise’ and is just the sort of tune to chill out to after a stressful day.

Worth checking out

Paul Brown - Some Of This

Back in 2018 and with an eye on a powerhouse fusion of smooth jazz and blues, producer and hit maker Paul Brown shook the genre to its core with the CD ‘Uptown Blues’.  Boasting a lavish horn section in the best traditions of bands such as Tower Of Power or, more recently, East Bay Soul it quickly delivered radio ready singles such as ‘Boogaloo’ and ‘Blues For Jeff’.  Now he is all set to make it three for three with the equally good ‘Some Of This’.

It’s a track that is constructed around a slow-build, simmering horns (courtesy of Greg Vail and Lee Thornburg) and Brown’s distinctive guitar style. With Mel Brown on bass, Dave Karasony on drums plus Hans Zenmuehien on keys completing the line-up this mid-tempo gem is a real winner.  It is also one of the few Paul Brown track that he didn't write himself and although it was written by his fellow veteran guitarist Allen Hinds, Brown makes it very much his own.

Down To The Bone - Deja Vu

Ever since 1997, when they burst onto the scene with the seminal ‘Manhattan To Staten’, Down To The Bone has been all about the groove.  The brainchild of non-musician Stuart Wade, Down To The Bone came out of the acid jazz movement that was prevalent in the UK during the early 90’s.  In the intervening years, and with sax man Shilts at its centre, the band delivered a series of high-octane albums.  Indeed, the knack Wade has for using his production skills to bring alive his musical idea’s through a frequently changing group of ultra-talented performers is once more being brought into focus by the three CD box set titled ‘The Classic Album Series’ that was released earlier this year on the Trippin N Rhythm label.

The latest single to be offered to radio is the hard hitting ‘Deja Vu’ that originally appeared on the band’s 2007 project ‘Spread The Word’.

Mark Etheredge - Resonanace

When keyboard player Mark Etheredge burst onto the scene in 2016 with the critically acclaimed ‘Connected’ he created an instant fan-base already hungry for what might follow.  Well that was then but now he has come roaring back with the hot new single ‘Resonance’.

It finds him teamed once more with two-time Grammy® winning producer and guitarist Paul Brown along with go to bass player Roberto Vally, drummer Gorden Campbell and percussionist Richie Gajate Garcia.

Written by Etheredge and recorded at Carmen Grillo's Big Surprise Music in Los Angeles this cool cut is everything we have come to expect from this rapidly emerging artist.