Smooth Jazz Therapy

Marion Meadows - Twice As Nice

On April 23, 2021, Shanachie Entertainment will release the latest album from Nashville based sax-man Marion Meadows.  Titled ‘Twice As Nice’ it is Meadows sixteenth solo recording and features a veritable who’s who of contemporary jazz talent including Paul Brown, Joey Sommerville, Jeff Lorber, David Mann, Steve Oliver and Chris “Big Dog” Davis.

In fact the first track to be serviced to radio is the decidedly jazz and blues infused title cut that Meadows co-wrote with long time collaborator Davis.

Check it out right now and check back here soon for a complete review of ‘Twice As Nice’.

 

 

25th Street Band - It's You

The crossover-jazz collaboration project, 25th Street Band, is based in London England, and has guitarist Russ Klinger at its core.  The band’s stock in trade is to feature eminent guest artists from around the world and the current line-up has worked with Whitney Houston, Stevie Wonder, George Michael, Elton John, Sergio Mendez, Ronnie Scott, Herb Alpert, Chick Corea, Robben Ford, Chaka Khan, Jacob Collier, Kiki Dee and Kirk Whalum to name but a few.

The latest single is the warm and uplifting ‘It’s You’, which is due out April 2.  With Josiah Ruff on lead vocals and a distinctly 5^th Dimension thing going on this is a track that deserves to do well.

Mattias Roos - Commercial Free

Flourishing in the smooth jazz friendly confines of Skytown Records, Swedish keyboard player Mattias Roos is back with his latest single ‘Commercial Free’ that goes for adds March 22.  Finding him in cool collaboration with hit maker, guitarist and double Grammy winner Paul Brown this joyous mellifluous and uplifting number looks certain to lay siege to the smooth jazz charts for some time to come and is replete with the trademark vibe that Mattias has very much made is own.

Indeed his penchant for sublimely fusing smooth jazz grooves with an authentic old school vibe first emerged in 2011 with the band Soweto that he formed with drummer Peter Gustavsson.   His Skytown debut came in 2017 with the critically acclaimed album ‘Movin’ Up’ and the equally good ‘It Goes On And On’ followed two years later.  However, that wasn’t quite the end of the ‘It Goes On And On’ story.  In 2020 it was released as a deluxe version with four additional tracks and an outstanding reworking of ‘Bring It On’ that this time featured Michael Lington on sax and proved to be a runaway chart success.

As for Paul Brown, with a string of hit albums to his name, it is easy to forget that before he became a chart topping smooth jazz guitarist he was (and remains) one of the most influential producers of the genre.  Not only that, and in common with Roos, Brown has always been ready to explore areas previously untouched by contemporary jazz.  In so doing he has created that special ‘Paul Brown sound’, a delicious melange that lays somewhere between rock, smooth jazz and chill.  It makes the statement that suddenly it is very OK to blend smooth jazz with guitar driven rock.

Sumptuous music plus inspirational artistry from two of the best in the business and all of it totally ‘Commercial Free’

Gary Honor - Bang Bang Bang

When, in February 2020, ‘The Pulse’ by Australian sax-man Gary Honor hit the scene it seemed to be laying a platform for more new releases to follow later in the year.  With featured guitar from Cheili Minucci and production credits by Skinny Hightower it certainly had it all going on but then came the pandemic and everything stopped.

Now, just over twelve months later, Gary is back with his follow up single ‘Bang Bang Bang’.  Written and produced by serial hit-maker Michael Broening this high tempo number is just the thing to get the (post Covid) party started.

Greg Karukas - Serenata

 

Original Rippingtons keyboard player and 2013 Grammy winner Gregg Karukas has twelve solo projects to his name and is about to make that thirteen with his very first solo piano album, the wonderful ‘Serenata’.  Make no mistake, for his myriad of fans that first discovered Karukas through seminal tracks such as ‘Girl In The Red Dress’ this is quite a departure. It represents a nostalgic return to the Brazilian music that he first found as a fledgling musician when learning his trade in the Washington DC - Baltimore area.  Indeed, right from the get-go, the lush melodies of artists such as Milton Nascimento and Dori Caymmi proved to be a wonderful counter-point to the jazz fusion that back then he was writing and playing.  He looks back on his days touring with Sergio Mendes and Ricardo Silveira as some of his favorite musical experiences and now, with ‘Serenata’, he is bringing these magic moments to an all new audience.

Mindi Abair - The Best Of Mindi Abair

In the ultra competitive world of smooth jazz saxophone differentiation is the name of the game and that is even more the case when applied to the female of the species.  Whether it be Paula Atherton, Candy Dulfer, Jeanette Harris or Pamela Williams, they have all found elements of uniqueness with which they define their musical identity yet when it comes to Mindi Abair she has elevated uniqueness to a whole new level.  Just what that represents is about to become clear with her first ‘Best Of’ collection that will be released April 2 on the Pretty Good For A Girl label.

Her earlier albums such as ‘Always And Never The Same’, ‘It Just Happens That Way’ and ‘Come As You Are’ were top-notch smooth jazz collections but then along the way something happened.  Maybe it was her appearances as the sax player on American Idol, the fact she toured with rock band Aerosmith or that she shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen but Mindi began to emerge from her contemporary jazz cocoon as something of a rock chick.  This was underlined with her 2014 project ‘Wild Heart’ and reconfirmed with the thunderous ‘Mindi Abair & The Boneshakers Live In Seattle’.

Nicholas Cole - It Aint Over

Having already garnered the hit singles ‘Sugar’ and the equally good ‘Soulmate’, keyboard player Nicholas Cole’s current album ‘The Weekend’ has all the attributes of a gift that keeps on giving.  The latest gem to tumble from this jeweled masterpiece is the vibey yet catchy ‘It Aint Over’ that cements the place Cole has as a consummate purveyor of high quality smooth jazz.

With a discography that includes the 2010 breakthrough album ‘A Journey Of One’, ‘Endless Possibilities’ that followed two years later, his 2015 blockbuster ‘Night Sessions’, Cole and now ‘The Weekend’ Cole has quietly built a reputation as one of the genre’s brightest stars.