Smooth Jazz Therapy

Steve Oliver - Morning Touch

First thing to remember about Steve Oliver is that as well as being a fabulous guitarist he is an equally excellent vocalist.  But that’s not all.  He is an also an engaging and different voice artist with the ability to use of his synthesized guitar to conjure up a whole range of instrumental and orchestral sounds.  That’s why it is doubly surprising that his soon to be released album is an out and out solo guitar record.

It is a response to his many fans who over the years have asked him for such an offering and if the first single ‘Morning Touch’ is anything to go those same fans can expect something special. In fact every sound the listener will here is made with the guitar, even some not normally associated with the instrument and with the rest of the tracks being mixed right now the expectation is that the full album should be ready sometime later in the fall.

 

 

Kenney Polson - Mesmerized

Sax-man Kenney Polson although based in the Pacific Northwest has lived and performed in over 50 countries. Known widely as a smooth jazz artist, his seasoned musical style incorporates a range of jazz favours sublimely anchored on a firm foundation of straight ahead jazz.

His 2019 album, For Lovers, blending as it did smooth jazz with rhythm and blues, figured significantly on the jazz charts and featured a stellar line-up of supporting artists that included guitarists Bruce Conte, and Phil Upchurch, Tower Of Power keyboard player Roger Smith, trumpeter Larry Gittens, trombone player Fred Wesley, bass player and vocalist Michael Henderson plus smooth jazz pioneer and pianist Tom Grant.

His 2021 album ‘Colors Of Brazil’ sparkled with infectious Latin rhythms and in this respect there was none more so than the wonderful ‘Mesmerized’ that proved to be the perfect vehicle for Polson’s undoubted virtuosity.

 

 

Mark Etheredge - You & Me & We

Due out on August 12, ‘Love Planet’ from silky smooth keyboard player Mark Etheredge is his first album since 2016 when ‘Connected’ took the smooth jazz world by storm. Not only that it finds him emerging from the troubled times which have recently beset him to reconnect with producer and two-time Grammy winner Paul Brown for a tight ten track collection that has already been trailered by the singles ‘Resonance’ (2019) and ‘You & Me & We’ which followed a year later.

The latest single, which is due to go to radio on July 18, is the title cut but for now and in anticipation of a full review of ‘Love Planet’ that will follow soon, sit back and enjoy ‘You & Me & We’.

 

 

Pieces Of A Dream - In Too Deep

Lifted from ‘Fired Up’, the latest album by that dynamic smooth jazz duo James Lloyd and Curtis Harmon (aka Pieces Of A Dream) ‘In Too Deep’ is everything we have come to expect from these true masters of contemporary jazz. Upbeat, uplifting and totally on the money this feisty cut features saxophonist Tony Watson Jr. and trumpeter Parker Lewis who together engender a Pieces of A Dream meets Tower Of Power kind of a vibe.

Check it out

 

 

Michael J Thomas - Everybody Wants To Rule The World

A consummate cover of the Tears For Fears 1985 hit ‘Everybody Wants to Rule The World’ is the third advance single from the EP ‘Outside The Door’ by sax-man and vocalist Michael J Thomas. It follows both the holiday song ‘It’s Christmas’ featuring Maysa and ‘The OG Bounce’ which is currently a Top 15 hit on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay chart.

The EP’s other songs include a new take on Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Wish’ and an original number featuring Special EFX mainstay Chieli Minucci while for ‘Everybody Wants to Rule The World’ Thomas calls on the legendary Randy Brecker to deliver what proves to be a powerhouse trumpet solo.

Produced by Thomas and Carl Griffin, ‘Everybody Wants to Rule The World’ also includes on point guitar work by Chris Blackwell, Trammell Starks on keys, synths, strings, and percussion, Cheryl Rogers on backing vocals and a hard driving rhythm section comprising Sam Sims on bass and Louis K. Newsom on drums.

Nice track

 

 

Paul Hardcastle - Angelic Chimes

Out now on Trippin N Rhythm ‘Hardcastle X’ from the redoubtable Paul Hardcastle is crammed full of the grooves that over the years have become his calling card. Testimony to this was ‘Wavelength’, the first single to be serviced to radio and now he is heading back to the airwaves with the follow up, and arguably the album’s best track, ‘Angelic Chimes’.

Soothing yet edgy, ethereal yet rock solid street-wise this one is a real winner.

 

 

Jackiem Joyner - Say What

Approaching twenty years on the scene and smooth jazz sax-man Jackiem Joyner is still going strong. His 2020 project, a cool five track EP titled ‘Journey Of Passion’ was delivered despite the ravages of Covid-19. In fact he performed and produced all five tracks while still under quarantine but by 2021, and with more than a little light at the end of what at times had seemed a very long tunnel he was back with the single ‘Dance Again’. It was the sort of silky smooth number that we have come to identify him with and now, brand new for 2022, comes his latest single ‘Say What’.

Check it out.

 

 

 

Brendan Rothwell - This Is The Love

Originally from North Yorkshire, England and now comfortably ensconced in Alberta, Canada Brendan Rothwell is one of that exclusive group of contemporary jazz musicians who as a bass player has made his mark as a lead artist. In fact it all began to happen for Brendan in 2016 when his first album ‘Time On My Hands’ was picked by radio in the USA with the first single, the decidedly sultry ‘This Is The Love’, finding its way onto several smooth jazz charts in the summer of 2017.

The second single from ‘Time On My Hands’, ‘Smooth’, was serviced to radio in 2018 and less than twelve months later Rothwell came roaring back with his second solo release ‘Sentiment’. It included both the intensely rhythmic ‘Keep On Keeping On’ and the wonderfully chilled ‘Think Of You’ that quickly became a firm Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite.

Fast forward to 2022 where his third album ‘Destiny’ is slated for global release on July 1. Check back here soon for a complete review of this highly anticipated new collection.

All Brendans albums are available in CD format from his website at,

https://www.brendanrothwell.com/