Smooth Jazz Therapy

Patrick Trahan - New Day

Out now on the constantly good Trippin N Rhythm Records comes the easy grooving ‘New Day’ from sax-man Patrick Trahan.  This former touring band member with five-time Grammy® award winning Little Joe y La Familia has from time to time been active in the genres of straight ahead, smooth, and Latin jazz yet with ‘New Day’ there seems little doubt that Patrick has a feeling for what contemporary jazz should be all about.

 

 

Norman Brown - Easy Livin

Taken from Norman Brown’s current CD ‘Lets Get Away’, ‘Easy Livin’ is a wonderfully feel good number that comes complete with a top notch horn arrangement from Greg Vail.  Indeed the entire album, a fine amalgam of jazz, R&B, pop and blues, is delivered with the sort of style that has become Brown’s calling card.

Factor in that the collection is both produced and mixed by Paul Brown and you are left with what might be best described as classic smooth jazz.

‘Easy Livin’ is playing on a smooth jazz radio station near you right now.

 

 

Chance Howard - Buy Me Love

Chances are that if you have seen saxtress Candy Dulfer live in concert you will have seen Grammy-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter Chance Howard.  More than a member of her backing band Howard has very often been front back and center of the high-octane offerings that Candy routinely delivers.

Having survived a horrific car wreck three years ago Howard is currently living in a rehab facility where he is learning how to walk again. Yet, teaming again with Dulfer, he has just released a smooth and soulful R&B re-imagination of The Beatles’ ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ that he has retitled ‘Buy Me Love’.

In fact Howard recorded ‘Buy Me Love’ prior to his accident which occurred when, exhausted from playing shows in the same week with Brian Culbertson in Chicago, Marcus Miller in Los Angeles and Dulfer in Minneapolis he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into the median.

It was in Amsterdam while on tour with Dulfer that he and Candy performed an impromptu version of ‘Buy Me Love’ during an informal nightclub jam session. After the gig, a married couple approached Howard and while they were unable to speak English they clearly loved the version of this timeless song. Days after the show, the husband unexpectedly passed away. His wife tracked down Howard and asked if he could record the song to be played at her husband’s memorial service. Howard sings and plays all the instruments on the track except for sax which, of course, comes from Dulfer.

 

 

Candy Dulfer - Yeah Yeah Yeah

First there was the raucous ‘Jammin Tonight’ and now there is 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' aka the second single from Candy Dulfer's brand new album 'We Never Stop' that will be released October 28, 2022 on the The Funk Garage/Mascot Label Group.

Both tracks share that hard driving edge for which Candy is famous and both are well worth looking out for.

 

 

 

Rebecca Jade - A Shade Of Jade

Walking an exciting line that takes a neo soul vibe and splices it with contemporary jazz ‘A Shade Of Jade’ from vocalist Rebecca Jade is out today October 14, 2022.  All ten choice tunes are written by Rebecca (she also co-produces with Carnell Harrell) and typically find her in the company of Harrell on keys, guitarist Kyle Bolden, bass player Raymond McKinley, and drummer Charles Streeter Sr. The result is an extremely tight, hugely soulful collection that has the potential to take Jade anywhere she wants to go.

‘A Shade Of Jade’ is quickly up and running with  ‘Show Me’, a textbook slice of neo soul that incidentally was the first single to be serviced to radio.  Another track put out there to whet the appetite is ‘What’s It Gonna Be’.  Last September it was the subject of a basketball themed video that to date has garnered more than 126,000 YouTube views.  With fellow San Diego native Kevin Flournoy on keys plus a big ballsy horn section that comes courtesy of Derek Cannon and John Rekevics this hip hop flavored cut really gets the job done.

Maysa - Whatever

With a sneak peek from her upcoming album, the wonderful Maysa Leak is back with what will surely be a blast for the steppers crowd everywhere. Titled ‘Whatever’ it leads off with a steady beat and a jam that will pull even the most tired of dancing feet to the floor.

 

 

Michael J Thomas - H.A.D.

Like stripping away the layers of an onion sax-man Michael J Thomas has, through a sequence of singles, been gradually revealing the contents of his EP ‘Outside The Door’.

A consummate cover of the Tears For Fears 1985 hit ‘Everybody Wants to Rule The World’ (with a powerhouse trumpet solo from the legendary Randy Brecker) followed the holiday song ‘It’s Christmas’ with vocals from Maysa and ‘The OG Bounce’ which quickly became a hit on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay chart.

The EP’s other songs include a new take on Stevie Wonder’s ‘I Wish’ and this one, ‘H.A.D’, featuring Special EFX mainstay Chieli Minucci.

Nice track

 

 

Chris Standring - Silent Night

The love affair that popular music has long enjoyed with the festive season has never been stronger or more enduring than the romance contemporary jazz has with Christmas.  Over the years the discographies of many smooth jazz artists have been populated with at least one ‘holiday album’ and this has led to a wide range of individualistic interpretations of how music of the season should sound when played in a jazz groove.  Now it is the turn of Chris Standring with the outstanding ‘Silent Night’, a sumptuous collection that immediately begs the question “what took him so long?”