Smooth Jazz Therapy

Norman Brown - The Highest Act Of Love

Often compared to George Benson, the always-excellent Norman Brown has been effortlessly fusing the finer elements of jazz, R & B, pop and blues for the past twenty years. In so doing he has created his own instantly identifiable musicology that has just been added to by the sensational ‘The Highest Act Of Love’ which was released February 22 on the Shanachie Entertainment label.

U-Nam - Future Love

Sometimes the making of music can be uplifting.  At other times it can simply be entertaining.  Yet in the case of ‘Future Love’, the brand new release from writer, producer and guitarist extraordinaire Emmanuel “U-Nam” Abiteboul the activity has been nothing short of cathartic.

From the debris of a complicated divorce that occurred in Autumn of 2018, this musical trendsetter with nine top 30 Billboard hits to his name has used the creative process to purge the emotions and relieve the tensions that for a while hung heavily upon him.  Not only that, with the title ‘Future Love’ he is making a bold statement as to what might come next, a message that particularly resonates through the zesty title cut which also happens to be the first single serviced to radio.

Jamie Bonk - Who Said It Was Easy?

A long time in the making and more than justifying its title, ‘Who Said It Was Easy?’ from Vancouver based guitarist Jamie Bonk finds him in predominately reflective mood for a collection that is so evocative that it might just take your breath away.  It marks a change of style for Jamie who with a string of smooth jazz orientated projects has earned inclusion in these pages and then some but although this latest venture doesn’t really fit the genre it has merits that are many, varied and totally compelling.

In a lot of ways ‘Who Said It Was Easy?’ can be summed up as fourteen self penned numbers all of which are in search of a movie score.  They are heartfelt and emotional; they evoke love, life, loss and longing yet despite Jamie being Canadian they could equally provide the backdrop to a commentary on the American mid-west, a soundtrack to small town USA.

Particularly so in this respect is the stunningly beautiful ‘You And Me’, the similarly inclined  ‘For This One Time’ and the magical ‘Let’s Go Home’ yet truth to tell the charm of ‘Who Said It Was Easy?’ does not come in the isolation of any single track but rather in the collective splendor of the entire set.

Whatever your musical preference this is an album that is well worth checking out.

Fabio Mignola - Encantado

Brand new from Swiss born guitarist Fabio Mignola comes the delicious ‘Encantado’.  It is an excellent addition to a discography which includes ‘Flyin Away’, ‘Luna Rossa’ and ‘Take Me Higher’ which, at the time of its release, I described as being “a showcase for Mignola’s wide raging musical talents that extend not only to delivering eleven self penned tracks but also to engineering and producing throughout.”

Of course students of the language will know that ‘Encantado’ translates to ‘charmed’ and the chances are that listeners will be exactly that with this mellifluous collection which again finds Fabio pulling the strings on eleven of his own sumptuous compositions for a musical journey that is very much on the Latin side.

Doug Jones - Crossing Lines

‘Crossing Lines’ is the brand new project from sax-man Doug Jones and much like ‘Top Down’ (from 2013) and ‘Secrets’ that followed three years later it is a tight collection of contemporary jazz tracks that Doug writes, arranges, produces and performs in his own special style.

Kayla Waters - CoEvolve

Brand new for 2018, Trippin N' Rhythm recording artist, keyboard player, vocalist and composer Kayla Waters is all set to release her sophomore project ‘CoEvolve’.  This stunning twelve-track collection seems destined to propel the classically trained Waters (daughter of Kim Waters and graduate of Howard University) right into the contemporary jazz spotlight.

The Braxton Brothers - Higher

That San Diego based dynamic duo The Braxton Brothers make a welcome return to their smooth jazz roots with ‘Higher’, their first overtly contemporary jazz project since 2004 and ‘Rollin’.  Not that sax-man Wayne Braxton and his brother Nelson (who plays guitars and keyboards) haven’t been busy.  Nelson is a longtime member of Michael Bolton’s touring band and Wayne has a history of working with Sheila E.  Now, as writers, producers and performers of all twelve tunes, ‘Higher’ is taking them very much center stage. 

Paul Hardcastle - Hardcastle VIII

Just when you thought that Paul Hardcastle had run out of musical creativity, along he comes with ‘Hardcastle VIII’, a collection that finds him doing what he does best while throwing in a few surprises along the way.  In fact it was two years ago with ‘The History of Paul Hardcastle 1984-2016’ that he offered up the chance to get reacquainted with his not inconsiderable discography yet with this latest project Hardcastle is confirming how, thirty four years into a hit strewn career, he is still looking to the future as well as never being afraid to take a glance at what has gone before. 

Brian Simpson - Something About You

Keyboard player, composer, producer and prolific studio musician Brian Simpson has just weighed in with his eighth solo project, the dazzling ‘Something About You’.  It is a rare amalgam of jazz, R&B, and soul all conveyed via ten original compositions for which he is assisted by regular collaborators Steve Oliver and Oliver Wendell.  Completing the line-up are bass players Alex Al and Andre Berry, guitarists Darrell Crooks and Yarone Levy, percussionist Ramon Yslas and trumpeter Ron King for a collection that confirms Simpson as having top-notch smooth jazz pulsing through his veins.

David Garfield - Jammin Outside The Box

Together with collaborators of unrivalled calibre, keyboard player David Garfield   has come up with what might just be the best pop-orientated R & B album of 2018.  Titled ‘Jammin Outside The Box’ and with with input from A-list performers such as George Benson, David Sanborn, Freddie Washington, Smokey Robinson, Michael McDonald, Natalie Cole and Ray Parker Jr. it is the second in Garfield’s five part multi genre ‘Outside The Box’ series and one which sublimely crosses over from R & B, to contemporary jazz, to pop and back again. 

Tea - Grand Cru

Tea, the production team of guitarist Frank Balloffet and drummer - keyboard player Phil Bunch has been on the Smooth Jazz Therapy radar since 2009 and the release of its second CD ‘Dreams’. Since then the duo have collaborated with the legendary Brian Auger for his solo project ‘Language Of The Heart’ and consequently it is particularly pleasing that for the band’s latest offering, ‘Grand Cru’, they have enlisted the services of Auger who features on eight of the eleven choice tunes.

‘Grand Cru’ has been described elsewhere as a collection of electro-pop songs that draws influence from jazz, lounge and soul. Indeed the vibe that Balloffet and Bunch effortlessly create engenders a warm intimacy that is precious and this is particularly the case with the decidedly retro ‘Cargo’ and the wonderful ‘Natural’ where Ines Murer on vocals is superb. She also features on ‘Princess’ that shimmers with an understatedly theatrical aura and when she returns one more time for ‘Drive Me Away’ she perfectly complements Auger’s work on Hammond B3.

‘Grand Cru’ provides five further vocal numbers all of which are fronted by the delightfully soulful Sabrina Williams. Among them is the groove drenched ‘Wonder One’ for which Auger again excels and the equally good ‘I Can’ that has an ‘Everything But The Girl’ thing going on. It is right up there with the best that ‘Grand Cru’ has to offer yet all things considered the Smooth Jazz Therapy top track is the vibrant instrumental ‘Trapeze’ that serves as the perfect vehicle for the collective talents of Balloffet, Bunch and Auger.

Sam Rucker - Redemption

Hip-hop producer turned sax-man Sam Rucker hails from Williamsburg, Virginia and caught some attention in 2014 with his sophomore CD ‘Tell You Something’ that was mixed and mastered by Euge Groove and included contributions from Norman Connors, Bobby Lyle, Tom Browne and Alyson Williams. Now he is back with ‘Redemption’, a tight ten-track collection that he produces writes or co-writes throughout and which promises to be one of the urban jazz events of 2018.

Dee Brown - Remembering You

Accepting the raison d’etre of all artists is to make music what renders ‘Remembering You’ by guitarist Dee Brown that much more powerful is that it has been inspired by the sad loss of his fiancée Shaunia Edwards who passed away in 2016. Yet far from being a somber remembrance of a life lost this is an uplifting ten-track collection that underscores the joy of living. Of course those who have been with Brown for the long haul will recall his 2007 debut recording ‘No Time To Waste’ and the follow-up, ‘A Little Elbow Room’ that followed two years later. His 2014 project, the delicious ‘Brown Sugar, Honey-Coated Love’, included ‘I’m Here For You’ that he co-wrote with Shaunia who also featured on vocals. Now, ‘Remembering You’ is testimony to the fact is Brown remains here for her too.

Walter Beasley - The Best Of Walter Beasley - The Affable Years Volume 1

Released in January 2018 and a must for Walter Beasley fans everywhere, ‘The Best Of Walter Beasley – The Affable Years Volume 1’ is a fine collection of tracks that substantially come from those albums recorded by Walter over the last twenty or so years on his own Affable label. It is a stunning showcase for some of his best ever work and includes the wonderful ‘Late Night Lover’ featuring Raheem DeVaugn, a sparkling cover of the Isaac Hayes song ‘Ellie’s Theme’ and a selection of songs written, or co-written, with long time collaborators Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis and Chris Davis. Indeed the latest single to be released to radio is the Phil Davis – Walter Beasley composition ‘Skip To My Lew’, that takes its name from the family of his Road Manager Chris Lewis. 

This is an outstanding CD but don’t take my word for it, check out what Walter has to say on the subject, right here right now.

 

 

Michael Franks - The Music In My Head

New for 2018, his eighteenth album overall and the first since the stunning 2011 CD ‘Time Together’, that genre-defying magician Michael Franks is back with the simply wonderful ‘The Music In My Head’. The recording is remarkable in many respects, for the consummate art that Franks displays both as a performer and composer, the reflective rhythms that permeate the entire collection and also the outstanding line-up of A- List jazz musicians that have contributed to the process.

Andrey Chmut - Smoothability

A delicious amalgam of mellow grooves and funky rhythms, the aptly titled 'Smoothability' is the dynamite with which Ukrainian born, rising sax star Andrey Chmut is making what promises to be a truly explosive debut.

Typified by the upbeat title cut (and first radio single) which includes Wha Wha guitar from the unmistakable U-Nam, 'Smoothability' is living proof that, in this joined up musical world, an effective social media presence can be the avenue to great success.  In fact it was Andrey’s work with Artem Lebedev that provided him with YouTube exposure, which he later built on through appearances with fellow Skytown label mate Valeriy Stepanov.

Michael Lington - Silver Lining

When, back in 2016, Danish sax-man Michael Lington released his ninth solo CD, ‘Second Nature’, it found him reuniting with legendary writer and producer Barry Eastmond for a collection that at the time Lington described as being ‘retro modern’. Now, once more in the company of Eastmond and delivering more of the delicious same, he is back with the stunning ‘Silver Lining’. Not only that, joining him in the venture is an all-star cast of performers including Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame, Funk Brothers original Jack Ashford, Paul Jackson Jr., Ray Parker Jr., Alex Al, Freddie Washington, Lenny Castro and soul legend William Bell for a body of work that will be essential listening for all those who like their smooth jazz spiced with a modicum of soul.

Greg Chambers - A New Day

Smooth Jazz Therapy favorite Greg Chambers has been carving out his place in the annals of smooth jazz saxophone since 2007 and the release of his debut recording ‘City Lights’. His self-titled follow up came along in 2011 and was followed two years later by the excellent seven-song EP ‘After Hours’. Even better (and then his most commercial to date) was the 2014 project ‘Can’t Help Myself’ and now he is back with the outstanding ‘A New Day’ for which he is joined by regular collaborators Matt Godina and Paul Brown plus a ‘who’s who’ of smooth jazz talent including Adam Hawley, Kenji Matsui, Roberto Vally, Preston Smith, Nate Harasim, Rodney Franklin, Lin Rountree, Nils and Lew Laing.