Smooth Jazz Therapy

Oli Silk - Out To Lunch

When, back in June 2020, I reviewed ‘6’ from the United Kingdom’s favorite contemporary jazz keyboard player, Oli Silk, I quickly identified the Bob James inspired ‘Out To Lunch’ as Smooth Jazz Therapy’s top track’.  Well, it took awhile but eighteen months on ‘Out To Lunch’ is being serviced to radio where it is sure to do well.

As for ‘6’, with eleven brand new compositions plus one carefully crafted cover this cool twelve-track collection not only finds Silk in top form but also in the company of some of the genre’s heaviest hitters.

Add in understated contributions from Oli Silk regulars Mark Jaimes on guitar, Wesley Joseph on drums plus Orefo Orakwue on bass and what you have is an album that was then, and still is now, a terrific piece of work.

 

 

Emilio Foglio - Walking Through My Head

Milanese guitarist Emilio Foglio is realty making a statement with his brand new composition ‘Walking Through My Head’ that is out now across all digital platforms.  With his musical roots firmly embedded in the jazz fusion of the seventies and eighties for this track Emilio has assembled a group of top notch supporting musicians that include Argentinian trumpeter Pepe Ragonese, keyboard player Antonello Aguzzi, Piero Orsini on bass and Franco Penatti on drums.

Nice track.

 

Michael J Thomas - It's Christmas

Back in December of 2018 sax-man Michael J Thomas shared some festive spirit with a free download of ‘Get Your Smooth On’ that was taken from his 2017 CD  ‘Driven’.  Written and produced by Thomas with guitar player Shannon Wallace it featured Oli Silk on keys with the remainder of the line-up comprising Eric Lampley on bass, Frank ‘Third’ Richardson on drums and Paul Scurto on trumpet.

Now, three years on, Michael has just released an all-original Christmas song, ‘It’s Christmas’.  This easy grooving number which features the incomparable Maysa on vocals is a cut above your normal smooth jazz Christmas tracks and comes highly recommended.

 

 

Kim Waters - Nina In Tortola

With nine original compositions plus one carefully crafted cover ‘Shakedown’ from sax-man Kim Waters revolves around what is a primarily upbeat theme intended to make the listener happy and to sooth the soul.  It is perfect for the troubled time in which we now live and in this respect there is none more so than the latest radio single, ‘Nina In Tortola’ that provides a first class ticket to the cooling breezes that rustle the palms of The British Virgin Islands.

Check it out.

 

 

Gregory Goodloe - In Paradise

As smooth jazz guitarist Gregory Goodloe continues to lay a foundation for his next full-length album his latest single, ‘In Paradise’, is the kind of easy grooving number that is sure to attract followers.  It is his third of 2021 and follows  ‘Somewhere Out There’ and ‘Step N Out’ that featured sax-man Elan Trotman.  For ‘In Paradise’ Gregory is aided and abetted by producer Jeff Canady on drums, keyboard player Demetrius Nabors, Anthony Booker on rhythm guitar and Robert Skinner on bass.

Goodloe, who derives his influences from George Benson and Wes Montgomery, divides his time between the recording studio and the radio studio where he presents his own show, Mile High Smooth Jazz, on World Wide Jazz Radio.

Check him out.

 

 

Jonathan Butler - Our Voices Matter

With the Grammy season almost upon us one contender in the ‘best R & B song’ category is ‘Our Voices Matter’ from smooth jazz guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Butler.

Written in response to the murder of George Floyd it is a track that speaks to the public as a call to action against racial injustice.  In doing so it encourages people to use their voices to make change in a peaceful and orderly manner.

With an all-star line-up that includes Maysa, Jeffrey Osborne, Marcus Miller, Rick Braun, Candy Dulfer, Arlington Jones and Ramon Yslas this is a gentle song with a powerful message.

 

 

Steve Oliver - Slingshot

 

Hot on the heels of his best selling 2020 collaboration with Brian Simpson, ‘Unified’, guitarist, composer and producer Steve Oliver is back with his fresh new single ‘Slingshot’.  It is Steve’s first solo material since his 2018 project ‘Illuminate’ and features his unmistakable guitar melodies with a modern twist of electronics, bass, and drums.  Mixed and mastered by Euge Groove this one is sure to do well.

Jackiem Joyner - Dance Again

After almost fifteen years as a recording artist sax-man Jackiem Joyner continues to entertain and delight.  His seventh solo album, ‘Touch’ was released in 2019 and now, ahead of a tour that gets started September 25 in Las Vegas, he is all set to release his brand new single ‘Dance Again’.

It’s the sort of silky smooth number that we have come to identify him with and well worth checking out.

 

 

Roberto Restuccia - Love Crazy

Taken from his 2021 release ‘With Every Turn’, ‘Love Crazy’ by UK guitarist and composer Roberto Restuccia is the sort of easy grooving cut that he is rapidly becoming known for.   It is the second single to be lifted from ‘With Every Turn’ and follows the outrageously moody ‘Arrival’, which made the statement that here is a star in the making.

In fact Restuccia made his debut in 2016 with the album ‘Exposure’.  ‘When The Smoke Clears’ followed a year later and included input from Paul Hardcastle’s ‘go-to’ sax-man Rock Hendricks.

Check out ‘Love Crazy’ right here right now.

 

 

Cindy Bradley - Stockholm Summer

Taken from her 2019 project ‘The Little Things’, comes the wonderfully mellifluous ‘Stockholm Summer’ by Trippin & Rhythm recording artist Cindy Bradley.  Having already provided the sophisticated radio single ‘Wind Chill Factor’, ‘The Little Things’ is proving to be a worthy to successor to her 2017 CD ‘Natural’ with which Cindy enjoyed unbridled success.

Extremely nice track.

 

 

Gary Honor - Summer Cool

Back in February of 2020, during what might be described as the quiet before the COVID storm, Australian sax-man Gary Honor hit the scene with the Latin flavoured ‘The Pulse’.  With featured guitar from Cheili Minucci and production credits by Skinny Hightower it seemed, at the time, to be laying a platform for more new releases to follow later that year.

Then came the pandemic and everything stopped.

That said, just over twelve months later, Gary was back with his follow up single ‘Bang Bang Bang’.  This hard driving number, which was written and produced by serial hit-maker Michael Broening, gave Honor the inertia he was looking for and this momentum has carried him into the summer and the appropriately titled ‘Summer Cool’.

Check it out.

 

 

U-Nam - Perfect Match

One of the musical highlights of 2021 has been ‘Love In Motion’ from writer, producer and guitarist Emmanuel “U-Nam” Abiteboul.  Subtitled ‘Future Love Part 3’ it builds on the theme that U-Nam sensationally brought to market in 2019 with ‘Future Love’. 

The ‘Future Love’ concept is simple yet profound as U-Nam continues to use the creative process to purge the emotions and relieve the tensions that, from the debris of a complicated divorce, had threatened to engulf him.  But ‘Love In Motion’ is far from being a work of self-indulgence.  He remains totally focussed on the detail that invariably makes U-Nam’s music special and with a glittering array of supporting artists seems intent on making ‘Part 3’ the best yet.

The latest track from it to be offered to radio is ‘Perfect Match’ which, complete with an enticing feel good vibe, is not only the perfect showcase for U-Nam’s wide ranging talents but also beauty personified.

Check it out.

 

 

Paul Hardcastle - Tropicool

Very few artists can successfully walk the tightrope between smooth jazz and chill in the way that Paul Hardcastle does.  Indeed this has never been better demonstrated than with the stunning ‘Tropicool’ (from his 2020 Trippin N Rhythm recording ‘Hardcastle IX’) that was released to radio July 26.

With the album version spanning a stunning six minutes and twenty-two seconds the way this track builds is sensational and helped in no small measure by shimmering trumpet from Gary Winters.  This latest radio edit shaves two minutes from the epic album version but in doing so looses none of the magic that Hardcastle invariably delivers.

Check it out.

 

 

Dreaming In Colour - Cruising The Boulevard

I first became acquainted with the hip cutting edge vibe of contemporary, instrumental jazz group Dreaming In Colour in 2012 and it’s debut CD, ‘The Dream Merchant’.

Constructed around the band’s core members of Kevin Ellis and Chris Noonan the line-up has often, over the years, been complemented by some of the genre’s top artists and this is particularly so with the band’s latest single, ‘Cruising The Boulevard’.  It features Smooth Jazz Therapy favorite Nelson Rangell (who, on soprano sax, contributed hugely to the title track of ‘The Dream Merchant’) and who here is backed by the rhythmic duo of Ellis on bass Noonan on drums.

 

Spyro Gyra keyboard player Tom Schuman is also around to lend a hand, as is Tom Byrne on guitar while a piano solo from Michael Scherer adds an undulating flow to this melodic masterpiece.

Add in a cool string arrangement by Trammel Starks and what we have is an incredibly uplifting slice of top-notch contemporary jazz.

Check it out.

Julian Vaughn - Sunset Station

If you are looking for smoothing ultra cool then why not check out the deliciously mid tempo ‘Sunset Station’ from that ultra cool bass player Julian Vaughn.  Featuring man of the moment Adam Hawley on guitar this is the third radio single from Vaughn’s 2019 CD ‘Supreme’ and in this respect follows the infectious ‘Afro Calypso’ and the extremely zesty ‘Afternoon Delight’ that features Elan Trotman on sax.

‘Supreme’ is Vaughn’s sixth album release and follows a whole line of radio ready collections that began to form on the Trippin n Rhythm label in 2012 with the appropriately titled ‘Breakthrough’.  He was back in 2015 with ‘Limitless’ while ‘Bona Fide’ followed two years later.

 

 

Euge Groove - Say I Won't

New on radio from July 16 ‘Say I Won’t’ from the superb Euge Groove is the latest single to be lifted from his critically acclaimed 2020 collection ‘Sing My Song’.  Indeed from the very first note this is a track that has that distinctive Euge Groove sound running right through it. 

Check it out and let EG transport you to a very happy place.

 

 

Hil St. Soul - Blessed

A former winner of Blues & Soul magazine’s best newcomer of the year award Hilary Mwelwa, aka Hil St. Soul, was born in Lusaka Zambia and at the age of five relocated with her family to London, England.  Growing up, hers was a home filled with the iconic sounds of Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder to name but a few so it was no surprise that as a vocation she chose music.  Hilary’s breakthrough came in 2000 when, partnered with Victor Redwood-Sawyer and recording under the name of Hil St Soul, she announced her arrival with the album ‘Soul Organic’ which was followed four years later by ‘Copasetik & Cool’.  Garnering a top 20 placing on the Urban Adult Contemporary Charts with the song ‘Pieces’ it paved the way for more of the silky same, first with the runaway hit CD ‘Soulidified’ that Blues & Soul described as being “as good as it gets” and then in 2008 with ‘Black Rose’ which included classics in the making such as ‘Wash Away’ and ‘Gravity’.

It also cemented what had evolved into a long term relationship with the Shanachie label, an association that endures to this day and which has been responsible for the launch of her brand new single, a sumptuous duet with Noel Gourdin, ‘Blessed’.

 

All in all, with underground soul hits like ‘Smile’, ‘Pieces’ and ‘Strictly A Vibe Thing’ to more commercial numbers such as Aretha’s ‘Until You Come Back To Me’, the Isley Brother’s ‘For The Love Of You’ and a cool reworking of the Ohio Players smash ‘Heaven Must Be Like This’, Hil St Soul continues to be a shining beacon of the UK urban scene.

Nick Colionne - Right Around The Corner

Although it has been around since April 2020, ‘Finger Painting’ from serial chart topper Nick Colionne continues to dazzle.  Without doubt Colionne remains one of the brightest stars in the Trippin N Rhythm constellation and the latest move by the label to keep ‘Finger Painting’ on everyone’s radar is to release the single ‘Right Around The Corner’ to radio.

This lusciously jazzy number shows off a different side to Colionne’s musical persona.  In fact it is an understated delight while with regard to  ‘Finger Painting’ it is worth pointing out that Colionne has enlisted the help of long-time collaborators and producers Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis, James Lloyd (from Pieces of a Dream) and John Blasucci.

It is a quality collection.