Smooth Jazz Therapy

Nathan Mitchell - Boss Man

Out now on Trippin ‘N’ Rhythm Records’, ‘Boss Man’ is the latest offering from multi instrumentalist and producer Nathan Mitchell. Lifted from his 2022 project ‘Its My Time’ the song features a cameo performance from the late, great Nick Colionne and much like the previous single ‘Journey To Love’ (that featured sax superstar Kirk Whalum) is a track well worth checking out.

Nathan’s musical journey began in 2012 with the single ‘For All Eternity’ and from that time, and up to 2017, he played with some of the genre’s most elite artists. In 2018 Nathan released his debut album ‘Smooth Groove’ which garnered the single ‘Inspiration’ that climbed to #22 on the Smooth Jazz Billboard charts. ‘Soulmate’ followed in 2019 with ‘Love Languages’ arriving two years later.

 

 

Justin Young - Forever Yours

Smooth Jazz Therapy first became acquainted with sax-man Justin Young in 2007 when he burst onto the scene with his smooth jazz debut, ‘On The Way’.  It said much for the potential of this accomplished player that Paul Brown invested his time to mix the album and play guitar on one of the twelve choice tracks.

More albums followed, ‘Nothin But Love’ in 2009,  ‘Blue Soul’ in 2017 and Christmas outings in both 2009 and 2020 while his latest offering is the single ‘Forever Yours’ that displays in abundance the big, brassy and luscious tones that have become Justin Young’s calling card.

 

Bob Baldwin - All My Life

I have been in love with the music of Bob Baldwin since 2002 and the release of the stunning ‘Standing Tall’.  A lot, and I mean a lot has happened over the intervening years.  His thirty-third CD, ‘B Positive’, was released in 2022.  It followed ‘The Stay At Home Series’ that came out of the Covid necessity of staying home, staying off the road, locking down in quarantine and immersing himself in the interlocking processes of producing, arranging, writing and performing. 

His latest single, that debuted on radio August 15, is the really terrific ‘All My Life’ that includes Eric Valentine on drums and is a shining example of how no-one does contemporary jazz like Bob Baldwin does contemporary jazz.

Great track.

 

Mattias Roos - Early Sunrise

Flourishing in the smooth jazz friendly confines of Skytown Records, Swedish keyboard player Mattias Roos is back with his latest single ‘Early Sunrise’ that goes for adds August 21.  Written, produced, arranged and mixed byRoos at North Hills Studio, this choice track was mastered by Jeremy Henry and along with Roos on acoustic piano, keyboards and drums the number also includes fellow Swede Ingemar Äberg on guitar.

Make no mistake this is trademark Roos and then some.  The penchant he has 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.

 

Norman Brown - Lets Get Away (Radio Single)

Following on from guitarist Norman Brown’s 2020 project ‘Heart To Heart’ came his highly acclaimed ‘Lets Get Away’. This 2022 stunner proved to be a fine amalgam of jazz, R&B, pop and blues all delivered with the sort of style that has become Brown’s calling card. In every respect it was very much an all-star outing. Fellow guitarist and label-mate Paul Brown as well as multi-instrumentalists Wirlie Morris, Shane Theriot and Jeff Carruthers, keyboard players Lew Laing and David Torkanowsky, saxophonist Greg Vail, trumpeter Ron King, drummer Gorden Campbell, bass-man Jeff Wolfe, and percussionist Lenny Castro were all variously around to lend a hand with the first single, the exquisite ‘Back At Ya’, being co-written with Laing, Torkanowsky and Paul Brown.

Now Norman is back on radio with the title cut that finds him in fine collaboration with Wirlie Morris where together they create an emotive, funky R&B number of distinction.

Check it out

 

 

Marc Staggers - With Me

Thing is with old school soul is that it never (ever) gets old and that goes a long way to explain the enduring delight of smooth soul vocalist Marc Staggers. In fact Smooth Jazz Therapy first picked up on Staggers with ‘Bring Me Back’ the lead single from his 2015 project ‘Dream Catcher’. Stunningly good and with Staggers sounding remarkable like the late Luther Vandross this was one of the best tracks of the year so it is particularly pleasing that Marc is back with his latest single ‘With Me’.

Check it out

 

 

Ellis Hamilton - My Heart Is Yours

Now for some brand new music from saxophonist and Berklee graduate Ellis Hamilton who is about to take the world of smooth jazz by storm with the mellifluous ‘My Heart is Yours’. Leaping in short order into the number two position of most played on radio it’s a track that has already caught the attention of contemporary jazz heavyweight Najee and which promises much for the rapidly emerging Hamilton.

 

 

Jessy J - Right On Time

Jessy J has been a significant presence on the smooth jazz scene since 2008 and the release of her debut recording ‘Tequila Moon’.  Born in Portland, Oregon and raised in Hemet, CA, in part she takes her musical influences from her Mexican-American heritage.  Indeed her Mexican born father and mother filled the family home with festive, live Latin music and on graduating from USC with a degree in jazz studies she enjoyed instant success as a session player.  In 2005-06 Jessy toured with both The Temptations and Jessica Simpson but when she decided to focus her talents on contemporary jazz, she immediately knew she wanted to work with Paul Brown.  As Jessy signposted her career with a succession of hit albums Brown has remained a guiding light throughout with a case in point being her 2015 project, the very cool, very understated and very sophisticated ‘My One And Only One’.   ‘Blue’ followed in 2022 and now she is back with a brand new single ‘Right On Time’.

Nice track

 

 

Boney James - Coastin (Sped Up)

Released September 2022 on Concorde Records, ‘Detour is Boney James’ eighteenth solo album and follows his 2020 outing ‘Solid’ which became his twelfth  #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Album chart.

Recorded largely at Boney’s L.A. home studio, ‘Detour’ included the mellifluous ‘Coastin’ that featured vocals from 5-time Grammy winner Lalah Hathway.  It was arguably the album’s standout track and now Boney has put a whole new spin on it with the ‘sped up’ version that has just been serviced to radio,

Same fabulous song but speeded up to sensational effect.

Check it out, right here right now

 

 

U-Nam - It's Only Love

From his current hit album  ‘Sunshine Of Mine’ comes ‘It’s Only Love’ by Billboard chart-topping artist and multi-platinum producer Emmanuel “U-Nam” Abiteboul.  It is everything one would expect from an artist who has been variously described as being innovative, daring and fearless in the way he repeatedly shakes the world of smooth jazz to its core.

A case in point is his classy reimagining of the Barry White smash ‘Its Only Love’ that, with Kim Chandler on background vocals, U-Nam makes sound brand new.

‘Its Only Love’ is slated to hit the radio waves on July 10 so look out for it.

 

 

Arthur Thompson - Smile

Drummers as headline artists are, in contemporary jazz, something of a rarity.  There are exceptions with one being Jeffrey B Suttles who recorded the album ‘Time To Suttle Down’ in 2005 and another is Arthur Thompson.  Formally drummer for the late great Wayman Tisdale, Thompson has variously served as a drummer, percussionist, singer, songwriter, producer, author, designer, entrepreneur, and teacher. He recorded and performed his latest song ‘Smile’ with Toby Keith and smooth jazz luminaries Dave Koz, Marcus Miller and featured artist Mindi Abair.  Mindi, like she always does, really captures the vibe of this feisty number.

 

 

Brian Lenair - Can You Stand The Rain

Originally a hit for R & B band New Edition, ‘Can You Stand The Rain’ is being given a new lease of life by Washington DC sax-man Brian Lenair.  Hailing from Boston Massachusetts, New Edition was formed in 1978 by Bobby Brown and reached its peak of popularity in the 80’s with a formula widely considered as the blueprint for what would become the modern boy band

As for Brian Lenair, as well as being widely known as a solo artist on the local music scene in Washington DC he also enjoyed a spell as an integral part of the DC based Spur Of The Moment.  His discography stretches back all the way to 2004 and the critically acclaimed ‘The Journey’ and although a seasonal offering, ‘A Saxy Christmas’, followed four years later it was with ‘Eye Of The Storm’ in 2011 that Lenair unlocked his undoubted flair for R & B tinged contemporary jazz.

‘Underground Vol 3 The Cover Story’ followed in 2018 and now, with ‘Can You Stand The Rain’ Lenair is firmly back in the spotlight.

 

 

Walter Beasley - Do You Want To Dance

That much loved and much covered number ‘Do You Want To Dance’ was first recorded by vocalist Bobby Freeman in 1958.  Since then it has returned in various guises but none so powerful as this blockbuster version from sophisticated sax-man Walter Beasley.

Straight out of quiet storm territory and with sultry input from songstress Rebecca Jade this one is a real winner.

 

 

The Eric Evans Project - UpCountry

Written and coproduced by Eric Evans and the ubiquitous Adam Hawley, ‘UpCountry’ from the Eric Evans Project features Eric Evans on flutes with Hawley on guitars and Eric Valentine on drums.

It’s the sort of track that might just take the listener on a journey from golden beaches to rolling hills and given that Eric (as well as being a native of San Diego) lives on the Northern California coast he knows plenty about golden beaches and then some.

Nice track.

 

 

Kat Hawley - Keep On Keeping' On

‘Keep On, Keepin’ On’ is the debut single from soulful vocalist Kat Hawley.  Written by her husband of fifteen years (and twelve time Billboard chart topping guitarist) Adam Hawley this mid tempo charmer is notable for many things not least of which are the cool interjections on keys from co-writer Caleb Middleton and a powerhouse performance on sax from serial hit maker Steve Cole.

 

‘Go to’ drummer Eric Valentine completes the line-up and while Kat has provided vocals on all four of her husband’s solo albums she has also toured with him all over the world at concerts, festivals and star-studded music cruises.  She has sung or recorded with Dave Koz, Marcus Anderson, Greg Manning, Julian Vaughn and Marqueal Jordan to name but a few and with a full album already being talked about it looks like, for Kat Hawley, her time has come.

 

 

 

Nicholas Cole - Table For 2

That consummate purveyor of high quality smooth jazz, keyboard player Nicholas Cole, is again making some noise with his latest single, the wonderful ‘Table For 2’.  Starting out on the mellow side before flourishing into something way more bold this is a track that checks all the smooth jazz boxes and given it is his third single (after both ‘All The Way’ and ‘Feelings’) in the recent past all indications are that his label, Trippin N Rhythm, is looking at the possible release of a new album.  That being the case it will follow his 2019 project ‘The Weekend’ that with radio ready tracks such as ‘Sugar’, the equally good ‘Soulmate’ and the vibey yet catchy ‘It Aint Over’ has proved to be a gift that keeps on giving.

 

 

Shawn Raiford - Leave The Door Open

‘Leave The Door Open’ by Sacramento sax-man Shawn Raiford is his ultra cool take on the 2021 debut single by Silk Sonic aka Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak.

This quiet storm blockbuster would sound great whatever the genre and here Raiford gives it the urban jazz treatment to spectacular effect.

Produced by the Grammy-winning Derek “DOA” Allen ‘Leave The Door Open’ is the second track from Shawn’s sophomore album, ‘The Next Step’ that is expected early in 2024.

 An award-winning entertainer with The Shawn Raiford Experience, Raiford invited core band members Javance Butler on keys, Vincent Cole Dutcher on guitar, bass player Michael “Tiny” Lindsey and drummer Jonathan Frazier to participate in the recording of ‘Leave The Door Open’ while additional melodic fills came courtesy of keyboard player Ivan Johnson and sax player Andre Delanoprovide.