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Monday, March 26, 2018

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - March 26, 2018 #jazz


TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 1 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
2 - 2 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
3 - 4 - Marion Meadows - "Soul City" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
4 - 3 - Lawson Rollins - "Airwaves: The Greatest Hits" - (Infinita Records)
5 - 5 - Brian Culbertson - "Colors Of Love" - (BCM)
6 - 6 - Darryl Williams - "Here To Stay" - (Independent)
7 - 7 - Eric Valentine - "Velvet Groove" - (Matcha Entertainment)
8 - 11 - Chris Standring - "Sunlight" - (Ultimate Vibe)
9 - 8 - Nils - "Play" - (Baja/TSR Records)
10 - 9 - Euge Groove - "Groove On" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
11 - 13 - Adam Hawley - "Can You Feel It" - (Kalimba)
12 - 10 - Nick Colionne - "The Journey" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
13 - 14 - Threestyle - "Ready To Go" - (Welovemusic)
14 - 12 - Najee - "Poetry In Motion" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
15 - 15 - Patrick Bradley - "Intangible" - (Patrick's Song Factory)
16 - 17 - Special EFX - "Deep As The Night" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
17 - 19 - Cindy Bradley - "Natural" - (Trippin 'N" Rhythm)
18 - 21 - Blake Aaron - "Color And Passion" - (Innervision)
19 - 18 - Pieces Of A Dream - "Just Funkin' Around" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
20 - 20 - Cal Harris - "Soulful" - (Innervision Records)


Our thanks to smoothjazz.comVisit smoothjazz.com to view the latest complete top 50 chart. Visit smoothjazz.com to view the latest weekly chart recap.

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Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Keyboardist David Garfield opens the box with "#jazz"

The first volume of his sprawling "Outside the Box" series, "Jazz Outside the Box," due March 23, is his first straight-ahead jazz offering illumunated by a stellar lineup


Keyboardist David Garfield was nineteen when he got his start playing alongside influential bebop jazz trumpeterFreddie Hubbard. But opportunities came quickly for him in contemporary jazz as well as in R&B and pop, which guided the direction of his now five-decade career away from his roots. Straight-ahead jazz has remained in his core and he's longed to return "home" thus to launch his prolific multi-volume, multi-genre "Outside the Box" collection, Garfield will drop his first straight-ahead jazz album, "Jazz Outside the Box," on March 23via his Creatchy Records label.


In addition to playing piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers, Garfield produced and arranged the 15-track jazz set that revisits Duke Ellington,Horace Silver, Joe Sample, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Oliver Nelson and Joe Zawinul classics, applies an imaginative jazz varnish to a pair ofSting songs, and presents four of his own compositions. To materialize his vision, Garfield rounded up a massive ensemble that boasts several accomplished musicians he's never worked with before but have long been on his wish list of collaborators such as trumpeter Wallace Roney, percussionist Poncho Sanchez and drummer Steve Jordan. Randy Brecker, Michael McDonald, Tom Scott, Eric Marienthal, Pete Christlieb,Bennie Maupin, Brian Auger, Will Lee, Airto Moreira along with dozens of other prominent players guest on the record, which includes Charlie Bisharat's String Quartet and an orchestra conducted by John Clayton. "Jazz Outside the Box" contains among the final performances by a pair of recently-departed guitar greats, Chuck Loeb and Larry Coryell. Perhaps the most unusual contribution comes from The Doors' John Densmore, who plays drums and orates on a spoken word segment on the full-length version of Silver's "Song For My Father."

"I recruited a unique grouping of players to render each song. It was like casting for a movie. For example, 'Song For My Father' is rich with meaning, history and personal connections, which is a major component and an underlying purpose behind the entire 'Outside the Box' project. On that tune, I pay tribute to its author, Horace Silver, who was my mentor and like an adopted father to me. It also pays homage to The Doors and Steely Dan. A lot of people don't know that Horace originally wrote lyrics to the song, so I had John (Densmore) speak Horace's words. Another cool thing is that Steely Dan borrowed the opening bass riff from 'Song for My Father' for 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number' so I often quoted 'Rikki' whenever I played 'Song for My Father' at my gigs. I included that quote at the beginning of this recording, which features guitarist Denny Dias, a founding member of Steely Dan who played on the original 'Rikki.' There's also a part of the track where I have (former Chicago lead singer) Jason Scheff sing 'If you have a change of heart' as another nod to 'Rikki,'" said Garfield.<


One of Garfield's originals is "East Lou Brew," another salute steeped in personal history. The song honors Miles Davis and their shared hometown, St. Louis. Davis's nephew, Vince Wilburn, mans the drum kit, Davis protégé Roney shines on trumpet, Maupin plays sax and bass clarinet, Coryell is on guitar, Darryl Jones handles bass and Moreira adds percussion. Wilburn, Jones, Maupin and Moreira were in Davis's band with the latter two having played on Davis's landmark album, "Bitches Brew."
"'East Lou Brew' is an adventurous tune loosely based on themes from some of Miles' best-known works. It was incredible to play with all these greats who knew Miles and toured and recorded with him. They all shared a ton of stories, which helped ground the tune in both past and present. I consider Miles one of my strongest and primary musical influences and I always wanted to play with him. This is the next best thing."

Another giant who was one of Garfield's mentors was Sample. "I got to write, tour and record with Joe, and recorded his song, 'Rainbow Seeker,' to honor his recent passing. I was devastated when we lost him and wanted to find the perfect way to honor him on this project. Joe was not only one of my favorite all-time keyboard players, but he was a huge influence on my musical development as a pianist and keyboardist."

As "Jazz Outside the Box" prepares to ship to jazz radio stations, Garfield's single, "Jamming," continues to climb the smooth jazz charts. On the heels of his Billboard No. 2 hit, "Go Home," both singles will appear on "Jamming Outside the Box," the second album in the series with this one approaching jazz from a contemporary/smooth perspective. The disc will be released this summer. Also, presently moving up the country charts is "I Lied," a vocal ballad Garfield penned with legend Smokey Robinson, which will be released on "Vox Outside the Box."

"Jazz Outside the Box" contains the following songs:
"Fragile"
"Harvest Time"
"In A Sentimental Mood"
"Roxanne"
"Song For My Father" (full-length)
"Rainbow Seeker"
"Stolen Moments"
"Voodoo Gumbo/Citizen Coryell"
"East Lou Brew"
"Sophisticated Lady"
"Red Baron"
"Country Preacher"
"Prophecy"
"My Favorite Things"
"Song For My Father" (radio edit)


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Guitarist Adam Hawley's second album, "Double Vision" drops Friday as the first single, "Can You Feel It?," rockets into the Billboard Top 10 #jazz

Feeling It: Guitarist Adam Hawley’s second album, “Double Vision” drops Friday as the first single, “Can You Feel It?,” rockets into the Billboard Top 10


When your debut album scores three Billboard No. 1 singles, including the longest running No. 1 single of the year, and helps you win two Debut Artist of the Year titles, your priority becomes avoiding a sophomore slump. That was guitarist Adam Hawley’s mindset as he entered the recording studio to construct “Double Vision,” his Kalimba Records disc that drops on Friday.
 
“My number one goal was to have my second album not only live up to the first, but hopefully surpass it. I was overwhelmed with the support and feedback I received and definitely wanted to repay the listeners with a fitting second offering rich with strong grooves,” said Hawley, about the new ten-track set he wrote and produced highlighted by collaborations with Grammy winner Jeff Lorber and contemporary jazz chart-toppers Dave Koz, Darren Rahn, Marcus Anderson, Julian Vaughan and Greg Manning
 
“Double Vision” arrives nearly two years to the day “Just The Beginning” dropped in 2016. Topping the Billboard chart with “35th Street” (featuring Eric Darius), “Joy Ride” and “I Don’t Mind,” (featuring Euge Groove) with the first title camping out in the peak position longer than any other single did that year, lead to Hawley being named Debut Artist of the Year by JazzTrax and Smooth Jazz News. The first-call sideman and session player leapt nimbly into the solo spotlight and instantly became an in-demand performer at jazz festivals, clubs and music cruises.      
 
Hawley’s upward trajectory continued earlier this month when “Double Vision’s” first single, “Can You Feel It?,” became his highest debuting Billboard single to date and this week charged into the Top 10. The midtempo urban adult joint registers maximum impact via Hawley’s expressive guitar riffs and Anderson’s plush sax accoutrements. The song is one of nine instrumentals Hawley penned for the collection that pours equal measures of sparkling pop, smooth R&B grooves and cosmopolitan jazz, stirred neatly by slick fretwork.
 
“For ‘Double Vision,’ I very much had groove on the mind. One of my main focuses in the writing process is making sure the music feels good. And for most of this record, the combination of the incredible rhythm section created by Nate Kearney on bass and Eric Valentine on drums helps achieve just that. I am constantly writing, putting ideas in my voice memo app and composing in the studio to the point where I had 30 possible songs for this record. The tracks I selected for ‘Double Vision’ represent putting my best foot forward,” said Los Angeles-area based Hawley, who will celebrate the album release with a concert Friday night at SoCal jazz hotspot Spaghettini.    
 
The album’s lone cover is a reimagined take on Adele’s “Hello,” which Hawley ingenuously transforms into a sultry acoustic number with exotic Latin samba rhythms. His wife, Kat Hawley, delivers inviting vocals with warmth and aplomb.    
 
The guitar ace originally from Portland, Oregon has toured and/or recorded with a wide variety of hit-makers and headliners such as Koz, Jennifer Lopez, The Backstreet Boys, Brian Culbertson, Joss Stone, Natalie Cole, Lalah Hathaway, Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright and many others. Hawley also operates a studio that provides production, tracking, mixing, copy and transcription services for clients such as Summer Horns (Koz, Albright, Rick Braun and Richard Elliot), Lorber, Euge Groove, Jonathan Fritzen, Lin Rountree and Phil Denny. He earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Southern California and shares his knowledge by teaching at the Musician’s Institute, Chaffey College and Saddleback College.   
 
“Double Vision” contains the following songs:
 
“Just Dance” featuring Dave Koz
“Party People” featuring Jeff Lorber
“Can You Feel It?” featuring Marcus Anderson
“Traveling Mood” featuring Julian Vaughan
“Detroit”
“Hello” featuring Kat Hawley
“Shuffle” featuring Darren Rahn
“Just A Friend Of Mine”
“Shake”
“1AM”

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Monday, March 19, 2018

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - March 19, 2018 #jazz


TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 1 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
2 - 4 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
3 - 3 - Lawson Rollins - "Airwaves: The Greatest Hits" - (Infinita Records)
4 - 6 - Marion Meadows - "Soul City" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
5 - 2 - Brian Culbertson - "Colors Of Love" - (BCM)
6 - 8 - Darryl Williams - "Here To Stay" - (Independent)
7 - 9 - Eric Valentine - "Velvet Groove" - (Matcha Entertainment)
8 - 13 - Nils - "Play" - (Baja/TSR Records)
9 - 5 - Euge Groove - "Groove On" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
10 - 7 - Nick Colionne - "The Journey" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
11 - 11 - Chris Standring - "Sunlight" - (Ultimate Vibe)
12 - 10 - Najee - "Poetry In Motion" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
13 - 18 - Adam Hawley - "Can You Feel It" - (Kalimba)
14 - 16 - Threestyle - "Ready To Go" - (Welovemusic)
15 - 15 - Patrick Bradley - "Intangible" - (Patrick's Song Factory)
16 - 12 - Jeff Lorber Fusion - "Prototype" - (Shanachie)
17 - 19 - Special EFX - "Deep As The Night" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
18 - 20 - Pieces Of A Dream - "Just Funkin' Around" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
19 - 25 - Cindy Bradley - "Natural" - (Trippin 'N" Rhythm)
20 - 22 - Cal Harris - "Soulful" - (Innervision Records)



Our thanks to smoothjazz.comVisit smoothjazz.com to view the latest complete top 50 chart. Visit smoothjazz.com to view the latest weekly chart recap.

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Saturday, March 17, 2018

Monika Herzig's SHEROES #jazz

 “The jazz supergroup of the year is right here – SHEROES!”
Howard Mandel – Author, Jazz Journalist

The timing couldn’t be better for the release of this remarkable recording. SHEROES, created and led by pianist/composer Monika Herzig, features an international cast of virtuoso players - all women, all first-call talents - including Jennifer Vincent (bass, USA), Rosa Avila (drums, Mexico), Mayra Casales (percussion, Cuba/USA) Leni Stern (guitar, Germany/USA), Jamie Baum (flutes, USA), Reut Regev (trombone, Israel/USA), and Ingrid Jensen (trumpet, Canada/USA) rounding out the lineup extending the group’s serious pedigree on its second Whaling City Sound release.


Ably supported by this great band, pianist Herzig is its catalyst. As a Doctor of Music Education at
Indiana University, she serves as a Senior Lecturer in Arts Management. Named the 2015 Jazz Journalist Association Jazz Hero for the city of Bloomington, she has also authored two critically praised books, Dr. David Baker – A Legacy in Music, foreward by Quincy Jones (IU Press 2011) and Experiencing Chick Corea – A Listener’s Companion (Rowman & Littlefield 2017).

As an ensemble of empowerment, SHEROES is a musical force, operating with deftness, invention, enthusiasm and ambition. Herzig does much of the writing and arranging, but Regev, Baum, Vincent, and Stern all contribute compositions alongside covers, including “House of the Rising Sun” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” prompting Valerie Simpson, its composer, to write “I honestly really really liked it,” and jazz phenom Terri Lyne Carrington to write “a brilliant project…soulful and thoughtful, it captures the spirit of this group because there’s no stopping great artists from making great music as demonstrated by this stellar recording.”

Says Herzig of her colleagues, “these are all incredibly accomplished musicians, often sacrificing other opportunities, family time and resources to perform in this group. They are my idols in terms of tenacity and accomplishment and should be more widely heard and appreciated." In a sense, SHEROES also heralds an era of greater and deeper consideration for women in jazz. Says Jazz Journalist Association President, Howard Mandel in his liner notes, “That’s exactly what Monika and company does: Present a model of empowerment with results that are good for everyone. Wherever you are on the gender continuum, you’ll like it. SHEROES make music!

Jazz critic Bob Blumenthal agrees: “Female musicians are now prominent practitioners on all instruments. They win competitions and polls, lead bands large and small, and set new trends in improvised music. Herzig herself is a visionary artist and educator, a true jazz warrior with an already fascinating career.”

Each song is engaging, the playing accomplished and inspiring - JAZZIZ


Extraordinary stuff that deserves your attention

Friday, March 16, 2018

Saxophonist and Composer Boney James’ “Honestly” Continues to Dominate Billboard Charts #jazz

Four-time GRAMMY-Nominee Releases two New Singles,
Announces New Tour Dates

Genre-blurring artist Boney James continues to make waves with his latest album, Honestly. Currently the record, his 16th release, sits at #5 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart after dominating the #1 spot for four weeks. In addition to topping the Billboard Jazz Albums Charts, Honestly also was a career high Billboard Current Albums Chart debut for James landing at #22, a rare feat for an instrumentalist.


Going for adds March 19 at UAC Radio is the Eric Roberson feature “If I Can’t Hold You”. This is the second Urban Adult track from the new record following the Top 20 success of the title track Honestly featuring Avery Sunshine.
“On The Prowl”, the album’s second instrumental single, has surged into the top 5 on both the Billboard Smooth Jazz and Media base Smooth AC Charts after just 3 weeks. Following the #1 “Tick Tock”, this is another home run for the four-time GRAMMY Award nominee and multi-platinum-selling musician.
James has also announced the first onsales of his 2018 Honestly Tour dates, including headlining performances at Detroit’s Chene Park, Capital Jazz Fest and the iconic Hollywood Bowl. Additional shows will be announced in the coming weeks.

Honestly followed future soul, James’ 2015 release, which spent 11 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. The new album marks his 25th anniversary as a solo artist.
Over the years, James has racked up sales of more than three million records, four RIAA gold albums, four GRAMMY nominations, a Soul Train Award, nominations for two NAACP Image Awards and now 11 CDs atop Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. In 2009, Billboard named him one of the top three Contemporary Jazz Artists of the Decade along with Kenny G and Norah Jones.

With Honestly, as with future soul and the GRAMMY-nominated The Beat before it, James is making some of the most stellar, wholly realized music of his career. “I’ve just grown up, personally and musically,” he says. “We are living in interesting times. The one thing I can do with the skills that I have is to make music that evokes feelings. I’m doing what I can to try and make the world a more pleasant place.”

Boney James -  2018 Tour Dates:
Mar 10            Smooth Jazz Cruise 2 - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Mar 23            Blue Note Hawaii - Honolulu, HI
Mar 24            Blue Note Hawaii - Honolulu, HI
Apr 05             Buffalo State PAC - Buffalo, NY
Apr 06             Scottish Rite Auditorium - Collingswood, NJ
Apr 07             Berks Jazz Fest - Santander PAC - Reading, PA
Apr 08             Carpenter Theatre - Richmond, VA
Apr 11             Count Basie Theatre - Red Bank, NJ
Apr 12             Mayo Performing Arts Center - Morristown, NJ
Apr 13             Lyman Center - New Haven, CT
Apr 22             Seabreeze Jazz Fest - Panama City Beach, FL
May 26            Music City Jazz Fest - Nashville, TN
June 2              Capital Jazz Fest – Columbia, MD
Jul 18              Chine Park - Detroit, MI
Jul 21              Gateway Jazz Fest - (St Louis) Chesterfield, MO
Aug 10            Wolf Creek Amphitheater- Atlanta, GA
Aug 19            Hollywood Bowl - Hollywood, CA
Aug 24            Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Fest - Norfolk, VA
Sep 01             Gulf Coast Summer Fest - Pensacola, FL
Sep 02             Gaillard Center/Low Country Jazz Fest - Charleston, SC
Sep 08             The Hangar At McClellan- Sacramento, CA
Oct 04             Cancun Jazz Fest - Cancun, Mexico
Nov 04            Los Cabos Jazz Experience - Los Cabos Municipality, Mexico
Boney James on the web:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boneyjames01

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Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Jazz Pianist Ricardo Bacelar crafts a masterful celebration of Latin American music from a Brazilian perspective #jazz


Last July, pianist-composer-arranger Ricardo Bacelar jetted from his home in Brazil to Miami, the place he calls “the center of Latin music in the world,” where he gathered an ensemble of Latin American musicians to honor the roots of Brazilian music while incorporating each musician’s unique culture on a jazz-centered album. An ambitious vision that he conceived with an international view with the project’s producer, Cesar Lemos (Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio), the 15-track “Sebastiana” drops March 30 from Bacelar Productions. Preceding the sprawling set list of hallmark Brazilian reinterpretations and originals written or co-written by Bacelar is the ethereal “Nothing Will Be As It Was,” featuring two Americans – vocalist Maye Osorio and pedal steel guitarist Steve Hinson – on the multi-format crossover radio single portrayed in a striking animated video (http://bit.ly/2EUf7VL).





“Sebastiana,” dropping March 30, is a collection of authentic instrumentals and vocal songs for global consumption showcasing Brazilian classics and originals.


Bacelar and Lemos had never worked together prior to “Sebastiana.” They authored a pair of tunes for the disc, “Suco Verde” and “Sernambetiba, 1992,” the latter being a swoon-inducer graced by Lemos’ celestial vocalizations on the track named for the street where the two friends first met and shared an apartment 25 years ago. The Brazilian duo’s comprehensive approach for the contemporary jazz and trippy fusion session included inviting musicians from Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and the U.S. to play on the date. The collective employed uniquely Latin American rhythms and instruments on the lushly-layered tracks such as vallenato (a Colombian rhythm performed using a diatonic accordion and vallenato box), sangueo (a Venezuelan rhythm constructed of cumaco and mina drums), bomba (a Puerto Rican genre originating in the West Indies and derived from the west coast of Africa using drums made from barrels), timba (an energizing Cuban rhythm), the Andean charango (a stringed instrument part of the lute family), and the bandoneon, a concertina with roots in Argentina.

“When I recorded the album, I wanted to pay homage to Brazilian music presenting the distinct performances of Latin American musicians, who put elements of their own cultures into the fusion of influences, giving a lot of personality to the work. I wanted to make a Brazilian music record for the international market, inserting other elements to add another point of view and extol the importance of this special repertoire,” said Bacelar. “Jazz is the language of improvisation and communication. The fusion of elements of cultures and influences in a recording turns the music into a transmission vehicle of knowledge.”

Along with the two new Bacelar-Lemos tunes and three stirring solo piano pieces from Bacelar – “River of Emotions,” “Parts of Me” and “The Best Years” – “Sebastiana” revisits songs from Brazilian composers Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Flora Purim, Luiz Gonzaga, Lo Borges, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Milton Nascimento, Ronald Bastos, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Victor Martins and Jose Roberto Bertrami, and were given sparkling arrangements by Bacelar. The record includes vocal drops of the late Jackson do Pandeiro, an influential Brazilian percussionist and singer, adding character and cultural impact to the offering.

In the 1980s and 90s, Bacelar was a member of the popular Brazilian rock band Hanoi Hanoi before dramatically changing musical directions to release his intimate solo debut, “In Natura,” in 2001. Preoccupied with his work as a lawyer focused on the staunch defense of copyrights and intellectual properties, he didn’t release another album until 2016’s “Concerto Para Moviola,” a concert DVD and CD recorded live with an eight-piece band. For more information, please visit http://ricardobacelar.com.br.

“Sebastiana” contains the following songs:
“A Volta da Asa Branca”
“Suco Verde”
“Nothing Will Be As It Was”
“River of Emotions”
“Menina Baiana”
“Somewhere in the Hills”
“Partido Alto”
“Parts of Me”
“Sambadouro”
“Oh Mana Deixa Eu Ir (Caico Cantiga)”
“Sebastiana”
“Depois dos Temporais”
“Vento de Maio”
“Sernambetiba, 1992”
“The Best Years”


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Monday, March 12, 2018

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - March 12, 2018 #jazz


TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 1 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
2 - 3 - Brian Culbertson - "Colors Of Love" - (BCM)
3 - 4 - Lawson Rollins - "Airwaves: The Greatest Hits" - (Infinita Records)
4 - 6 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
5 - 2 - Euge Groove - "Groove On" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
6 - 7 - Marion Meadows - "Soul City" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
7 - 5 - Nick Colionne - "The Journey" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
8 - 9 - Darryl Williams - "Here To Stay" - (Independent)
9 - 8 - Eric Valentine - "Velvet Groove" - (Matcha Entertainment)
10 - 11 - Najee - "Poetry In Motion" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
11 - 12 - Chris Standring - "Sunlight" - (Ultimate Vibe)
12 - 10 - Jeff Lorber Fusion - "Prototype" - (Shanachie)
13 - 13 - Nils - "Play" - (Baja/TSR Records)
14 - 16 - Blake Aaron - "Color And Passion" - (Innervision)
15 - 38 - Patrick Bradley - "Intangible" - (Patrick's Song Factory)
16 - 24 - Threestyle - "Ready To Go" - (Welovemusic)
17 - 15 - Lowell Hopper - "Forward Motion" - (Independent)
18 - 34 - Adam Hawley - "Can You Feel It" - (Kalimba)
19 - 28 - Special EFX - "Deep As The Night" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
20 - 17 - Pieces Of A Dream - "Just Funkin' Around" - (Shanachie Entertainment)


Our thanks to smoothjazz.comVisit smoothjazz.com to view the latest complete top 50 chart. Visit smoothjazz.com to view the latest weekly chart recap.
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Keyboardist David Garfield opens the box with “Jazz” #jazz

The first volume of his sprawling “Outside the Box” series, “Jazz Outside the Box,” due March 23, is his first straight-ahead jazz offering illuminated by a stellar lineup.
 
Keyboardist David Garfield was nineteen when he got his start playing alongside influential bebop jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. But opportunities came quickly for him in contemporary jazz as well as in R&B and pop, which guided the direction of his now five-decade career away from his roots. Straight-ahead jazz has remained in his core and he’s longed to return “home” thus to launch his prolific multi-volume, multi-genre “Outside the Box” collection, Garfield will drop his first straight-ahead jazz album, “Jazz Outside the Box,” on March 23 via his Creatchy Records label.   
 

In addition to playing piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers, Garfield produced and arranged the 15-track jazz set that revisits Duke Ellington, Horace Silver, Joe Sample, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Oliver Nelson and Joe Zawinul classics, applies an imaginative jazz varnish to a pair of Sting songs, and presents four of his own compositions. To materialize his vision, Garfield rounded up a massive ensemble that boasts several accomplished musicians he’s never worked with before but have long been on his wish list of collaborators such as trumpeter Wallace Roney, percussionist Poncho Sanchez and drummer Steve Jordan. Randy Brecker, Michael McDonald, Tom Scott, Eric Marienthal, Pete Christlieb, Bennie Maupin, Brian Auger, Will Lee, Airto Moreira along with dozens of other prominent players guest on the record, which includes Charlie Bisharat’s String Quartet and an orchestra conducted by John Clayton. “Jazz Outside the Box” contains among the final performances by a pair of recently-departed guitar greats, Chuck Loeb and Larry Coryell. Perhaps the most unusual contribution comes from The DoorsJohn Densmore, who plays drums and orates on a spoken word segment on the full-length version of Silver’s “Song For My Father.”
    
“I recruited a unique grouping of players to render each song. It was like casting for a movie. For example, ‘Song For My Father’ is rich with meaning, history and personal connections, which is a major component and an underlying purpose behind the entire ‘Outside the Box’ project. On that tune, I pay tribute to its author, Horace Silver, who was my mentor and like an adopted father to me. It also pays homage to The Doors and Steely Dan. A lot of people don’t know that Horace originally wrote lyrics to the song, so I had John (Densmore) speak Horace’s words. Another cool thing is that Steely Dan borrowed the opening bass riff from ‘Song for My Father’ for ‘Rikki Don’t Lose That Number’ so I often quoted ‘Rikki’ whenever I played ‘Song for My Father’ at my gigs. I included that quote at the beginning of this recording, which features guitarist Denny Dias, a founding member of Steely Dan who played on the original ‘Rikki.’ There’s also a part of the track where I have (former Chicago lead singer) Jason Scheff sing ‘If you have a change of heart’ as another nod to ‘Rikki,’” said Garfield.  
 
One of Garfield’s originals is “East Lou Brew,” another salute steeped in personal history. The song honors Miles Davis and their shared hometown, St. Louis. Davis’s nephew, Vince Wilburn, mans the drum kit, Davis protégé Roney shines on trumpet, Maupin plays sax and bass clarinet, Coryell is on guitar, Darryl Jones handles bass and Moreira adds percussion. Wilburn, Jones, Maupin and Moreira were in Davis’s band with the latter two having played on Davis’s landmark album, “Bitches Brew.”
 
“‘East Lou Brew’ is an adventurous tune loosely based on themes from some of Miles’ best-known works. It was incredible to play with all these greats who knew Miles and toured and recorded with him. They all shared a ton of stories, which helped ground the tune in both past and present. I consider Miles one of my strongest and primary musical influences and I always wanted to play with him. This is the next best thing.”   
 
Another giant who was one of Garfield’s mentors was Sample. “I got to write, tour and record with Joe, and recorded his song, ‘Rainbow Seeker,’ to honor his recent passing. I was devastated when we lost him and wanted to find the perfect way to honor him on this project. Joe was not only one of my favorite all-time keyboard players, but he was a huge influence on my musical development as a pianist and keyboardist.    

As “Jazz Outside the Box” prepares to ship to jazz radio stations, Garfield’s single, “Jamming,” continues to climb the smooth jazz charts. On the heels of his Billboard No. 2 hit, “Go Home,” both singles will appear on “Jamming Outside the Box,” the second album in the series with this one approaching jazz from a contemporary/smooth perspective. The disc will be released this summer. Also, presently moving up the country charts is “I Lied,” a vocal ballad Garfield penned with legend Smokey Robinson, which will be released on “Vox Outside the Box.”  
 
“Jazz Outside the Box” contains the following songs:
 
“Fragile”
“Harvest Time”
“In A Sentimental Mood”
“Roxanne”
“Song For My Father” (full-length)
“Rainbow Seeker”
“Stolen Moments”
“Voodoo Gumbo/Citizen Coryell”
“East Lou Brew”
“Sophisticated Lady”
“Red Baron”
“Country Preacher”
“Prophecy”
“My Favorite Things”
“Song For My Father” (radio edit)


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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - March 5, 2018 #jazz


TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 1 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
2 - 2 - Euge Groove - "Groove On" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
3 - 4 - Brian Culbertson - "Colors Of Love" - (BCM)
4 - 3 - Lawson Rollins - "Airwaves: The Greatest Hits" - (Infinita Records)
5 - 5 - Nick Colionne - "The Journey" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
6 - 8 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
7 - 10 - Marion Meadows - "Soul City" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
8 - 7 - Eric Valentine - "Velvet Groove" - (Matcha Entertainment)
9 - 11 - Darryl Williams - "Here To Stay" - (Independent)
10 - 6 - Jeff Lorber Fusion - "Prototype" - (Shanachie)
11 - 9 - Najee - "Poetry In Motion" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
12 - 22 - Chris Standring - "Sunlight" - (Ultimate Vibe)
13 - 69 - Nils - "Play" - (Baja/TSR Records)
14 - 13 - Lin Rountree - "Pass The Groove" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
15 - 20 - Lowell Hopper - "Forward Motion" - (Independent)
16 - 19 - Blake Aaron - "Color And Passion" - (Innervision)
17 - 16 - Pieces Of A Dream - "Just Funkin' Around" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
18 - 42 - Jay Soto - "Got Groove" - (Innervision Records)
19 - 25 - Dan Siegel - "Originas" - (DSM)
20 - 17 - Chris Godber" - "Momentum" - (Chris Godber)


Our thanks to smoothjazz.comVisit smoothjazz.com to view the latest complete top 50 chart. Visit smoothjazz.com to view the latest weekly chart recap.
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