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Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Thursday, March 31, 2022
"The Alchemist" Watch Party - An All-Star Tribute to Chick Corea #jazz
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Monday, March 28, 2022
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - March 28, 2022 #jazz
Smooth Jazz Chart
This chart from smoothjazz.com generally updates every Monday.
When it updates, this post will be repeated with the most recent chart.
Monday, March 21, 2022
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - March 21, 2022 #jazz
Smooth Jazz Chart
This chart from smoothjazz.com generally updates every Monday.
When it updates, this post will be repeated with the most recent chart.
Friday, March 18, 2022
Saxophonist Mindi Abair to Release New Album “Forever” on March 18th, 2022 #jazz
Mindi Abair To Release New Album Forever March 18, 2022
Mindi’s First Solo Release Of New Music Since 2014, A Collection Of Very Personal Songs. Marking A Return To Her Contemporary Jazz Roots. Released On Her Own Pretty Good For A Girl Records, This 10-Song Album Features The Single “Alive” And Marks Her 11th Solo Release. It Features Raul Malo and Kenny Wayne Shepherd With Special Appearances By Steve Perry, Eric Bazilian And Rick Braun.
Mindi said of her journey toward this album, “I’ve lived so much life since my last solo album Wild Heart. That album gave me my first GRAMMY nomination, and it was a coming together of forces that changed my life. I had this amazing solo career in Smooth Jazz, but I’d find myself moonlighting playing with Aerosmith, Duran Duran, Keb’ Mo’ and appearing on American Idol. I was loving rootsy blues, soul and rock music so much… it’s the music I grew up with, but I wasn’t bringing it to my own career. I asked my friends to help me, and for Wild Heart I wrote and recorded with Gregg Allman, Joe Perry, Trombone Shorty, Booker T. Jones, Keb’ Mo’, Max Weinberg and Waddy Wachtel. This led me to create my first ‘band’ joining forces with The Boneshakers to create Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers, and we toured and made 4 amazing albums together, rocking the blues and rock world. During that time I was constantly writing music that was more personal and more melodic. It didn’t fit the band… it was more introspective, and so I put these songs on a shelf and waited for the right time. Now is the right time. I’ve come back to me… a more introspective place… to make new music that represents all that I’ve learned along my musical journey. I hope you feel the emotion I felt recording it.”
One listen through this album and you feel that this is an album that Mindi has wanted to make for some time. The polished production of her first albums that made her famous isn’t present. In its place is an organic and unpretentious collection of songs. Don’t think that what you loved about Mindi is gone, though. Her soaring iconic saxophone rings true with every note. The songs are catchy and memorable. Her voice is endearing and intimate at times and powerfully commanding at others. And the authenticity of her artistry and intent are life affirming.
This album is a true reflection of Abair’s artistry, and it could well be her strongest. It is a collection of introspective songs covering a range of topics from the power of a strong woman to feeling alive and opening up to love. The authenticity is palpable throughout, as her soaring saxophone melodies and thoughtful words lead from the heart. Mindi Abair is back with the elements that made her famous, with an album that will render her timeless.
TRACK LIST:
Forever
1. Fine Wine and Vinyl
2. Forever
3. Call Me By Your Name
4. Alive
5. Say It With Love Featuring Raul Malo
6. April
7. What About Love? Featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd
8. Where There’s A Woman There’s A Way
9. Nothing Ever Hurt Like You
10. Midnight in San Francisco
TOUR DATES:
http://www.mindiabair.com/tour
WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
MINDI’S WEBSITE: http://www.mindiabair.com
FACEBOOK 111K Followers: http://www.facebook.com/mindiabair
INSTAGRAM 37K Followers: http://www.instagram.com/mindiabair
TWITTER 19K Followers: Twitter: @mindiabair
YOUTUBE 13K Followers: http://www.youtube.com/officialmindiabair
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
Urban-Jazz guitarist Aaron Brown pays an inspired tribute to his mentor #jazz
The single, “Mr. Jones,” goes for playlist adds on March 21, offering a preview of the forthcoming “Resurgence” album.
Inspired by his mother’s death and his mentor’s massive stroke, R&B/jazz guitarist-bassist Aaron Brown felt a sense of urgency to create new music. As he works on his fourth album that he anticipates releasing in the fall, his BBP Records label will offer a preview when the single, “Mr. Jones,” goes for radio adds on March 21.
Brown wrote, produced and arranged the single named after his longtime friend and mentor, Gordon “G-man” Jones. Brown’s sinewy bass leaps to the fore over drummer Gene Faffley’s beats on the cut that features a prominent saxophone lead by guest star Pete Belasco, who admirably carries the melody with impassioned horn play. Dennis Johnson adds keyboard harmonies, embellishing Brown’s nuanced electric guitar.
Brown’s mother was an amazing 101-years-old when she passed away. Thankfully, his mentor survived the stroke and subsequent brain surgery. Jones always encouraged Brown to go from gigging studio session player and on-stage sideman to band leader. With the two real-life incidents serving as reminders of life’s fragility, Brown got hungry and began to compose new music with fervor. The album will aptly be titled “Resurgence,” which will be issued under the moniker Aaron Brown’s FuBop Collective.
Working on new music provides both a productive and healthy creative outlet for Brown as well as a fortress of solace. As Jones recovers and rehabilitates, working on “Resurgence” serves as a vital connection point for both mentor and mentee.
“Thankfully, G-man survived the ordeal (stroke) with most of his faculties and we continue to spend time together. Working on music keeps him connected to music and keeps us connected at this pivotal moment in both of our lives,” said the New York City-born Brown who resides outside the city in Westchester County.
Brown was a music major who studied performance, composition, arranging and music theory. While attending The City College of New York in Harlem, he learned to play the bass to add to his versatility. Brown dropped his debut album, “Eclectic Sessions,” in 2009. He has recorded and/or performed with a wide array of decorated jazz and R&B artists, including Roy Ayers, Marcus Miller, Omar Hakim, Freddie Jackson, Glenn Jones, Carmen Lundy, Larry Elgart Big Band, Charlie Palmieri and the Harlem Boys Choir. Brown was a member of the Columbia Records group Karavan, and fronted his own band, Aaron Brown & Moment’s Notice. Today, he runs Bop Brown Productions where he writes, records, edits, arranges and produces music.
Just as working on “Resurgence” offers Brown a welcome escape, he hopes “Mr. Jones” will serve a similar purpose for listeners.
“I hope ‘Mr. Jones’ brings listeners peace, tranquility and a few moments of relief from the woes of this crazy world and the crazy times in which we live.”
For more information, please visit https://www.fbcmusic.org.
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Monday, March 14, 2022
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - March 14, 2022 #jazz
Smooth Jazz Chart
This chart from smoothjazz.com generally updates every Monday.
When it updates, this post will be repeated with the most recent chart.
Wednesday, March 09, 2022
Dr. Dave & The HouseCall Band put a fresh spin on a “Carefree” vibe #jazz
The contemporary jazz guitarist revisits his 2014 album empowered by his dynamic band. The new disc, “Carefree Revisited,” dropped Friday.
Have you ever wished you could go back to a time in your life to do things differently? During COVID isolation, contemporary jazz guitarist Dr. Dave contemplated his 2014 album, “Carefree.” Something never quite sat right with him about the project. So much has changed since then and he wanted to take another crack at it, this time backed by his mighty HouseCall Band, which he had not yet formed when the original recording sessions took place. The horn-powered ensemble contributes sass, brass and a whole lotta finesse to “Carefree Revisited,” which dropped Friday on Hatherill Records.
On “Carefree Revisited,” which Dr. Dave produced, arrangements were changed, some more than others. The track list was slightly modified, and The HouseCall Band puts its unique DNA all over the five original tunes co-written by Dr. Dave and six remakes that complete the set. Saxophonist John Rekevics architects the layered horn arrangements that bring new depth, luster and richness to the tracks, surrounding, buttressing and underscoring Dr. Dave’s lyrical and impassioned electric jazz guitar licks.
An addition to the original recording, “Carefree Revisited” includes a nocturnal read on the Dave Brubeck classic “Take Five,” enriched with Derek Cannon’s muted trumpet and sensual vocals by Stellita Porter and Jackie Bonaparte. This time out, the album closer, “Don’t Worry Be Happy,” receives a sun-splashed reggae-jazz treatment, adding vocal adlibs and shoutouts from Ignacio “Nacho” Sobres.
Along with Rekevics, Cannon, Porter, Bonaparte and Sobres, The HouseCall Band includes keyboardists Kevin Flournoy, Larry Logan and Rob Whitlock; rhythm guitarists Hank Easton and Steve Wilcox; marimba player Bill Harris, and a rhythm section anchored by bassist Cecil McBee Jr., percussionist Tony Aros, and drummers Ronnie Stewart and Duncan Moore.
Dr. Dave formed The HouseCall Band for his 2018 “Midnight Daydream” album, from which eight singles were released. Last month, “Carefree Revisited” issued its first single to radio, “G.B. Style,” an original R&B-jazz crossover cut penned in tribute to one of Dr. Dave’s principal influences, ten-time Grammy winner George Benson, an R&B-jazz crossover icon.
Dr. Dave cites another purpose behind reinventing “Carefree” now. The album took its name from an energy and a mood that he wanted to establish. As people reemerge and reengage in life after the last two harrowing and stressful years, Dr. Dave feels that the music on “Carefree Revisited” provides a soothing escape.
Below is a sampling of some initial album reviews:
“We have a winner here! Dr. Dave & The HouseCall Band's Carefree Revisited is phenomenal!” – Smooth Jazz Daily
“Dr. Dave and His HouseCall Band Administer Contemporary Jazz Tonic for Pandemic Stress…Dr. Dave’s five original tunes (“Carefree,” “Almost Trinidad,” “G.B. Style,” “Sylvia,” “Heck No!”) and six covers max out the rhythmic play, harmonic intersectionality, and surging, cresting, wave-like movements inherent in compelling contemporary jazz.” – Carol Banks Weber/Substack
“The 11 tracker is classic guitar-led smooth jazz embellished with the band’s colourful flourishes.” – Soul & Jazz & Funk
“Dr. Dave and the HouseCall Band’s ‘Carefree Revisited’ is Crazy Smooth” – The Pulse of Entertainment
“Right in the smooth jazz pocket throughout.” – Midwest Record
For more information, please visit https://drdavehousecallband.com.
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Songstress Tierney Sutton Explores Rare Intimacy On Paris Sessions 2, Due Out May 6, 2022 #jazz
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Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Tuesday, March 08, 2022
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - March 8, 2022 #jazz
Smooth Jazz Chart
This chart from smoothjazz.com generally updates every Monday.
When it updates, this post will be repeated with the most recent chart.
Wednesday, March 02, 2022
Grammy Award-Winning Guitarist Norman Brown Offers An Enchanting Respite From It All On New Recording "Let's Get Away" March 25 #jazz
“One of the greatest and most articulate guitarists out there.” - George Benson
“One of the 50 greatest guitarists of all time.”- uDiscover Music
“One of contemporary jazz’s brightest lights…a master player and improviser.” -AllMusic
“A culmination of Jimi Hendrix and George Benson with some of Wes Montgomery thrown in.”
- JazzTimes Magazine
The joy that emanates from guitarist Norman Brown while he is playing is palpable. The guitar is simply an extension of him. The multi-platinum selling and chart-topping musician is an artist who is truly in service of the music with the goal to be a force for positivity. “I wish to be of service to my fellowmen as I journey through life,” he explains. “I look upon my work as an opportunity to be overcome with joy and to make the most of it. I want to inspire others to search inside themselves for the silver-lining. We all have an opportunity to grow in gratitude for our lives and the blessings we have.” A dedicated meditation and Tai Chi practitioner, Brown confides that there are definite parallels between his practice of the aforementioned Ancient Art and his music. Brown reveals that it comes down to one thing - “balance.” With all of the accolades that Norman Brown has amassed the past three decades, including Grammy and Soul Train Music Awards, he has stayed the course for one reason. “Knowing that I’ve been commissioned by the Most High to channel a message of inspiration and motivation, brings me happiness,” he states. The Atlanta based musician’s love affair with the guitar began at age eight. Watching his older brother play, Norman was drawn to the energy radiating from what he now calls his “Spirit Catcher,” the strings on the guitar. Waiting for his brother Roy Brown Jr., “Popsicle” to leave, Norman couldn’t wait to get his hands on his six string carefully stored in the closet. Luckily for us Brown’s love affair with the guitar is still going strong. His technical wizardry, genre-bending facility, soulful finesse and charisma, have made him one of the most sought after internationally renowned musicians in Contemporary Jazz. Just ask his devoted and loyal fan base affectionately dubbed ‘Normantics.’ A musician’s musician, Brown has collaborated with everyone from George Benson, Brian McKnight, Kirk Whalum and Miki Howard, to Jeff Lorber, Gerald Albright, Rick Braun, Peabo Bryson, and Chanté Moore, to name a few. Shanachie Entertainment VP of Jazz A&R, Danny Weiss, states, “At the risk of being blasphemous, Norman is the true successor to Wes Montgomery and George Benson. Like them, he's a jazz musician of the highest order, but you hardly notice because you're having so much fun listening to him.” At the core of Brown’s life and work are the 11 laws of God, the principles of universal law and wisdom from the Ancient Egyptian Spiritual Studies, The Ausar Auset Initiation System, "The Paut Neteru Of Anu," The Tree of Life, which focuses on peace, harmonious unification, wisdom, spirit power, order and truth, balance, justice, free will, creativity, thoughts and morality, manifestation and devotion for divine earthly living.
On March 25, 2022, Shanachie Entertainment will release Norman Brown’s 13th recording as a leader and fourth for the label, Let’s Get Away. Brown’s own take on the perfect getaway involves, “ A joyful and peaceful mental state, surrounded by companionship in an atmosphere of inspiration and beauty that is illustrated by the colors of nature.” Let’s Get Away conjures the serenity, joy and beauty that Brown wishes for us all.
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The riveting ten-track set showcases the genius and flair that has landed Norman Brown at the top of the charts time and time again. Featuring originals composed by Norman Brown and various album personnel, Brown’s highly anticipated new recording fuses the best elements of Jazz, R&B, Pop, Blues and beyond. The lone cover is a well-known Lalo Schifrin composition that Brown puts his Midas touch on. Joining Brown on the all-star outing is fellow guitarist and label-mate Paul Brown, multi-instrumentalists Wirlie Morris, Shane Theriot and Jeff Carruthers, keyboardists Lew Laing and David Torkanowsky, saxophonist Greg Vail, trumpeter Ron King, drummer Gorden Campbell, bassist Jeff Wolfe, and percussionist Lenny Castro. “It was an honor and pleasure to be joined by all of these divine beings who nourished the music and brought the perfect seasoning to this experience,” shares Norman. Let’s Get Away opens with the exquisite “Back At Ya,” the album’s first single, co-written with Laing, Torkanowsky and Paul Brown, who plays percussion on the track. Norman’s crisp and buttery smooth riffs delight with every note as he trades choruses with saxophonist Greg Vail. The alluring title track, “Let’s Get Away,” is a collaboration with Wirlie Morris (Charlie Wilson, Confunkshun, Keith Sweat). The duo create an emotive, funky R&B swinger that transports us to another dimension. The euphoric “Easy Livin,’” is the perfect mood-enhancing anthem, bound to put a smile on your face. Brown confides that the secret to easy livin’ is “being able to access your ability to access and remain in a living state of a Peaceful Joy in the face of all obstacles, setbacks, problems and challenges” The percussive uptempo ditty calls to mind the timeless Hugh Masekela song “Grazin’ in the Grass.” Norman kicks it up a notch with the surprising key change and tasty blues-drenched solo half way through.
Norman Brown also takes the opportunity on Let’s Get Away to pay homage to two significant men who have shaped him personally and the other musically; his Father, Roy Brown Sr. and Wes Montgomery, who transformed the guitar harmonically, melodically and technically. Brown puts his Midas touch on Lalo Schifrin’s “Down Here On The Ground,” which was the title track of Montgomery’s 1968 Creed Taylor produced session. The album hit #1 on the Billboard Jazz chart and #4 on the R&B chart. The original version was part of Schifrin’s Academy nominated score to the film Cool Hand starring Paul Newman and George Kennedy, who won an Oscar. “My inspiration for recording this song was to bring joy to my Father, fulfilling his request to learn Wes Montgomery’s version note for note, phrase for phrase and with the feeling of his rhythmic touch. This was a great moment to play tribute to both my Father and Wes Montgomery,” shares Norman. “Wes Side Story,” co-written with fellow guitarists Shane Theriot (who collaborates with Norman for the first time on recording) and Paul Brown, is another shining tribute to “The Golden Thumb as Wes was affectionately crowned. Norman adds, “Wes exposed me to guitar playing so creative, that it showed me a total range of musical expression that touches every emotion from warmth, to edgy, to excitement, all the way to blazing.” “L.A. Chill” is the coalescence of laid back groove, deep soul and mean guitar licks. The killer arrangement of Norman and Shane Theriot’s “Talk It Out,” is as catchy as it gets as Norman raises the roof and horn section of Ron King and Greg Vail to elevate the vibe. The percolating and effervescent “Late Night Drive,” conjures warm moonlight summer nights with the top down and your favorite soundtrack pumping through the speakers. Norman’s trademark assured touch, sublime and agile soloing make it hard to sit still as he blesses this undeniable groove. He explains, “I don’t think many people understand that the gear one uses including his instrument is only a partial makeup of the tone or overall sound. The voice and tone of an artist is generated through one's fingers, phrasing, rhythm and overall conceptual approach in playing his instrument.” The R&B gem “I Won’t Hurt You” is a collaboration between Brown, Wirlie Morris and vocalist James Champion while “Sunset On Chandler,” transports us to our final destination where Brown pulls out all the stops managing to balance grace, braun, grit and sophistication. The latter, another collaboration with Shane Theriot and Paul Brown, also features trumpeter Ron King.
Born in Shreveport, LA and raised in Kansas City, KS Norman Brown has enjoyed a career longevity that is rare in this business . Never one to rest on his laurels, he states, “I always remind myself that success lies within my own brain. To expect difficulties and to force my way through them. To avoid procrastination in all its forms and to never, under any circumstances put off until tomorrow any duties that should be performed today.” It is these virtues that keep Brown on his astonishing evolution. A graduate of the Musician’s Institute in North Hollywood, Norman Brown would go on to teach at the school until he landed his first deal, as the flagship artist on Motown’s Mojazz label.
In 1992, Brown recorded the albums Just Between Us, the Gold selling and Soul Train award-winning After The Storm and Better Days Ahead. Having recorded a string of successful albums including 1999’s Celebration (in which he teamed up with Paul Brown), 2002’s Just Chillin’ (featuring vocalists Michael McDonald, Miki Howard and Chanté Moore) scored a Grammy. The same year, Brown joined forces with saxophonist Kirk Whalum and trumpeter Rick Braun forming the group BWB, recording their debut album Groovin’. In 2013 they released Human Nature, a tribute album to Michael Jackson, which was followed by their third collaboration BWB in 2016. Brown continued a trail of critically heralded albums including West Coast Coolin’ (2004), Stay With Me (2007), Sending My Love (2010) and Grammy nominated 24/7 with saxophonist Gerald Albright. 2017 saw the release of Norman Brown’s anticipated and well-received Shanachie debut, Let It Go. Brown’s recording The Highest Act Of Love followed in 2019 and Heart To Heart in 2020 (both on Shanachie).
With the release of Let’s Get Away and in the wake of so much divisiveness, Norman Brown hopes that his music can be a reminder that, “We are one race of beings interconnected and interrelated, therefore, we are interdependent on one another to achieve Optimality! A life united in harmony in the state of a joyful peace. As the gears in a fine Swiss watch operates achieving the state of keeping perfect time.”
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
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