Guitarist Denny Jiosa explores the sensuality of Latin jazz fusion on “Mueve Tu Cuerpo #jazz

The July 27 album release moves more than just bodies with the emotional radio single, “Missing You,” serving as testament.

Four-time Grammy nominee Denny Jiosa sees parallels between the curvaceous body of the guitar and the human body. Indulging his passion for “sexy” Latin music, the jazz guitar slinger uses his electric and nylon-string guitar bodies to get people to move their body as well as expressively stir emotions on his eighth album, “Mueve Tu Cuerpo,” which drops July 27 on the Sonic Canvas Records/BFD imprint. Radio is already getting a taste with the evocative first single, “Missing You,” one of eleven songs Jiosa penned and produced for the collection.

Jiosa endeavored to craft an upbeat Latin-influenced, jazz-rooted album that would get people to move and grab attention via an exciting blend of musical styles. But he also wanted to go deeper, “shy away from the norm” and touch people emotionally. Beneath the energizing layers of exotic Latin percussion that create lusty rhythms and sensual grooves emerge moving harmonies and rousing melodies that resonate. Whether he’s furiously strumming impassioned nylon-string guitar rhythms, precisely picking lyrical phrases and bending extended notes, or intensely issuing scorched earth electric guitar pyrotechnics, Jiosa’s deft fretwork establishes and maintains a commanding presence throughout the recording.

“‘Mueve Tu Cuerpo’ is about what music does to get people to move. I wanted this to be an exciting, compelling and expressive blend, tapping into my huge passion for Latin music. I love the sounds, rhythms and sexiness of Latin music, which I blended with jazz rhythms, lines and harmonies. My intention from the outset was to reach a broad scope of listeners with this album. Guitar is one of the most expressive and sexy instruments. Whether I’m playing nylon string to electric guitar with an edge, it’s about moving people emotionally. If you can move people emotionally with an instrumental, then you’ve accomplished something,” said the Nashville-based Jiosa.

More than just sultry enticements to body movement or coaxing emotional responses, “Mueve Tu Cuerpo” also transmits meaningful messages. “Missing You” ruminates on the absence of Jiosa’s loved ones who have passed, such as his desire for his parents to be here to see their grandkids and hear his music. Alluring and mystical, “Dance In Heaven” contains the gut string guitarwork of multiple Grammy nominee Phil Keaggy. The festive, gospel-funk cut “Selah, Love Each Other,” featuring drummer Chester Thompson (Genesis, Frank Zappa), pays tribute to Jiosa’s late bassist, Chris Kent. John Santos contributes lead vocals to “Freedom Tower,” a song about the historic Miami structure that still stands as a landmark for Cubans who fled to the US in the 1960s and were processed at that location. The atmospheric meditation “From The Fire” appeared in the Christian film “Believe: The Misfit Pawn” a couple years ago and addresses embracing “the fire” we face in our lives.   

Jiosa developed his brand of guitar play that borrows from jazz, rock, blues and R&B while living in Los Angeles where he studied under the tutelage of innovative guitarist Frank Gamble (Chick Corea). He dropped his solo debut, “Moving Pictures,” in 1995. Subsequent collections spawned a string of singles that proliferated the radio charts. Jiosa’s diverse body of work includes roles as a producer, engineer, mixer and/or guitarist for artists such as Yolanda Adams, Kirk Whalum, Take 6, Ben Tankard, Philip Bailey and Crystal Gayle. “Mueve Tu Cuerpo” is his first album in ten years. For more information, please visit http://jiosa.com.

Jiosa’s “Mueve Tu Cuerpo” contains the following songs:

“Fumarlo Bebe”

“Mueve Tu Cuerpo”

“Missing You”

“Dance In Heaven”

“Abre La Puerta”

“Selah, Love Each Other”

“The Gift”

“Freedom Tower”

“Backroads”

“From The Fire”

“Embracing The Fire” (remix)

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - July 23, 2018 #jazz

TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 2 - Dave Koz & Friends - "Summer Horns II: From A to Z - (Concord)
2 - 1 - Vincent Ingala - "Personal Touch" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
3 - 3 - Chris Standring - "Sunlight" - (Ultimate Vibe)
4 - 4 - Nick Colionne - "Be Urself - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
5 - 6 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
6 - 8 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
7 - 5 - Jessy J - "Live ?At Yoshi's" - (Changi Records LLC)
8 - 7 - Jeff Ryan - "Up And Up" - (Woodward Avenue)
9 - 9 - Euge Groove - "Groove On" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
10 - 11 - Gerald Albright - "30" -(Bright)
11 - 14 - Brian Culbertson - "Colors Of Love" - (BCM)
12 - 10 - Nils - "Play" - (Baja/TSR Records)
13 - 13 - Michael Lington - "Silver Lining" - (Copenhagen)
14 - 16 - Julian Vaughn - "Bona Fide" - (Trippin 'N'Rhythm)
15 - 15 - Eric Darius - "Breakin' Thru" - (SagDarius Music)
16 - 18 - Manhattan Transfer - "The Junction" - (BMG)
17 - 12 - Patrick Bradley - "Intangible" - (Patrick's Song Factory)
18 - 29 - Michael Franks - "The Music In My Head" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
19 - 17 - Basia - "Butterflies" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
20 - 22 - Bob Baldwin - "Never Out Of Season" - (City Sketches)

Our thanks to smoothjazz.com

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

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Urban-jazz saxophonist Sam Rucker finds solace as an “Overcomer” on the path to “Redemption” #jazz

His steadfast message of “True Love” heads to radio as a single, preceding the August 24 release of his inspired third album.

One of the first songs that urban-jazz saxophonist Sam Rucker recorded for his third album, “Redemption,” was the soothing “Overcomer,” on which he emotes intimately on soprano sax during an uplifting exchange with a guitar duo comprised of his nephew, Justin Taylor, and John Calisto. Tragically, both guitarists passed away unexpectedly three days apart and the tune Rucker wrote to comfort and inspire others became his own healing grace. It is a focal point of the rousing eleven-track set penned and produced by Rucker that drops August 24 from Favor Productions.  

Rucker’s life and his musical journey have evolved in recent years, growing from a gritty hip hop producer into a soul-baring R&B-contemporary jazz instrumentalist, yet his faith has never wavered. He is on a mission as an empowering evangelic emissary, using his tenor, alto and soprano sax on “Redemption” to deliver heartening orations that commiserate and console as much as persevere and conquer. His writing, production and sax play reflect a more refined, mature and sophisticated auteur who retained just enough of the raw urban grit from his edgy past to ensure that his recordings are genuine. Despite enduring pain, struggle and suffering, Rucker never loses sight of the Divine hand orchestrating it all – the victories and the losses – purposely placing his focus on the abundance of blessings and the love that cushions his every fall.  

“‘Redemption’ is a feel-good album designed to touch the inner soul, to encourage and inspire the listener. It is about perseverance, keeping the faith, overcoming some of the worst that life has to offer and coming out better on the other side. Redemption of everything that was lost: the naysayers and doubters, the narrowly missed opportunities, the emotional scars and the sore spiritual muscles from years of exercised faith. Staying steadfast and seeing the gracious hand of God redeem all and make our former days greater than the latter. It's also about making someone nod their head to the beat when they feel like hanging it during a tough time,” said Rucker.

Listeners will soon be nodding their head to the first radio single, “True Love,” when it goes for playlist adds on July 16. Rucker’s fat tenor sax packs a powerful punch on the sensually steamy mid-tempo groove graced by Calisto’s sultry nylon guitar and a celestial, gospel chorus-like affirmation that embodies the album’s message: “Take one look, and you will see, what true love has done for me, take one look and you will see, what true love has done in me.”

“First and foremost, the song is about the fact that despite all the mistakes I've made and how undeserving I am, God still loves me enough to redeem me and bless me with as much as he has. For the listener, ‘True Love’ could be about life with a special someone. For me, it is really about the love of God, the only true love that holds no records of wrongs and never fails. If you look at your life, you'll see evidence of His love in what He has done for you. But, when you really get it and realize that it’s Him and really receive His love, then there is a change in you that people will see. Hence the song’s lyrics.”

The Williamsburg, Virginia native debuted in 2011 with “Heat from the Heavens,” introducing his formula of hip hop beats, improv jazz and stirring inspirational messages. Three years later, “Tell You Something,” upped the ante by offering collaborations with urban stalwarts Norman Connors, Bobby Lyle, Tom Browne and Alyson Williams, boosting Rucker’s appeal at radio. His eyes averted the camera on the first album cover and were hidden behind dark glasses on the second. “Redemption” depicts a happier, lighter Rucker looking directly into the camera, eager to face and embrace what lays ahead of him with gratitude.      

“When I released the last album (“Tell You Something”), it was a difficult time for me personally,” admitted Rucker. “In the last five years, my life has done a complete 180. With the release of ‘Redemption,’ I feel spiritually, physically, emotionally and materially redeemed. On this album, there are no covers, no guest producers and no big-time superstar performers. Just pure, raw and real me and those closest to me.”  

“Redemption” contains the following songs:

“Down on the Inside” (intro)

“Down on the Inside”

“True Love”

“Overcomer”

“Nothing’s Too Hard”

“Redemption”

“Forever Forgiven”

“Follow Me”

“I Am with You”

“Throwback”

“Please Child”

For more information, please visit https://www.samrucker.com.

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Saxophonist Jeff Ryan excitedly embracing the moment "Embrace" - Release July 13 #jazz

Saxophonist Jeff Ryan excitedly embracing the moment

The debut single, “Up and Up,” from his upcoming debut album, “Embrace,” flies to No. 1

on the Billboard chart. The Woodward Avenue Records release drops Friday.

Saxman Jeff Ryan is excited and for good reason. The contemporary pop instrumentalist’s debut single, “Up and Up,” flew to No.1 on the Billboard chart as well as on three other charts in the US and UK. Even before his debut album, “Embrace,” drops Friday (July 13) on Woodward Avenue Records, the buzz surrounding Ryan helped him score the final performance spot in the all-star lineup for the venerable Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival, a confirmation that the Bay Area native is the genre’s breakout new artist at the midyear point.  

Ryan’s producer and writing partner on “Embrace” is noted keyboardist and chart-topper Greg Manning. One of the saxophonist’s primary goals is connecting through music and performance, and “Up and Up” is an upbeat tune celebrating the winning chemistry and connection he shares with Manning.

“‘Up and Up’ is the first song we wrote together. It’s a relevant track that captures our great connection. It was two positive people, and the music flowed naturally and easily,” said Ryan about the single that also vaulted into the No. 1 position on the Mediabase, Smooth Jazz Network and British Smooth Jazz charts.

  

“Embrace” is a magnetic ten-tracker – nine Ryan originals and a honeyed reading of Bruno Mars’ “Versace on the Floor” – bonding lustrous and lyrical pop harmonies to meaty urban beats, refined contemporary jazz vamps and soul grooves. Joining Ryan and Manning are two first-call sidemen who have transitioned in recent years into hit-making solo artists: guitarist Adam Hawley and drummer Eric Valentine. A pair of veteran guitarists add significant contributions as well. Darrell Crooks dispenses slick and soulful R&B licks throughout the session while Terry Wollman strums temperate acoustic guitar melodies on the set’s gentle closer, “Tenderly.”

Music has been Ryan’s voice ever since he began playing the sax when he was ten and it’s what he turns to when life gets difficult. It’s his chosen form of communication and connectivity, thus it’s important that his music be honest and relatable.

“Music is so personal to me. It’s important to me to connect with people beyond just superficial playing. Music is the only thing that ever spoke to me on a deeper level and I want to give listeners that experience. I’d love for my music to resonate in a meaningful way with people. Even if you don’t like jazz, I hope that the audience listens, takes it in and finds it relevant to them,” said Ryan, who primarily plays tenor sax on “Embrace.” “An album is a snapshot of who an artist is at a particular time. I’m pleased with where ‘Embrace’ went. It became really special as it emerged from my soul as I tried to be as sincere and genuine as possible.”

According to Ryan, the album is only half the story. The breakthrough artist who will take the stage at Sax on the River in Sacramento on October 13 before making his Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival premiere on October 21 said, “The performances are where you get the full message of this music and what I’m bringing to the genre. It’s really about the music and the soul of what’s being expressed up there.”  

“Embrace” contains the following songs:

“Up and Up”

“Blue Wave”

“Dusk to Dawn”

“Sweet Spot”

“Versace on the Floor”

“Edge of Tomorrow”

“J-Factor” featuring Greg Manning

“Embrace”

“Matter of Fact”

“Tenderly”

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Krunking up the Big Band - The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra "Get It How You Live" - Release on Ropeadope Records July 13 - #jazz

Grammy-nominated trumpeter Russell Gunn reimagines Big Bands by forming The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra featuring Grammy-winning vocalist Dionne Farris. Their debut album, “Get It How You Live,” drops July 13.

To grasp the purpose of trumpeter Russell Gunn’s newest creation, The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra, it’s important to understand that the alchemist’s recordings are cultural and historical amalgams as much as they are audacious musical experimentations rooted in jazz. His mission for the 19-piece Big Band slated to issue its debut album, “Get It How You Live” on the Ropeadope label on July 13, is to breathe new life into “traditional” jazz Big Bands by expanding its possibilities in the modern era. Adding voice to the collection produced by Gunn that incorporates all shades of jazz, R&B, pop, hip hop and funk is Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Dionne Farris.

Gunn, a two-time Grammy nominee for his far-reaching “Ethnomusicology Vol. 1” and “Ethnomusicology Vol. 2,” spent a year honing his vision and shaping The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra’s sound, composing originals and constructing thoughtful arrangements for more than thirty tunes. The ensemble’s lab was on stage during a long-running weekly residency at Atlanta’s St. James Live. Once fully realized, Gunn selected nine tunes for the debut disc.

“Most of the music on ‘Get It How You Live’ is original compositions that I felt were deserving of expansion into the grander format of a large jazz ensemble,” said Gunn, who grew up in East St. Louis.

Hard-hitting hip hop beats bolstered by bombastic horns power Gunn’s “Sybil’s Blues,” which features trumpeter Theo Croker. His “Critic’s Song” bounces to a grinding go-go beat amidst cacophonic horn blasts that build towards a pummeling sax crescendo from Brian Hogans, who only yields the mic to the furious rhymes spit with vitriol by Dashill Smith. Gunn’s other standout composition on the session is the richly-melodic ballad “Lyne’s Joint,” which spotlights Melvin Jones’s trumpet.

“I am a melody-first musician and am drawn like a magnet to melody. That is why my favorite musicians of all time are Peter Tchaikovsky, Charles Mingus and Benny Golson. Melody is king!” proclaimed Gunn.

As for reboots, Farris’s hit “Hopeless” is given entirely new dimensions in a Big Band setting courtesy of Gunn’s deft arrangement. Drawn to the original’s soulful harmony, Gunn converts Shai’s vocal acapella hit, “If I Ever Fall In Love,” into an “acapella” trumpet and horn section meditation with haunting yet regal qualities. The rendition will be given visuals when a video is lensed later this month. Old-school R&B heads will rejoice over the three-part “Switch Medley” that Gunn masterminded by seamlessly fusing “There’ll Never Be,” “A Brighter Tomorrow” and “I Call Your Name.” The collection closes with the poignant “Ballad Of The Sad Young Men,” on which Farris elegantly delivers a stunning knockout performance.

Inherent in Gunn’s artistic muse is the message of being genuine and true, “owning” what you are and what you stand for. “The title of the album is the realist and most honest album title I have had since ‘Ethnomusicology Vol. 1.’ The laymen definition of ‘Get It How You Live’ loosely translates to ‘going about things in an honest fashion.’ I was on the front lines of the transition from the ‘Wyntonite’ sensibility of the ‘nouveau retro’ jazz musician to the jazz musician that grew up in hip hop culture and I owned it. I can go as far to confidently say that I am primarily responsible for that shift. I say that not to give myself retroactive credit, but simply to say that I’ve been ‘Getting It How I Live’ for a long time.”

The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra is not the first time Gunn and Farris have collaborated. In 2013, they released “Dionne Get Your Gunn,” which is revisited on the new offering in the form of “Fair,” a bitter yet sultry, expansively-layered suite about a breakup penned by Farris.

Gunn concludes, “The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra is my greatest achievement to date. I am proud to carry the torch of the great Big Bands into the modern era. I consider it a huge responsibility to represent the lineage of Big Band leaders like Fletcher Henderson, Jimmy Lunceford, Count Basie and the king of all, Sir Duke (Ellington), in a way that pays homage to the tradition while expanding the possibilities.”

The songs contained on “Get It How You Live” are:

“Get It How You Live (Intro)”
“Sybil’s Blues (featuring Theo Croker)”
“If I Ever Fall In Love”
“Fair”
“The Critic’s Song”
“Hopeless”
“Lyne’s Joint”
“Switch Medley” comprised of “There’ll Never Be,” “A Brighter Tomorrow” and “I Call Your Name”
“Ballad Of The Sad Young Men”

For more information, please visit www.RussellGunn.FourFour.com.

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Urban-jazz saxophonist Sam Rucker finds solace as an “Overcomer” on the path to “Redemption” #jazz

His steadfast message of “True Love” heads to radio as a single, preceding the August 24 release of his inspired third album.

One of the first songs that urban-jazz saxophonist Sam Rucker recorded for his third album, “Redemption,” was the soothing “Overcomer,” on which he emotes intimately on soprano sax during an uplifting exchange with a guitar duo comprised of his nephew, Justin Taylor, and John Calisto. Tragically, both guitarists passed away unexpectedly three days apart and the tune Rucker wrote to comfort and inspire others became his own healing grace. It is a focal point of the rousing eleven-track set penned and produced by Rucker that drops August 24 from Favor Productions.  

Rucker’s life and his musical journey have evolved in recent years, growing from a gritty hip hop producer into a soul-baring R&B-contemporary jazz instrumentalist, yet his faith has never wavered. He is on a mission as an empowering evangelic emissary, using his tenor, alto and soprano sax on “Redemption” to deliver heartening orations that commiserate and console as much as persevere and conquer. His writing, production and sax play reflect a more refined, mature and sophisticated auteur who retained just enough of the raw urban grit from his edgy past to ensure that his recordings are genuine. Despite enduring pain, struggle and suffering, Rucker never loses sight of the Divine hand orchestrating it all – the victories and the losses – purposely placing his focus on the abundance of blessings and the love that cushions his every fall.  

“‘Redemption’ is a feel-good album designed to touch the inner soul, to encourage and inspire the listener. It is about perseverance, keeping the faith, overcoming some of the worst that life has to offer and coming out better on the other side. Redemption of everything that was lost: the naysayers and doubters, the narrowly missed opportunities, the emotional scars and the sore spiritual muscles from years of exercised faith. Staying steadfast and seeing the gracious hand of God redeem all and make our former days greater than the latter. It's also about making someone nod their head to the beat when they feel like hanging it during a tough time,” said Rucker.

Listeners will soon be nodding their head to the first radio single, “True Love,” when it goes for playlist adds on July 16. Rucker’s fat tenor sax packs a powerful punch on the sensually steamy mid-tempo groove graced by Calisto’s sultry nylon guitar and a celestial, gospel chorus-like affirmation that embodies the album’s message: “Take one look, and you will see, what true love has done for me, take one look and you will see, what true love has done in me.”

“First and foremost, the song is about the fact that despite all the mistakes I've made and how undeserving I am, God still loves me enough to redeem me and bless me with as much as he has. For the listener, ‘True Love’ could be about life with a special someone. For me, it is really about the love of God, the only true love that holds no records of wrongs and never fails. If you look at your life, you'll see evidence of His love in what He has done for you. But, when you really get it and realize that it’s Him and really receive His love, then there is a change in you that people will see. Hence the song’s lyrics.”

The Williamsburg, Virginia native debuted in 2011 with “Heat from the Heavens,” introducing his formula of hip hop beats, improv jazz and stirring inspirational messages. Three years later, “Tell You Something,” upped the ante by offering collaborations with urban stalwarts Norman Connors, Bobby Lyle, Tom Browne and Alyson Williams, boosting Rucker’s appeal at radio. His eyes averted the camera on the first album cover and were hidden behind dark glasses on the second. “Redemption” depicts a happier, lighter Rucker looking directly into the camera, eager to face and embrace what lays ahead of him with gratitude.      

“When I released the last album (“Tell You Something”), it was a difficult time for me personally,” admitted Rucker. “In the last five years, my life has done a complete 180. With the release of ‘Redemption,’ I feel spiritually, physically, emotionally and materially redeemed. On this album, there are no covers, no guest producers and no big-time superstar performers. Just pure, raw and real me and those closest to me.”  

“Redemption” contains the following songs:

“Down on the Inside” (intro)

“Down on the Inside”

“True Love”

“Overcomer”

“Nothing’s Too Hard”

“Redemption”

“Forever Forgiven”

“Follow Me”

“I Am with You”

“Throwback”

“Please Child”

For more information, please visit https://www.samrucker.com.

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Have A Happy And Safe 4th Of July [Video] #jazz

Barbecues and fireworks, flags and parades, Independence Day evokes so many images of the American summer. Its original purpose to celebrate the birth of the American nation on July 4th, 1776 has given way to festivities that celebrate both America and the lives and freedoms that the accomplishments of American Independence have allowed. The commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is a time not only to reflect on what happened at America's founding but also to look again at the nation's values and recommit oneself again to those ideals.

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Stanley Clarke - "The Message" - Released June 29 via Mack Avenue Records - #jazz

45 years after his album debut, four-time Grammy® Award-winning bassist Stanley Clarke shows he is still unapproachable on both the electric and acoustic, wielding a vision of fusion and funk, breakbeats and bass-interpreted cello suites with a little help from friends like rapper/beatboxer Doug E. Fresh and trumpeter Mark Isham. Backed by a young versatile band and a collection of tunes written in the midst of a tumultuous tour of Europe, The Message, released yesterday via Mack Avenue Records) swells with an abundance of strength, soul and astounding musicianship.

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"Out of the Blues" Finds Boz Scaggs Applying His Iconic Voice And Gritty Guitar Skills To A Set Of Vintage Classics #R&B #jazz

Legendary Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist’s July 27 Release
Features a Stellar Group of Studio Aces

It’s been a life of music – five decades in the case of Boz Scaggs, and spread far and wide with remarkable range in style and influence. From his early West Coast rock and soul bands, through his smooth '70s Hollywood years with hits like "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle," to his more recent explorations in R&B, jazz and the Great American Songbook, the versatile singer/songwriter/guitarist has created a highly personal, unfailingly soulful repertoire. The latest edition, Out of the Blues, set for release on July 27, 2018 on Concord Records, finds Scaggs, born in Ohio and raised in Texas and Oklahoma, reconnecting with his earliest musical loves.


This album marks the final piece of an unofficial trilogy for Scaggs, which began with the Steve Jordan-produced albums Memphis and A Fool to Care.  "I'm a child of the '50s," he explains, "and grew up on the music of my parents’ generation - the post war swingers, the Hit Parade era, the semi-classical Gershwin albums and the American songbook of show and film music.  Then came early rock radio; with Elvis, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, the high-watt late night radio out of Nashville and Chicago and doowop out of the East Coast.  All the same stars that dotted the musical heaven our generation grew up under. Particular to my coming of age in the Southwest was hearing that crazy stuff out of south Texas and Louisiana.  It was something different from that which my fellow teenyboppers in other areas were hearing.  These albums, to some degree, are an exploration of those early influences, tracked through different periods of my experience.”

The self-produced Out of the Blues finds Scaggs applying his iconic voice and gritty guitar skills to a set of vintage classics by such blues greats as Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jimmy Reed and Magic Sam, an unexpected and stirring reading of Neil Young's "On the Beach" and original compositions by the songwriter Jack Walroth.

For the occasion, Scaggs assembled a star-studded studio band including such prestigious players as guitarists Doyle Bramhall II, Ray Parker Jr. and Charlie Sexton, bassist Willie Weeks, drummer Jim Keltner and keyboardist Jim Cox, as well as Boz himself on guitar, bass and vocoder, and longtime friend Jack Walroth on harmonica.

"This project is sort of a manifestation of where I am in my life," Scaggs comments. "I've been doing a lot of shows these last years and have zeroed in on my voice and guitar in a way that only comes with lotsa live.”

"I'm basically a rhythm guitar player, and not that good technically, but I love the instrument and have my own style, one that ranges from seriously ragged to very infrequently bad-ass… At least in my dreams. But it’s the basic blues that have allowed me a foot in the door to a broader range of thrills as a player and inspired me to call Ray and Doyle and Charlie for these sessions.  (I stay, quite naturally, and wisely in the background guitar-wise.)
"We recorded the rhythm tracks in four days, and then I left to go on tour, and I intentionally didn't listen to them until I got home a few months later. From the first playback though, I felt like we'd hit one out of the park."

Out of the Blues also features four songs written or co-written by Scaggs' longtime friend and kindred musical spirit Jack Walroth, a left-of-center bluesman who Scaggs met in the '60s, when both lived in Madison, Wisconsin, and who relocated to San Francisco at around the same time as Scaggs.
"He's a prolific writer, and he's influenced by a lot of the same music that got to me," Scaggs says of Walroth. "I had been interested in producing Jack for many years. During a period back in the '90s, we'd get together on these Tuesday-night sessions with a variety of players and record Jack's songs with the aim of making an album on him.  Trouble was that whenever I'd get a handful of songs to wrap it up he'd come in with another batch. I had several albums worth of tracks, and the album never got done. So when I was searching out material for this album, I realized that I had this backlog of great songs that I really dug and already had a handle on. Out of the songs on this album and its bonus tracks, I recorded seven of Jack’s songs and co-wrote another one with him. Thanks, man."

Scaggs is currently in the midst of a personal musical renaissance. Liberated from the old-school album/tour cycle, he's worked on his own terms this decade to create a series of eclectic, highly personal recordings that showcase his mastery of multiple musical genres, including the jazz standards collections But Beautiful and Speak Low, which topped the Billboard Jazz charts, the soul-inflected Memphis and the bluesy A Fool to Care, each hitting #1 on Billboard's Blues charts.

"Out of the Blues, from its very onset, feels like one of the most special of my career," Scaggs asserts. "It just came so easily, and the sessions fell into place so effortlessly. Sometimes you assemble your dream team and it doesn't work. But in this case, the chemistry was right and it all came together beautifully. It was a complete joy from beginning to end, and I'm really happy with it."

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Keyboardist David Garfield boxes himself into a jam #jazz

Surrounded by a stellar cast that boasts George Benson, David Sanborn, Smokey Robinson, Michael McDonald, Natalie Cole, Ray Parker Jr. and many more, his “Outside the Box” series continues with “Jammin’ Outside the Box,” dropping July 20.

 

Indulging his passion for R&B-pop on the second volume of his five-part, multi-genre “Outside the Box” series, keyboardist David Garfield will release “Jammin’ Outside the Box” on July 20 on Creatchy Records. Like the first disc, the straight-ahead jazz exploration “Jazz Outside the Box,” Garfield produced, arranged and played piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer electric piano and synthesizers on a carefully-selected set list with purposefully-chosen collaborators that spotlights sessions with seminal icons, Grammy winners, chart-toppers and prominent players. Garfield has a personal connection and meaningful history with every song and each musician he selected for the groove rich, soul-jazz album, crucial elements that position the ambitious “Outside the Box” anthology towards becoming an enduring, career-capping collection.  

 

Two of the singles that prefaced “Jammin’ Outside the Box,” “Go Home” and “Jamming,” peaked in the Billboard Top 10 and the recently-released third single, “Stay” featuring George Benson, David Sanborn and singer-songwriter Moon Calhoun, aims to follow suit. In addition to the three original Garfield tunes, including “One Like You,” which he wrote with Smokey Robinson, who plies his trademark falsetto complimented by Michael McDonald on background vocals, Garfield redesigned R&B, funk and pop classics made famous by Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Adele, Sting, Aretha Franklin, Toto, Isley Brothers, Rufus, Minnie Riperton, Bobby Caldwell and one of his keyboard mentors, Joe Sample. To do so, Garfield gathered members of the Zac Brown Band, Steely Dan, Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, Chicago, Toto and Tower of Power along with an army of noteworthy soloists including Ray Parker Jr., Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun, Marcus Miller, Paul Jackson Jr., Eric Marienthal, Tom Scott, Vinnie Colaiuta, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Jordan, Freddie Washington, Will Lee, Tony Maiden, Rickey Minor and Lenny Castro.

 

“One of the things I have always loved to do is keep the spirit of old-school R&B fresh and alive for new generations of listeners. This explains my longstanding tradition of creating interesting and sometimes stylistically off-the-beaten path reimaginings of songs by legendary soul artists. It was a thrill doing these songs, adding a jazz touch with improvisation that take the songs ‘outside the box.’ What was also special for me is that this album features a lot of people I work with or have worked for, from Smokey and George to David Sanborn and Natalie Cole, but now I got to have them as guests on my thing,” said Garfield, a Los Angeles-based musician’s musician who grew up in St Louis on a steady diet of R&B and jazz.

 

An example of the poignancy that proliferates “Jammin’ Outside the Box,” one can look at “The Highways Of My Life,” which features an introduction by Cole. Garfield toured with her for two years. During their first trek together, she introduced him to the Isley Brothers’ original and asked him to craft an arrangement for her. Before they could perform it live together, Garfield was summoned to return to his long-held gig as Benson’s music director. But Cole performed his arrangement nonetheless. When Garfield hatched the “Outside the Box” concept a few years ago, he reached out to Cole to have her sing it. Unfortunately, she passed away prior to the recording date. Admirably filling in for her are Oleta Adams and Phil Perry, who masterfully reposition the song as a moving duet. Cole’s voice is heard introducing the song, creating a divine moment.  

 

“The final touch was having a 24-piece string section arranged by Grammy winner John Clayton. This takes the song to the high and luxurious level a tribute to Natalie deserves. I owe this track to Natalie. It was one of her favorite songs and that’s why it’s an important part of this collection.”

 

“Jammin’ Outside the Box” con

tains the following songs:

 

“Go Home”

“Chasing Pavements”

“Please Don’t Go”

“Stay”

“Lovin’ You”

“Fragile” (instrumental)

“Jamming”

“One Like You”

“Waiting For Your Love”

“Rainbow Seeker” (electric)

“The Highways Of My Life”

“Rock Steady”

“What You Won’t Do For Love”

“Harvest Time” (electric)

 

 

For more information, please visit www.DavidGarfield.com.

 

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Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - June 25, 2018 #jazz

TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 1 - Vincent Ingala - "Personal Touch" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
2 - 4 - Euge Groove - "Groove On" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
3 - 2 - Nils - "Play" - (Baja/TSR Records)
4 - 3 - Jessy J - "Live ?At Yoshi's" - (Changi Records LLC)
5 - 9 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
6 - 6 - Nick Colionne - "Be Urself - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
7 - 5 - Jeff Ryan - "Up And Up" - (Woodward Avenue)
8 - 14 - Chris Standring - "Sunlight" - (Ultimate Vibe)
9 - 20 - Dave Koz & Friends - "Summer Horns II: From A to Z - (Concord)
10 - 8 - Patrick Bradley - "Intangible" - (Patrick's Song Factory)
11 - 16 - Gerald Albright - "30" -(Bright)
12 - 13 - Michael Lington - "Silver Lining" - (Copenhagen)
13 - 10 - Marion Meadows - "Soul City" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
14 - 12 - Basia - "Butterflies" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
15 - 7 - Brian Culbertson - "Colors Of Love" - (BCM)
16 - 11 - Manhattan Transfer - "The Junction" - (BMG)
17 - 17 - Michael Franks - "The Music In My Head" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
18 - 19 - Bob Baldwin - "Never Out Of Season" - (City Sketches)
19 - 18 - Carol Albert - "Fly Away Butterfly" - (Carol Albert Music)
20 - 23 - Eric Darius - "Breakin' Thru" - (SagDarius Music)

Our thanks to smoothjazz.com

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

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Urban-jazz guitarist dee Brown remembers his late fiancée with songs of love and joy #jazz

His fourth album is a celebration of life chronicling their time together with fun and spirited songs such as the new chart-bound single, “Pop the Question.”

Two years ago, soul-jazz guitarist dee Brown was preparing for a summer wedding to his fiancée, gospel singer Shaunia Edwards. When her young life was tragically cut short by an unexpected illness, he was devastated, leaning on his strong faith to endure. Shifting his mindset from a mourning period during which he sought meaning by asking “Why?” to a perspective of positivity, Brown turned to writing, honoring the sweet, lasting memories of Edwards and their romance by composing lively, intimate and playful stories of love, laughter and hope. He shares his fond remembrances via the ten new songs that constitute his fourth album, “Remembering You,” his second release for Innervision Records.

Determined to make “Remembering You” a joy-filled affair, Brown imparts his charming recollections by setting his lyrically expressive, loose and improvisational cool jazz fretwork amidst ebullient pop nuances, pulsating dance beats and sensual R&B grooves. He picks, plays and scats soulfully throughout, inspired to celebrate his season with Edwards by deriving meaning from her lingering place in his heart, not in the loss of her physical presence.   

“Shaunia was the reality of my dreams, a woman heaven sent to make me whole. ‘Remembering You’ celebrates her life and our life together. It’s purposely an upbeat celebration, not a mourning. The meaning that I derived from this experience and a message I think everyone can relate to is that we should exalt those in our lives as well as remember those who are no longer in our lives for whatever reason. Tomorrow is coming, but not necessarily for you. Share our love with those with us in the here and now because tomorrow is not guaranteed,” said Brown, who coproduced nine of the album’s tracks.

A loving, encouraging greeting from Edwards opens “Hey Baby,” the sweeping, feel-good first single illuminated by fervent guitar and alto sax banter on the cut that presaged the set’s arrival. Brown’s frequent writing and producing partner, pianist-keyboardist-programmer Valdez Brantley (Usher’s former music director), uses the vocoder to tantalize and tease on “Pop the Question,” the current chart-bound single that appears on the record in both album and d-Funk remix versions. Other noteworthy contributions are made by keyboardist Bob Baldwin, who also produced and cowrote the sleek and sophisticated “I Will”; Althea Rene, who adds fanciful flute flourishes to the vibrant escapade “Our Summer”; and keyboardist Nate Harasim, cowriter and producer of the sultry reflection “Beauty Within.”        

A Detroit born and based guitar man who got his start in music as a vocalist, Brown launched his solo career in 2007 with “No Time To Waste.” Teaming with Valdez and Kern Brantley (Lady Gaga’s former music director and bassist who plays on “Remembering You’s” opener, “I Want You Too”) two years later for his sophomore outing, “A Little Elbowroom,” proved formative to his sound and style. Brown dropped his first recording for Innervision Records in 2014, “Brown Sugar Honey-Coated Love,” spawning the Top 15 Groove Jazz Musicchart single, “Natural Love.”       

                                                        

Brown performs regularly on the Motor City music scene backed by Valdez Brantley, saxophonist Dezie McCullers Jr. and drummer Ron Otis, his core band that appears on the new album. Brown is looking forward to performing cuts from “Remembering You” in a big setting at the River Raisin Jazz Festival on August 11held in nearby Monroe, Michigan. One week later, his summer wedding will finally take place when he takes marriage vows with “a beautiful child of God.”     

Brown’s “Remembering You” album contains the following songs:

“I Want You Too”

“Hey Baby”

“Pop the Question”

“Our Summer”

“I Will”

“Follow You”

“So Much”

“Pop the Question” (d-Funk remix)

“Beauty Within”

“Remembering You”

For more information, please visit http://deebrownmusic.com.

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