JESSY J Inspires With SECOND CHANCES Featuring JEFF LORBER, NORMAN BROWN, JIMMY HASLIP & JOHNNY BRITT
Album Includes Renditions Of Classics by Roberta Flack & Sérgio Mendes
Label Debut For Shanachie Entertainment Due September 10, 2013
Jessy J burst
onto the contemporary jazz scene in 2008, blending her love for Latin
rhythms and jazz on her chart-topping, award-winning debut album Tequila Moon. Jessy earned
the Radio & Records’ ‘Debut Artist of The Year’ Award and
Contemporary Jazz ‘Song of the Year’ by both R&R and Billboard for
the title track, which held the #1 spot on the chart for eight weeks.
The talented saxophonist, pianist, singer and songwriter who has worked
with everyone from The Temptations to Michael Bublé, has
been developing her musical voice since she was very young, when she
could be found practicing the saxophone, instead of heading out to play
with friends.
Words like
dedicated, focused and hard-working all describe her drive and
motivation to succeed and make music a life-long career. With her fourth
release, Second Chances, due out on Shanachie Entertainment on
September 10, 2013, Jessy reaches a major milestone as she takes over
the reigns as the producer of the new album. The set features
collaborations with Grammy Award-nominated keyboardist-producer Jeff
Lorber, Grammy Award-winning guitarist Norman Brown, renowned bassist
Jimmy Haslip (formerly with The Yellowjackets) and legendary pianist Joe
Sample.
Second Chances represents a new direction for
Jessy as she purposely set out to meld her love for jazz and Latin
rhythms with R&B grooves. The album title, Second Chances,
developed out of the theme that it's never too late to try again and
“getting a second chance to do something that you messed up on the first
time.” She shares, “In this case, for me it was with something that
happened the previous year. I realized that this year I had a second
chance and every day is new, is fresh. The title track is really an
inspirational song about doing something you really want to do.” Not
coincidentally, several of the songs on the album include "two" in the
title including the first single "Listen 2 The Groove," co-written by
Lorber, "Tango for Two," "Dos," "Twice" and "Double Trouble." The
ten song set features eight originals and two beautiful covers including
the Roberta Flack hit “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and the Sérgio Mendes classic “Magalenha.”
Jessy
shares, “I like to play music that people will recognize and connect to
and be familiar with and also play music that’s original, that really
inspires them and creates new memories.” She teamed with the talented
trumpeter, singer, songwriter Johnny Britt (Josh Groban, The
Temptations, Impromp2) to write “Second Chances” and the final track on
the album “Twice.” She credits her manager, Stewart Coxhead, with the
idea to include the ‘two’ theme throughout the album and is thankful for
his encouragement as she turned over this new leaf in her
career saying, “he really encouraged me to be myself.”
Second Chances opens with the single “Listen 2 The Groove” featuring Jeff Lorber on keyboards and Jimmy Haslip on the bass. Jessy states, “Jeff Lorber and I first worked together in 2008 for the Guitars and Saxes Tour.
I really enjoy his musical style. He’s such a legend in the business
and has his own sound. To me he’s a genius. So, when I had the
opportunity to produce my own album, I really wanted to work with him.
I remembered we wrote and co-produced “Listen 2 The Groove” and I just
asked him if he wanted to work together. I was so excited he said yes!”
The sultry groove sets the tone for the album with its catchy hook and
unique song structure.
The title track “Second Chances” features Grammy-Award winning guitarist Norman Brown.
“Norman Brown and I worked together for the Summer Storm tour 2010...
I really love his style of playing. He’s very unique in his guitar and I
think he plays the guitar so fluidly. Johnny Britt and I were working
on “Second Chances” and I really wanted Norman to play on it. His guitar
sounds beautiful on the track.” Jessy chose to include the Roberta
Flack hit “Feel Like Makin’ Love” because, “I’m a big fan of 60s and 70s
music. Roberta is a gorgeous singer. We felt that we could redo it in a
way that would make it special again and also make it more current. I
always thought of it kind of in a Robin Thicke mode with the
recurring guitar theme. It also has a Brazilian vibe, the vocals are
laid back and almost in a hushed tone. And it’s completely
re-harmonized. I like arranging music and harmonizing it.” Jessy’s
longtime friend and bandmate Tim Stewart (who also tours and plays with Lady Gaga) offers a beautiful guitar accompaniment on the track.
Her
passion for Latin music shines through on the Sérgio Mendes classic
“Magalenha,” one of her all-time favorite Brazilian tunes. Jessy says it
was real a “jam session vibe” in the studio with Jeff and Jimmy helping
to re-create the song as a “funk samba” and their joy in recording it
shines through. In addition to her excellent work on the baritone
saxophone and her sweet vocals on the tune, Jessy adds some tasty flute
flourishes. She explains, “The World Cup is coming up next year in
Brazil and it’s an homage to that and to my Latin heritage. Football is so
popular in the Latin community.” The set takes a sophisticated, jazzy
turn with the third song she wrote with Jeff and Jimmy, called “Tango
For Two.” Jessy describes it as “a romantic type of tango not an exact
tango.” The dance beat features her sax intertwining and twirling with
the piano, as if someone is dancing, reaching a climactic point and
then it fizzles down again. Jessy was pleased to have Jimmy work with
her on the album as he brought a “very interesting knowledge of Latin
rhythms and a world music view. He recommended different beats, rhythm
and percussion” elements for the project.
On “Dos” a lovely
guitar intro gives way to Jessy on both flute and soprano saxophone. She
shares, “That song is a really sexy song. It’s about two things: the
good and the bad. Sections of the music had a reflective feeling that
were dark and then other parts of the music were light. We wanted to
have the alter ego - two things. One of my heroes is Grover Washington, Jr. He’s my favorite soprano saxophonist and I always think of him when I’m playing that instrument.”
“La
Luna Feliz” features Jessy on tenor sax and flute while singing in
Spanish. It opens with a funky bass line from Bryant Siono to get you
into the groove right way. “I like to say that this is the prequel to
“Tequila Moon,” explains Jessy.
“Tequila Moon” was my
first radio single and also my first CD in 2008. I like to look at the
moon at night, I don’t know why. It’s a thing I would do with my
dad when I was little. I was looking at the moon and it had a smiley
face on it and it made me laugh. I said ‘that’s a happy moon, it’s la
luna feliz.’ And then the melody popped into my head. It’s really the
only Latin song, with no percussion, on the album.”
Jessy says
for this project she was “really open to the idea of doing something
different” and on “Double Trouble” she definitely lets her hair down
and jams! “I really got into the whole Jeff vibe on this track and so
the melody came out on my tenor saxophone and he doubled it on the
mini-moog, which made it sound really deep and thick. The melody really
flows and being the producer I could interpret the music however I
wanted to,” she shares. She originally wanted to name the song
“Doppelgänger” in honor of her German Shepard, Mini. When the two
of them go for walks together they often see another German Shepard on
the block that looks just like Mini and Jessy likes to joke it’s Mini’s
doppelgänger! They settled on “Double Trouble” (which Jessy co-produced
with Lorber and Jimmy Haslip) since Jeff and Jimmy are such good friends
and bring their own version of double trouble to the studio and this
song.
Legendary keyboardist Joe Sample is a friend and mentor to Jessy. The two first worked together on her last album Hot Sauce. Joe helped her write the funky tune “Mambo Gumbo,” her ode to New Orleans featuring Johnny Britt on
vocals and trumpet. She shares, “I love Joe Sample! I’ve been listening
to him my whole life... I told him about this song about New Orleans.
We wrote parts of the song together at the NAMM convention earlier this
year. It’s a great track about people and how they’re different but also
the same.” “Twice” is a bright, upbeat tune to close out the set,
co-written with Johnny Britt. It features Jessy on Tenor sax along with
her touring bandmates Frank Abraham on bass, Michael Angel on guitar and
Richie “Gajate” Garcia on percussion. The song is about how when you
have the chance to do something the second time – twice – it’s so much
more beautiful. “It’s a positive feeling about reaching your goal and
doing it the way you wanted to.” The tune offers a great backbeat, sweet
percussion elements and backing vocals from Johnny.
Jessy’s
connection to her Latin heritage runs deep, as her father is originally
from Mexico and her mom hails from Texas. Born in Oregon and raised
in southern California, Jessy grew up in a home full of big family
get-togethers, Mexican feasts and lots of Latin, jazz and pop music. Her
musical influences include Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane,
Charlie Parker, Grover Washington, Jr., Sergio Mendes, Ricky Martin,
Gloria Estefan and she admires current artists Norah Jones, Diana Krall
and Alicia Keys. She credits her parents as her biggest influences as
she watched them “work so hard to come to the U.S., have careers and
enjoy the beautiful things this country has to offer. I knew I was going
to work hard from the beginning,” she shares.
While
she was studying at USC, she set her sights on becoming a studio
musician, recording music for movies, commercials and television shows
but quickly learned she needed to spend time getting more experience.
She spent two years touring with the off-Broadway, EMMY Award winning
show Blast! While on that tour she started focusing on performing with
her own band, so she began writing her own music.
She returned
to Los Angeles and put together her first group featuring Bryant Siono
on bass and Norman Jackson on keyboards. In addition, she toured with
Jessica Simpson, did studio work with
Michael Bublé and The Temptations, and was invited to tour with Michael Bolton.
Jessy’s
diligence paid off when she met Grammy Award-winning smooth jazz
producer Paul Brown at the Newport Jazz Festival and he agreed to work
on her debut album,
Tequila Moon in 2008. She followed that CD with
True Love in 2009 and
Hot Sauce in
2011. Last year Jessy was able to achieve her dream of becoming a
studio musician in Los Angeles, working on the hit television shows
American Idol and
The Voice. Her work on
American Idol impressed
Steven Tyler, who invited Jessy to record on the latest Aerosmith album.
Second Chances may
be all about getting the chance to do something over again, but for
Jessy this album is a celebration of firsts as well. She marks a major
milestone in her career taking on the role of producer of the album,
plus she was able to work with two new artists on her “wish list” via
her collaborations with Jeff Lorber and Norman Brown. Jessy has a lot to
look forward to as she continues to enjoy the success of her hard work
and dedication. As she says, “It’s a great life and I’m grateful for it.
It’s going to be a good year!”
JESSY J
Tour Dates
09/01 - Albuquerque, NM @ Crowne Plaza
09/07 - Austin, TX @ Riverbend Centre*
09/14 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia @ KL Jazz Fest
09/22 - Temecula, CA @ Thorton Winery**
09/28 - Las Vegas, NV @ Las Vegas Jazz Fest
10/05 - San Jacinto, CA @ Esplanade Arts Center
10/26 - Riverside, CA @ Fox Perf Arts Center***
10/27 - Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Jazz Fest
11/06 - Seal Beach, CA @ Spaghettini
11/30 - Seal Beach, CA @ Spaghettini
12/06 - Bari, Italy @ Italian Jazz Fest
01/04 - Chicago, IL @ The Montrose Room
* w/ Marion Meadows & Paul Taylor (Sax and the City)
** w/ George Benson
*** w/ Sheila E
JESSY J
Second Chances1. Listen 2 The Groove (ft. Jeff Lorber)
2. Second Chances (ft. Norman Brown)
3. Feel Like Makin' Love
4. Magalenha
5. Tango For Two
6. Dos
7. La Luna Feliz
8. Double Trouble (ft. Jeff Lorber & Jimmy Haslip)
9. Mambo Gumbo (ft. Johnny Britt)
10. Twice
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The endless Arizona sky will be filled with a galaxy of stars day and night during the Arizona Jazz Festival slated for October 25-27, 2013 at the Arizona Grand Resort & Spa
in Phoenix, Arizona. More than 13,000 contemporary jazz and soul fans
from across the nation are expected to flock to the lavish desert resort
to enjoy performances by a stellar slate of Grammy-winners and
chart-toppers along with a weekend of revelry. Tickets are on sale now
for the three-day festival or as a single-day event and are available
online at www.arizonajazzfestival.com and by calling 602.244.8444. 
Butler
recorded eight Christmas chestnuts for the collection and penned a pair
of new songs, including “Happy Holidays,” an ardent urban groove
ornamented with riffs of cool jazz guitar. High-profile hornmen Dave Koz, Rick Braun and Paul “Shilts” Weimer contribute to the festivities on a couple of tracks as does Butler’s daughter, vocalist Jodie Butler, and bassist Dan Lutz,
who plays upright on a tune, but the heart of the intimate recording is
Butler solo pouring his impassioned voice and acoustic guitar into the
seasonal songs. His arresting performances and sparse production
captivates, fostering an air of freshness to the evergreen material. 
