Guitarist Blake Aaron grooves and shakes his way to number one #jazz

“Groovers and Shakers,” featuring saxophonist Darren Rahn, tops the Billboard,

Groove Jazz Music and RadioWave singles charts.

It was destined to be a hit from the start and now Blake Aaron’s “Groovers and Shakers” is number one on three national singles charts: Billboard, Groove Jazz Music and RadioWave. The first song written and produced collaboratively by the R&B/contemporary jazz guitarist and saxophonist Darren Rahn was rushed into production and shipped to radio stations last summer when Aaron’s label and radio promoter heard the potential for a chart-topper after being sent a demo by the duo. In fact, “Groovers and Shakers” bumped the single Innervision Records had originally scheduled for release by Aaron in late July. 

The No. 1 single that will appear on Aaron’s forthcoming sixth album, “Color and Passion,” pays tribute to the people behind the music, the family of fans, the radio programmers and the concert promoters who keep jazz alive and thriving. “Groovers and Shakers” is the fifth single that previews the album following “Riviera Nights,” “VIVID,” “Godfather Brown” and “Summer Ride.” All five have spent time on the Billboard singles chart. In addition to crafting music to complete his own collection, Aaron is in the studio producing material for trumpeter Preston Smith, his labelmate.

Next month, Aaron will perform a holiday show at Herb Alpert’s Vibrato in Los Angeles on December 21. The guitarist is part of a 2019 package tour booking dates now as The Soul Patrol. Aaron will share the stage with vocalist Larry Braggs (Tower of Power, The Temptations) and saxophonist Tom Braxton.  The Soul Patrol debuts with a California run starting on January 10 at Yoshi’s in Oakland, January 12 at Humphrey’s in San Diego and January 13 at Spaghettini in Seal Beach. Aaron opens for seminal urban-jazz saxophonist Najee, a frequent collaboration partner, at the Empress Theatre near San Francisco on February 21. 

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

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Happy Thanksgiving - #jazz

Our chance to share generously with those we love. May you and yours have many reasons to be thankful

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

TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 2 - Paul Hardcastle - "Hardcastle VIII" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythem)
2 - 1 - Jeff Lorber Fusion - "Impact" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
3 - 3 - Vincent Ingala - "Personal Touch" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
4 - 5 - Bob James - "Espresso" - (Evosound)
5 - 4 - Adam Hawley - "Double Vision" - (Kalimba)
6 - 6 - Dave Koz & Friends - "Summer Horns II: From A to Z - (Concord)
7 - 7 - Kayla Waters - "Zephyr" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
8 - 9 - Jazz Holdouts - "Summer Nights" - (Palm Beach Jazz)
9 - 8 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
10 - 17 - Greg Adams & East Bay Soul - "Conversation" - (Ripa Records)
11 - 11 - Michael Lington - "Silver Lining" - (Copenhagen)
12 - 11 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
13 - 14 - Kim Waters - "What I Like" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
14 - 16 - Blake Aaron - "Color And Passion" - (Innervision)
15 - 24 - Jeff Ryan - "Up And Up" - (Woodward Avenue)
16 - 21 - Gerald Albright - "30" - (Bright)
17 - 28 - Walter Beasley - "The Best Of Walter Beasley" - (Affable)
18 - 13 - Nate White - "Up Close" - (Phat Boss)
19 - 12 - Darryl Williams - "Here To Stay" - (Independent)
20 - 23 - Patrick Bradley - "Intangible" - (Patrick's Song Factory)

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

TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 2 - Jeff Lorber Fusion - "Impact" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
2 - 1 - Paul Hardcastle - "Hardcastle VIII" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythem)
3 - 3 - Vincent Ingala - "Personal Touch" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
4 - 4 - Adam Hawley - "Double Vision" - (Kalimba)
5 - 6 - Bob James - "Espresso" - (Evosound)
6 - 5 - Dave Koz & Friends - "Summer Horns II: From A to Z - (Concord)
7 - 9 - Kayla Waters - "Zephyr" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
8 - 16 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
9 - 8 - Jazz Holdouts - "Summer Nights" - (Palm Beach Jazz)
10 - 25 - Michael Lington - "Silver Lining" - (Copenhagen)
11 - 13 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
12 - 20 - Darryl Williams - "Here To Stay" - (Independent)
13 - 12 - Nate White - "Up Close" - (Phat Boss)
14 - 10 - Kim Waters - "What I Like" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
15 - 11 - Brian Simpson - "Something About You" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
16 - 21 - Blake Aaron - "Color And Passion" - (Innervision)
17 - 18 - Greg Adams & East Bay Soul - "Conversation" - (Ripa Records)
18 - 17 - Paul Brown - "Uptown Blues" - (Woodward Avenue)
19 - 28 - The JT Project - "Backyard Brew - (JT Project Records)
20 - 29 - Kandace Springs - "Indigo" - (Blue Note/Capitol)

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

TW - LW - Artist - Album - (Label)
1 - 1 - Paul Hardcastle - "Hardcastle VIII" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythem)
2 - 3 - Jeff Lorber Fusion - "Impact" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
3 - 2 - Vincent Ingala - "Personal Touch" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
4 - 5 - Adam Hawley - "Double Vision" - (Kalimba)
5 - 4 - Dave Koz & Friends - "Summer Horns II: From A to Z - (Concord)
6 - 6 - Bob James - "Espresso" - (Evosound)
7 - 12 - Nils - "Play" - (Baja/TSR Records)
8 - 9 - Jazz Holdouts - "Summer Nights" - (Palm Beach Jazz)
9 - 15 - Kayla Waters - "Zephyr" - (Trippin 'N' Rhythm)
10 - 7 - Kim Waters - "What I Like" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
11 - 11 - Brian Simpson - "Something About You" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
12 - 21 - Nate White - "Up Close" - (Phat Boss)
13 - 14 - Boney James - "Honestly" - (Concord Music Group)
14 - 10 - Chris Standring - "Sunlight" - (Ultimate Vibe)
15 - 13 - Jeff Ryan - "Up And Up" - (Woodward Avenue)
16 - 29 - Lindsey Webster - "Love Inside" - (Shanachie Entertainment)
17 - 8 - Paul Brown - "Uptown Blues" - (Woodward Avenue)
18 - 40 - Greg Adams & East Bay Soul - "Conversation" - (Ripa Records)
19 - 18 - Patrick Bradley - "Intangible" - (Patrick's Song Factory)
20 - 16 - Darryl Williams - "Here To Stay" - (Independent)

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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Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove dies at age 49 #jazz

Trumpeter Roy Hargrove, a prolific player who provided his jazz sound to records across a vast range of styles and won two Grammys, has died at age 49, his manager said Saturday.

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Hargrove died in New York on Friday of cardiac arrest stemming from a longtime fight with kidney disease, longtime manager Larry Clothier said in a statement.

Clothier said Hargrove "was known just as intensely for his brimming fire and fury as he was for his gorgeous, signature balladry. Over and over, his sound attested to and sanctified his deep love for music. His unselfish timbre covered the waterfront of every musical landscape."

Many of Hargrove's peers regarded him as the greatest trumpeter of his generation. Through his own bands and as a sideman, Hargrove brewed his jazz with African and Latin sounds, R&B, soul, pop, funk and hip-hop.

He led the progressive, genre-melding group The RH Factor, played in sessions for Common, Erykah Badu and D'Angelo, and collaborated with jazz giants including Herbie Hancock and Wynton Marsalis.

"He is literally the one man horn section I hear in my head when I think about music," Questlove, drummer and leader of the Roots, said on Instagram Saturday. "Love to the immortal timeless genius that will forever be Roy Hargrove y'all."

A native of Waco, Texas, Hargrove was discovered by his fellow trumpeter Marsalis while Hargrove was playing at a performing-arts high school in Dallas. He went on to the Berklee College of Music in Boston and then transferred to the New School in New York, where he joined in jam sessions at jazz clubs in the evening. One of those clubs, the Blue Note, said on its Twitter account Saturday that Hargrove was a "young master and friend gone too soon."

Hargrove released his first solo album, "Diamond in the Rough," in 1990. He won his first Grammy in 1998 with his Afro-Cuban band Crisol for its album "Habana." He then won another in 2002 for "Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall," featuring a band he led with pianist Herbie Hancock and saxophonist Michael Brecker.

Questlove, who worked with Hargrove on several projects, said his improvisational skills were astonishing.

"I can't properly document how crucial and spot on Roy was with his craft man," he said. "We NEVER gave him instructions: just played the song and watched him go."

Other tributes flowed from the musical community as word spread of Hargrove's death.

"I have no words over the loss of my dear brother of 31 years," bass player Christian McBride said on Twitter. "We played on a lot of sessions together, traveled a lot of miles together, laughed a lot together, bickered on occasion — and I wouldn't change our relationship for anything in the world. Bless you, Roy Hargrove."

Trumpet player and composer Keyon Harrold called Hargrove the "trumpeter jazz king" on Instagram.

"The spirit that radiated from the bell of his horn was always a force of youth enthralled with the wisdom of old," Harrold said.

Don Cheadle, who directed and starred in the 2016 movie "Miles Ahead" about trumpet great Miles Davis, tweeted a picture of himself with Hargrove, saying: "You were a beautiful soul, young lion, you will be terribly missed."

Hargrove is survived by his wife Aida, daughter Kamala, mother Jacklyn and brother Brian.

Memorial plans are in the works, but no details have been announced yet.

AP Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu in New York contributed to this story.

Source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-ent-roy-hargrove-dead-20181103-story.html


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