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Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Thursday, July 28, 2022
ROBERT GLASPER NEW SINGLE “ALL MASKS” FEAT. MASEGO OUT NOW #jazz
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Monday, July 25, 2022
'Drumology, Vol. II,' due out August 12 from Autumn Hill Records #jazz
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Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - July 25, 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 link.
Thursday, July 21, 2022
New Boney James "Bring It Back [featuring Dontae Winslow]" on Concord Records/Concord #jazz
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Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Soul-jazz vocalist Ricky Alan Draughn delivers a timely tribute to women #jazz
His reimagined “When You Love A Woman” is currently collecting playlist adds.
Advocating systemic change when civil unrest erupted in the midst of a pandemic and economic uncertainty two years ago, R&B-jazz balladeer Ricky Alan Draughn teamed with two-time Grammy nominated produced Chris “Big Dog” Davis (Norman Brown, Will Downing, Najee) and urban-jazz saxophonist Kim Waters to record a timely version of Sam Cooke’s poignant “A Change Is Gonna Come.” On the heels of the recent Supreme Court decision that impedes women’s rights, Draughn dropped another aptly timed musical statement, this one celebrating women in the form of the new single “When You Love A Woman,” produced by Billboard hitmaker Adam Hawley.
The 1988 power pop ballad written and recorded by Journey serves as Draughn’s source material. Anchored by the crooner’s emotive tenor vocals, Draughn belts out an impassioned salute amidst a throwback adult contemporary track featuring a grandiose gospel choir (Kevin Monroe & Devotion), sweeping strings and Hawley’s piercing electric guitar solo. The cinematic single illumined by cascading melodies and Draughn’s emotional fervor was one of the most added new singles last week on the Billboard BDS chart.
“I wanted the song to celebrate women and to be played as a backdrop to honor that special female. I wanted to bring back a memory of simpler days with a refreshing reboot of a classic tune. I’ve always loved that 1980’s soft rock era, when a song had a lyrical composition that was just as impactful as the melody. ‘When You Love a Woman’ was such a song. We arranged the background vocals specifically to allow for general interpretation and not just for a romantic relationship. My hope is that the single becomes an anthem in the wake of women’s rights currently being threatened,” said Draughn, who released an accompanying video for the single directed by Edwin Escobar (https://bit.ly/3uR5lyU).
While the single is brand new, Draughn has been performing the song in concert with his twelve-piece band for years. He usually closes his sets with it, bringing down the house with his captivating performance, making it one of his most requested songs.
Tapping Hawley to bring his vision for “When You Love A Woman” to life proved to be a perfect match for Draughn.
“Adam and I got together, and he was almost completing my thoughts. It was like we’ve known each other forever. He is an incredible musician and a pleasure to work with. As a result, the song came together very quickly. He understood the assignment, maintained the song's integrity and left the song intact, ready for my signature vocal arrangements. Adam brought in Carnell Harrell on synths and Dan Needham on drums, and it was magical - that timeless 80's sound was successfully captured,” said Draughn about the first single from his forthcoming debut album, “Genesis 8:5,” which he aims to release first quarter next year.
Hawley is producing the majority of “Genesis 8:5,” including what Draughn expects will be his next single, “Relentless,” an upbeat original written by the singer that he describes as having “sort of a neo soul vibe, very danceable.” The album will be eclectic in terms of variety, reflecting Draughn’s stylistic range and sphere of influence. He’s composing most of the music although he anticipates there will also be several collaborations.
Mixing jazz, R&B, pop and gospel, Draughn emerged from singing with prominent gospel groups such as Mighty Clouds of Joy and Mississippi Mass Choir. He’s performed at marquee venues, from the Blue Note to the Apollo Theater, and has shared the stage with R&B, funk and jazz stars, including George Clinton, Chaka Khan, Shirley Murdock, Jodeci, The Whispers, Macy Gray, War, Nancy Wilson, Lou Rawls, Wilson Pickett, Marion Meadows and Alex Bugnon, among others.
For more information, please visit https://rickyalandraughn.com.
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Monday, July 18, 2022
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - July 18, 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 link.
Thursday, July 14, 2022
Jazz-R&B guitarist Blake Aaron “dreams” his way to No. 1 #jazz
The sizzling summer single that he wrote with hitmaker Adam Hawley topped five charts simultaneously.
Guitarist Blake Aaron is living the dream. Writing, producing, recording and performing music all over the world at the highest level, he just notched his fifth Billboard number one single as a solo artist. The scintillating summer smash that he wrote with chart-topper Adam Hawley, “Dreamland” went number one on five national charts simultaneously: Billboard, Groove Jazz Music, Mediabase, Radiowave and Smooth Jazz Network. The Innervision Records single is the second consecutive release to go number one from Aaron’s forthcoming seventh album, “Love and Rhythm.”
“I set out to create a song that captures the imagination, excitement, fun and unbridled curiosity of a dream come true," said Aaron whose dexterous electric jazz guitar was accompanied on the energizing track by Hawley (rhythm guitar and keyboards), drummer Eric Valentine (who recently topped the Billboard chart with his own single), bassist Mel Brown, saxophonist and horn arranger David Mann, and trumpeter Trevor Neumann.
Together, Aaron and Hawley scored a number one last year with Aaron’s single “Sunday Strut,” which topped four charts, including Billboard. Although Aaron has produced number one singles for himself as well as for other artists, he realizes the benefits of teaming with Hawley, a consistent chart-topper both as a solo artist and as a producer.
“Working with another Billboard number one producer inspired ideas and concepts that I may not have thought of on my own. Having a writing and production partner whom I respect but has a different style than mine opens up new musical and creative doors through different approaches and compromises. Utilizing a producer to challenge an artist to go to another level with an idea they may have thought was already ‘making the cut’ or conversely, encouraging the artist to run with an idea they were ready to throw out, can take the song in a whole new direction,” said Aaron.
Aaron hopes to continue the success that he and Hawley share by collaborating. In May, they locked themselves away in Hawley’s studio and didn’t emerge until they recorded rough mixes for two more singles.
“In the internet age when most artists are collaborating online, Adam and I have found a certain magic of writing ‘old school’ by actually meeting in the studio, locking the door and not leaving until we have a fully recorded rough mix of a hit single,” said Aaron who plans to drop the next single crafted during their recent session on September 19.
Aaron has a proven track record of recording more than a handful of hit singles before bundling them as an album. Initially, it was an approach that came out of necessity for the time crunched artist – he’s also a first-call studio musician who has composed and produced music for television and film – but as the music industry has changed and evolved, now it’s a chosen path that helps him reach more listeners via Spotify. The coronavirus quarantine allowed him time to finish and release his last album, “Color and Passion,” in 2020, which spawned three Billboard number one singles.
“We’ll probably have enough music ready to release ‘Love and Rhythm’ next year.”
Catch Blake Aaron on tour in the following cities (additional dates may be added):
August 20 Tyron, NC Mountain Brook Vineyards Wine & Jazz Fest
August 21 San Diego, CA Humphrey’s Backstage Live
August 27 Melbourne, FL The Maxwell C. King Center
August 28 Largo, FL Central Park Performing Arts Center
September 5 Atlanta, GA City Winery Atlanta
September 10 Oxnard, CA Oxnard Jazz Festival
September 11 Temecula, CA Rhythm on the Vine Concert Series
October 20 Avalon, CA Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival
October 23 Galveston, TX BillyRay Sheppard’s Smooth Jazz Cruise
October 31 Sa Coma, Spain Mallorca Smooth Jazz Festival
For more information, please visit https://www.blakeaaron.com.
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Monday, July 11, 2022
Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 100 - July 11, 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 link.
Wednesday, July 06, 2022
“The Time Is Now” for “little big band” The Jones Factor #jazz
The jazz collective will drop their third album on July 15.
Uncertainty brought on by the pandemic has inspired major life changes as well as creating a sense of urgency when it comes to completing long-gestating projects. Five years in the making and fifteen years since their last release, jazz ensemble The Jones Factor committed to finishing their third album, “The Time is Now,” as soon as pandemic restrictions eased and the ten-piece horn-powered band could gather safely in the studio. The contemporary jazz collection comprised of original compositions and inventively arranged covers, produced by the group’s Dave Anderson and John Fumasoli, drops July 15.
Trombonist Fumasoli formed The Jones Factor (originally called The Jazz Collective) in 1986 with bassist Anderson and tenor saxophonist-flutist Bill Harris joining shortly thereafter. Horn heavy, they described themselves as “a little big band” and together, they crafted hundreds of charts spanning various shades of jazz, including contemporary, bop and hard bop as well as Latin, blues, funk and even hip-hop grooves. The unique instrumentation allows for a wide variety of textures, colors and sounds while the diversity of the unit’s players makes for exciting performances and imaginative improvisation.
The challenge inherent for a band comprised of busy first-call musicians who have played with jazz, pop and R&B legends (from Sinatra to Elton, from Tony Bennett to Diana Ross, from Steely Dan to Smokey Robinson) as well as prominent orchestras, symphonies and ballets is being able to gather all the members. Thus, work on their albums takes a while and they were about three years into recording “The Time is Now” when the pandemic slowed the process to a halt. As soon as the band got the greenlight to get back to work, The Jones Factor returned to the studio with a renewed impetus to finish and release the project.
“The album title comes from the fact that we were moving along great with our recording and then COVID hit. Like so many others in the music world, our lives were deeply disrupted and so we got to the point of saying that this album has to come out now. We cannot wait any longer, no matter what! Honestly, it was as much about getting off our butts and getting this music out as it was about the pandemic. The album is too good to sit on and it’s time to move to the next phase,” said Fumasoli who will lead the band at an album release concert on July 13 at La Zingara in Bethel, Connecticut.
“The Time is Now” features sixteen musicians, including ten horn players and guest guitarists Chieli Minucci (Special EFX) and John Tropea. Anderson’s elastic basslines anchor the rhythm section fortified by drummers Joel Rosenblatt (Spyro Gyra) and Thierry Arpino. Pianist Rob Aries adds to the melodies, but the focal point of The Jones Factor is the layers of mighty horns, astutely deployed and meticulously arranged. Fumasoli and Bill Harris team with Ken Gioffre (soprano and alto sax, flute), Jason Polise (tenor sax, bass clarinet), Don Hayward (bass trombone), Janet Lantz (French horn), Tony Kadleck (trumpet, flugelhorn), Scott Wendholt (trumpet, flugelhorn), Don Harris (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Ben Kibbey (trumpet, flugelhorn). Each player in this democratic union is granted the freedom to solo with each one taking an equitable turn in the spotlight.
From a production standpoint, Anderson opted to utilize a different tact than one typically associated with jazz ensembles.
“Recording this album was in one sense a straightforward application of everyone’s high-level professional skills, and in another sense an interesting experiment in trying new ways of doing things – not without risk – that ended up exceeding our expectations. My idea was to approach it the way non-jazz records have been recorded since the late sixties: building the sound in layers and creating the finished ensemble in the production environment. Doing this allowed John and I the freedom to finesse balances, phrasing and tone colors in a way that can’t be done as easily when everyone is in the studio at the same time. In other words, we produced this album like a pop or rock record. There’s plenty of seat-of-the-pants, fire-breathing improvising, but the sonic picture has the polish of a more structured pop production. It’s a best-of-both-worlds approach, and I feel we succeeded beautifully.”
“The Time is Now” opens with a pair of tunes by jazz fusion groups that have influenced The Jones Factor, the Yellowjackets’ “Past Ports” and Steps Ahead’s “Pools,” both arranged by the late Dick Burlant, who had been part of The Jones Factor’s orbit since the 1980s. “When He Calls” is an original composition by Patti Preiss-Harris, Bill Harris’s late wife, and has a wealth of personal meaning.
“The very first time we played it, we dedicated it to Patti’s father, who was going through heart surgery at the time. When he passed away six months later, we played it at his memorial service. It was always his song to me after that and usually brought tears to my eyes when I introduce it. Now that cancer has claimed Patti, the song feels very prophetic. She got the call. The song continues to bring a tear to my eye, now for different reasons,” said Bill Harris.
One of Fumasoli’s students suggested that The Jones Factor record Bela Fleck’s “Hall of Mirrors.” Multiple Grammy nominee and three-time Emmy winner Minucci lends his agile and intricate fret work to the track, captured in this studio performance video: https://bit.ly/3th8Aif.
Seven soloists shine on “Those City Ways.” Anderson said, “‘Those City Ways’ is a live performance arrangement – essentially a framework for blues solos by most of the band. To keep the long-form, extended nature of the piece interesting, I did hip-hop cut-and-paste arranging, bringing the piano in and out to make the contrast between ensemble writing and soloing more dramatic.”
The Jones Factor released their debut recording, “Collective Jazz,” in 1991 and issued their sophomore disc in 2007, “Blast From the Past.”: While eager for “The Time is Now” to finally drop this summer, they’ve already synchronized their schedules to return to the studio this fall to record new material written by Fumasoli.
“The Time is Now” contains the following songs:
“Past Ports” “Pools” “When He Calls” “Hall of Mirrors” “Better Left a Memory” “All That I Need” “Summertime” “Those City Ways” “Chorale”
Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com
Sunday, July 03, 2022
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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