Euge Groove - "Sing My Song" - Relase on Shanachie, June 26 - #jazz

Chart-Topping Saxophonist/Composer & Producer

Euge Groove

Reminds Us Of The Rewards Of Staying True On Sing My Song

Anticipated New CD Due Out On June 26th Features Guest Appearances From Maysa, Peter White, Paul Brown & Phillipe Saisse & Others!

“These times have unleashed a creativity in me that I haven’t felt in years. I think it’s been a time of self-reevaluation. A cleaning of the house so to speak,” confides Euge Groove, who has been first call for everyone from Tina Turner, Richard Marx and Joe Cocker to Tower of Power and Huey Lewis. The chart-topping saxophonist, composer and producer who has scored close to a dozen #1 hits, will release his twelfth recording as a leader, Sing My Song, on June 26, 2020. “I started work on the album about two and a half years ago. I definitely put everything I had in to it. I had been touring non- stop over the last few years and just found it hard to find the time to dig in without distractions,” says Euge. “Along comes Covid-19 and all I have is time. Ever since we went into Lockdown in LA in mid March, I worked nonstop, literally, on finishing the project. Working sometimes 24-hour days. It really wasn’t until after I finished last week that the seriousness of the world’s situation sunk in. I’ve decided to continue on that creative path.” Euge Groove’s unleashed ambition and intention has resulted in an inspired 11-track excursion that is his finest work yet. Surrounded by a cadre of some of the most revered artists on the Contemporary Jazz scene, including Maysa, Peter White, Phillipe Saisse and Paul Brown among others, the camaraderie on Sing My Song transcends the music. “I love these guys. I think of them as friends more than just musicians, even though I love their work. They all brought so much to the table.”

Euge Groove has garnered a devout following with his irresistible mix of danceable grooves, mind-bending hooks, technical agility, R&B infused melodies and inspired solos. Sing My Song opens with the sensual and joyous “Hey Boo,” which shows off his flawless multi-layered saxophones to perfect effect. He tips his hat to his Tower of Power Days on “Dirty Dozen,” the album’s first single which is a spunky and intriguing thriller that would work well as the newest James Bond theme. Euge Groove’s tenor saxophone snakes through all the choruses on a soulful chase, hitting all the right notes. The song “Rise” transports us back to the classic CTI sound as Euge Groove does a dazzling recreation of Herb Alpert’s 1979 hit. The track features guitarist Paul Brown, who creates beautiful synergy with Euge on the song. “Paul Brown has been a mentor of sorts when it comes to mixing and arranging the songs,” confides Euge Groove. Sing My Song also features the gorgeous gospel-tinged ballad “Until Tomorrow,” featuring Euge’s pristine soprano and guitarist Peter White. “Peter is one of my besties. I also look up to him as an artist. He never disappoints!” Returning the favor to us all Euge Groove does not disappoint on “Say I Won’t” as he serves up his growling tenor on the energized and playful and modulating ditty.

Sing My Song’s title track and show-stopping number is co-penned by Euge and his label-mate, singer songwriter Lindsey Webster and features the dynamic and always consistent songbird Maysa. Webster was a guest vocalist on Euge’s album Groove On and this is the first time he and Maysa have recorded with one another. “I love Lindsey and her writing and I’ve been a huge Maysa fan for years,” confides the saxophonist. “The lyric, song and performance really hit the core of my soul. I think the theme is something everyone can relate to no matter what your ‘song’ may be. To me, it’s all about staying strong inside no matter what others may think. You have to value yourself from within, not through the eyes of others.” There is a re-mix version of this song at the album’s finale that highlights a lush orchestral arrangement by Phillipe Saisse. “Phillipe is truly a gifted artist in so many ways. His orchestral arranging is just beautiful. I asked him to do a full orchestral arrangement, not just strings, but strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, the whole thing,” explains Euge. “I remember getting his arrangement on a Friday evening. Shortly after he sent me the remix version of ‘Sing My Song’ with just Maysa, myself, and the orchestra. I was blown away. He did it just for fun, but I knew it had to make the album. So, I included it as a sort of a bonus cut. His arrangement is another reason the song became the title track.” The romanticism sustained and legato tension of Euge Groove’s tenor playing on “Gatito” is a memorable tribute to Argentinean saxophonist Gato Barbieri. “He was very influential in my early years of playing,” shares Euge Groove. “He played with such passion.” Euge shifts to cruise-control for “The Journey Ahead” and explains, “This song is all about pushing forward. When one door opens to the next we often have no idea where it will lead us. There are moments when you open those doors where you just feel like “ahhhhhhhh.” It just feels so good. The bridge to ‘The Journey Ahead’ captures that feeling for me.” Euge Groove shows off his ability to paint melodies that have a way of staying in your mind on the assuring “Of Course” and the composition “Good Night” closes the chapter and turns the page on another winning Euge Groove recording.

Euge Groove’s musical sensibilities are hard-won. Born Steven Eugene Grove in Hagerstown, Maryland, he grew up in a musical home. His mother played piano and taught the church choir and Euge began his musical pursuits at the age of seven, beginning with piano and adding saxophone at nine. Two saxophonists had a profound effect on his approach to playing. “One was French classical player Marcel Mule, who really defined what the sax was supposed to sound like for me and the other was David Sanborn, who took that sound and brought it into the mainstream world,” Euge reminisces. Through the years, Euge’s love of Jazz, R&B, Gospel and Blues have all come together to inform his personalized sound. He explains, “I’ve listened to everyone from Grover (Washington, Jr.) and Sanborn to (Charlie) Parker and Coltrane, as well as (Michael) Brecker, (Stan) Getz, King Curtis, Jr. Walker, Richard Elliot and Kirk Whalum. The more mature we become the more those influences fuse into something new. A graduate of Miami’s School Of Music, Euge launched his professional career in Miami in the mid-80s, playing in salsa bands, Top 40 club bands and doing the occasional high-profile session date like Expose’s “Seasons Change,” a #1 Billboard AC hit. In 1987 he moved to L.A., wrote a track for Richard Elliot’s The Power of Suggestion and Elliot recommended Euge to take over his spot in Tower of Power. Euge toured with TOP for four years, including a year backing Huey Lewis & The News. He went on to record, tour or perform with the likes of Joe Cocker, The Eurythmics, The Gap Band, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville and Richard Marx (that’s Euge’s horn on “Keep Coming Back,” a #1 AC hit duet he recorded with Luther Vandross). In 1999, Euge started recording his own material, dubbing himself Euge Groove, and posting his music on the now-defunct MP3.com website; downloading started almost immediately and Euge was soon topping the MP3.com Jazz chart. He signed soon thereafter with Warner Bros. “Vinyl,” his first single from his eponymous Warner Bros. debut, set a record by spending 27 weeks on the R&R charts, eventually ranking #24 for the year. In 2004, Euge Grooves’ Narada debut, Livin’ Large, spent 68 weeks on the Billboard charts. The title track was the #5 most played song for 2004 on the R&R singles chart. Just Feels Right followed in 2005 and its first single was #1 for two months. There followed in the next decade a string of hit singles and best-selling albums; his hit “Religify” was ‘song of the year’ in 2007, and his albums S7ven Large and House Of Groove each spawned #1 hits. Got 2 Be Groovin’ came in 2014 and 2016 saw the release of Still Euge, which featured the hit title track as well as memorable vocal appearances from Oleta Adams and Rahsaan Patterson. Groove On was released in 2017 featuring and the title track scored yet another #1 for him.

With the release of Sing My Song Euge Groove hopes the music will connect with his fans. He concludes, “They call turning in an album to the record label ‘delivery’ for a reason! Each of these songs are like children to me. There is so much time and focus put into each one. I hope the music touches people and they will hear this and feel this labor of love.”

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com 

Jazz from Amazon.com

Ute Lemper Channels Dietrich on "Rendezvous with Marlene" #jazz

It takes a kind of fearlessness to address the mythical talent of superstar Marlene Dietrich. Dietrich’s stardom is legendary; her story a picaresque of adventure, fantasy, imagination, and coveted reality. Yet, if anyone can begin to touch Dietrich’s transcendent nature, to tell her story, it would have to be Berlin-born, New York-based Ute Lemper. 

Lemper, a multi-talented musical theater and cabaret star, has lit up stages—acting, singing, dancing, writing, even painting—since the early ’80s. She began with Chekhov and Weill, among others, making a name for herself as an outsized talent. 
 
But it was as a songstress, particularly as an exponent of the music of the Weimar Republic, that Lemper made her most lasting impact. She brings immense theatricality to her music, along with irony, sexuality, satire, and humor. She received a tremendous amount of attention for her dramatic cabaret-style performances and was heralded as the “New Dietrich.” In 1988, after receiving a Moliére Award for her performance in “Cabaret” in Paris, Ute sent a note to Dietrich, essentially apologizing for all the comparisons. I explained to her that I was just starting my career and that the comparisons were inappropriate,” said Lemper. I thanked her for inspiring me to become a performer and mentioned how much I admired her many achievements on stage and screen.”
 
A month later, Dietrich, then in her late 80s, called Lemper. Dietrich was a recluse by that time and had not left her Paris home for many years. But she and Lemper connected and the discussion was incredibly rich and profound. She told me everything about her life–emotional and historical—and I was very overwhelmed by it all,” said Lemper. It took me thirty years to think about it and finally be ready to put it into a show.” The three-hour conversation the two had discussing Dietrich’s fascinating life, forms the foundation of Rendezvous with Marlene, a lavish, lovable homage to the great performer. It began as a performance and is now a spectacular recording of the same name.

Ute sings to us Marlene’s story, fabulous songs from all the chapters of her life, from the Berlin cabaret years to her Burt Bacharach collaborations, with whom Dietrich toured for 15 years. Lemper puts her own spin on the material, injects them with modern drama, melodrama, and unfiltered flourishes of Dietrich’s sensuality.
 
Ute Lemper Rendezvous with Marlene is “An unforgettable evening: stylish, graceful, heart-warming and powerful, this is an event not to be missed,” says Shane Morgan of St. George’s Bristol, UK. 

Essentially, Rendezvous with Marlene is the sound of one enormous talent passing her story along to another. And while we don’t know what motivated Dietrich to transfer her life story to Lemper, she most certainly sensed they were kindred spirits. You don’t have to listen long to the many lush tracks on Rendezvous with Marlene to understand that the two possess a simpatico life, sharing a kind of distinct versatility, attitude, humor, and multi-faceted approach to art. One critic raved: “An extraordinary, unforgettable evening with a sublime artist at the height of her powers – it should on no account be missed!” (Musical Theatre Review)
 
“A superb tribute to one astonishing woman from another, fascinating, enlightening, intense, often moving, and always entertaining,” according to Northern Soul.

“What a gift it was to hear Marlene talk about her life,” says Lemper. “This recording is my personal tribute to her. She was sexy, tough, and funny and her comic timing was ever-present, even in her singing,” said Lemper. “She was a free spirit,” Lemper recalls. “She was politically and morally outspoken and courageous. She was ladylike and bossy. She had class but loved whiskey, dirty jokes, and a good smoke. I tell her story through my eyes and sing her songs with my voice. She is using my body and voice to speak.”
 
Successfully. Says a critic writing for Gay UK, “By a huge margin the finest act of sustained, emotional intensity and fearless self-revelation I’ve ever seen. Ute – like Bowie, Callas and Garland before her – is in an unprecedented class of her own.”

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com 

Jazz from Amazon.com

Brazilian jazz pianist Ricardo Bacelar makes a “Live” statement with “Nothing Will Be As It Was” #jazz

His “Live in Rio” album drops August 21 preceded by the single that aptly reflects our times

Brazil is leading the world per capita in coronavirus cases making it unlikely that people will be cramming into a concert venue anytime soon to hear live music. Then there is the recent unrest that erupted in response to civil injustices in the US that bodes to spark meaningful change around the world. These are the events that inspired contemporary jazz pianist Ricardo Bacelar to release a new version of the Milton Nascimento classic “Nothing Will Be As It Was (Nada Sera Como Antes)” as a single ahead of the release of his “Live in Rio (Ao Vivo No Rio)” album, which drops August 21 from Bacelar Productions.   

“‘Nothing Will Be As It Was’ summarizes the existential questions raised globally by the coronavirus pandemic. Add to it the civil injustice and unrest that has surfaced over the last couple of weeks with Black Lives Matter, which is an especially important movement. We’re talking about the subject here in Brazil, too. We have a lot of problems with racism here, but our people have not yet taken the streets to protest and have social demonstrations. The world is watching the United States and people are talking about these issues everywhere,” said Bacelar who produced the 11-song “Live in Rio” collection.

Bacelar’s 2018 album, “Sebastiana,” contains a very different version of “Nothing Will Be As It Was,” which was sung in English by American singer Maye Osorio and accompanied by an animated video that suited the pop-electronic rendition of the song. The new live version has a different arrangement and features Bacelar dueting with Brazilian vocalist-pianist Delia Fischer in Portuguese backed by a jazz band.   

“I chose to release this single thinking about this moment and the lyrics of the song. The lyrics are like a photograph of the moment. It’s a very famous song in Brazil that was originally recorded in 1976 when we were under a military dictatorship. The lyrics say ‘I know that tomorrow nothing will be like before, What news of my friends will they give me? What news of you will they give me?’ People were disappearing at the hands of the dictatorial military regime. And now people are disappearing – dying – because of the virus. Everyone in Brazil, the United States and all over the world have lost friends due to the virus,” said Bacelar. 

“Live in Rio” was recorded in May 2018 at The Blue Note in Rio while Bacelar was promoting “Sebastiana.” He trimmed the 17-song set to the eleven tunes that appear on the live record feeling that the selected song list on the disc represents a balanced sampling of his repertoire and body of work. The outing includes tunes penned by Brazilian icons Nascimento, Tom Jobim, Gilberto Gil and Flora Purim along with American greats Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Pat Metheny and Chick Corea. Also included is a composition that Bacelar wrote with producer Cesar Lemos (Ricky Martin, Paulina Rubio) titled “Sernambetiba, 1992” from “Sebastiana.”  

                                                         

“I love the sound of the album because you can hear the energy of the live performance and the sound of playing in a jazz club. The Blue Note isn’t a big place – about 300 people – so you can hear the ambiance of playing in a small club. The microphone on the piano picked up the other instruments like the drums and saxophone because it’s a small place. The sound is very different than what you get in the studio where the sound is more clean,” said Bacelar who was accompanied by guitarist João Castilho, saxophonist-flutist Danilo Sina, double bassist Alexandre Katatau, drummer Renato Endrigo and percussionist André Siqueira.     

The idea of dropping the live album now began earlier in quarantine when Bacelar sat to record a solo piano piece for his social media. It made him think about the isolation people were feeling and the role live music plays and the unique energy it possesses.

“The time in isolation is accompanied by multiple experiences and music is a fundamental vehicle for perception, connection and the formation of perspectives that bring meaning to the events on personal, spiritual and emotional levels. I wanted to remind people of the sound of live music. People need the warm sound and feelings of live music as opposed to the electronic stuff we hear on studio recordings. By listening to this live album, you can embrace the warm sound from the safety and comfort of your home.”   

As an artist, Bacelar wants “Live in Rio” to be viewed as more than just a live recording. He wants the album to have impact, to say something, which is clearly reflected in his choice of the first single.  

“The album is not only about the songs. Without art and abstraction, life is meaningless. Artists have to have a position, make a statement about something and have a voice – not just sing and play piano. The album is a concept – with the arrangements, the cover, the lyrics. It’s important to me to send an important message.”

      

“Live in Rio (Ao Vivo No Rio)” contains the following songs:

“Killer Joe”

“Toda Menina Bahiana”

“Nothing Will Be As It Was”

“Senõr Blues”

“Partido Alto”

“So May It Secretly Begin”

“Caicó Cantiga”

“Água de Beber”

“Sernambetiba, 1992”

“Nanã”

“Blue Miles”

For more information, please visit http://ricardobacelar.com.br.

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com
Jazz from Amazon.com

Jazz clarinetist Eddie Daniels captures the heart of another Brazilian great #jazz

“Night Kisses: A Tribute To Ivan Lins” featuring Dave Grusin and Bob James drops July 31

“It’s jazz, it’s beauty and it opens the heart.” That is how six-time GRAMMY-nominated horn player Eddie Daniels describes his forthcoming album, “Night Kisses: A Tribute to Ivan Lins.” Slated to drop July 31 on Resonance Records, the new collection is the second chapter in a trilogy devoted to iconic Brazilian composers and the follow up to the 2018 GRAMMY-nominated “Heart of Brazil: A Tribute to Egberto Gismonti.” Both albums were produced by the series’ conceptualizer George Klabin.

Daniels, who is best known as a clarinetist and tenor saxophonist accomplished in both jazz and classical music, has a long history of playing Brazilian and Latin music. However, he admitted to “being kind of a dummy about the specific great Brazilian composers that I was about to tackle when George approached me with the idea for the trilogy, but I have this clave (Afro-Cuban groove) in my body as much as anyone because I just love this music so much.”

Klabin selected a dozen tunes from Lins’ songbook for “Night Kisses,” which closes with an original composition by GRAMMY and Emmy winner Bob James, “Ivante,” inspired by and named for Lins. When Klabin sent the music to Daniels, the multi-hornplayer only knew one song, “Amor,” and the material itself presented a challenge. 

“I was kind of befuddled because I loved the music, but I didn’t know if I could live up to the kind of heart that Ivan puts into the music that is so soulful. He became so special to me because of his singing, the heart – it’s raw, beautiful and emotional. I kept saying ‘How am I going to live up to this on a clarinet or a saxophone?’ The great thing about George is that he wanted to do music that was not so popular, that was older music by Ivan Lins, so you could say that most of this music I knew nothing of,” said Daniels, a New Yorker who has lived in Santa Fe for several decades.    

Coming off the success of “Heart of Brazil,” Daniels was looking to bring something special to “Night Kisses” when fate intervened. Dental work prevented him from playing clarinet in the weeks prior to the recording sessions held in Klabin’s Los Angeles studio so Daniels did something he hadn’t done in 30 years: he started playing flute, an instrument he played and studied extensively in the early portion of his lengthy career. Daniels calls the reappearance of flute in his music “the surprise of the album” that is evenly divided between four flute tunes, four clarinet tunes and four tenor sax tunes.

  

Daniels is accompanied by the same rhythm section he had on “Heart of Brazil”: pianist Josh Nelson (who also contributed three arrangements), bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Mauricio Zottarelli. Kuno Schmid plays piano on the romantic “Cantor Da Noite” and wrote a handful of arrangements for the album. The Harlem Quartet fills the album with lavish string section accoutrements. But the highlights are the appearances by James and Academy Awards and 10-time GRAMMY winner Dave Grusin, each of whom wrote two arrangements and played on two tracks. Incredibly, their collaboration on “Ivante” is the first time the two contemporary jazz piano giants ever recorded together with Grusin featured on acoustic piano and James on electric.

“Bob and Dave know Ivan Lins very well. Ivan is on one of Dave’s early albums, ‘Harlequin.’ He basically introduced Ivan Lins to the American public with that album. I thought their appearances would make this record a little bit different. Dave and Bob were both very, very generous with wanting to be on the album. I was a guest on a lot of their albums. Dave hired me to do seven albums on GRP Records. When I was in the studios in the 1970s doing all the CTI recordings, Bob always called me to be one of the reed players on his albums. I got a chance to have two of my bosses and idols be on this album. I’m so glad because my history is with them. For me, it’s kind of a summation of everything I’ve done through my life up to now,” said Daniels.

James said, “It was the highlight of my year to have the opportunity to contribute some music to this beautiful project. I’ve always loved the artistry of Ivan Lins and working alongside Eddie Daniels and Dave Grusin was a big pleasure and very stimulating.”

Klabin first became enchanted by Lins’ music while visiting family in Brazil in the 1970s. His heart is deeply rooted in Brazilian music. The veteran jazz producer, Resonance Records president and founder of Rising Jazz Stars Foundation has already begun sending Daniels music for the final disc in the trilogy: an album paying tribute to Milton Nascimento. In the meantime, he is immensely proud of “Night Kisses,” calling it "The most meaningful and satisfying production of jazz I have ever worked on in my entire career.”

Daniels concurs. “I feel that too because sometimes when you don’t try too hard, you get it right. When people hear it, they frequently comment on the album’s musicality. I like the album for this time with what we’re all going through. Because of this virus and we’re all stuck at home, maybe people will sit at home and listen to the entire album. Nobody really listens to a whole body of work. People download one tune. I feel that this album is a uniquely whole work.”

Now in his late 70s, Daniels hears growth and maturity in his hornplay on “Night Kisses.” 

“My playing was always described as too busy in my early days - my 30s. Your inner being changes as you mature. This album is kind of a high point in terms of maturity of emotion, of being able to play simply and get my point across lovingly and economically. This album isn’t bebop. It’s all about the heart,” said Daniels before reflecting on current events.

"In these days when we are struggling with coronavirus, politics and protests, we need to warm our hearts and get us back to love. ‘Night Kisses’ does just that. When I hear it, it has a great calming effect...a way to get to our hearts and block out the noise of the world."

“Night Kisses: A Tribute To Ivan Lins” contains the following songs:

“A Voz De Povo” (The Voice Of The People)

“Pano De Fundo” (Backdrop)

“Manos De Afeto” (Hand Of Affection)

“D’Aquilo Que Eu Sei” (That Which I Know)

“Velas Icadas” (Hoisted Sails)

“Dinorah, Dinorah” (The Call Girl)

“”Cantor Da Noite” (The Night Singer)

“Quadras De Roda” (Children’s Folk Dance)

“Amor” (Love)

“Lembra” (Remember)

“Depois Dos Temporais” (After The Storms)

“A Noite” (The Night)

“Ivante”

The album’s “D’Aquilo Que Eu Sei” (That Which I Know) is available now: "D’aquilo Que Eu Sei"

For more information, please visit http://eddiedanielsclarinet.net.

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com 

Jazz from Amazon.com

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - June 8, 2020 #jazz

SmoothJazz.com Top 100 Album Chart

THE WORLD'S ONLY SMOOTH JAZZ ALBUM CHART - FORMERLY THE GAVIN REPORT

Click here to access the smoothjazz.com chart

This chart is valid for this week only if there is a new chart published next Monday.

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com 

Jazz from Amazon.com

Contemporary jazz duo Vibes Alive hope “Windchime” rings in healing #jazz

The second single from their “Vibrasonic” album is the most added new single this week

It had been twelve years between albums for contemporary jazz group Vibes Alive when their “Vibrasonic” disc dropped in early March. Only their third album in the 23-year partnership between vibraphonist Dirk Richter and guitarist Randall Crissman, each recording is an event record. The buzz started building prior to the release date when the title track earned Most Added honors on the Billboard BDS chart driven by airplay from national outlet SiriusXM’s Watercolors. However, the album ended up being upstaged by the coronavirus pandemic when the two “events” hit the US in virtual lockstep. The dynamic duo looks to change the energy with the release of the set’s second single, “Windchime,” which is the No. 1 most added single on this week’s Billboard BDS chart.

One of ten songs written by Richter and Crissman for the new album, “Windchime” is a hypnotic mix of melodic vibes and electric jazz guitar tethered to a jazz-funk groove powered by crack drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Jimmy Johnson and percussionist Luis Conte. GRAMMY winner Jeff Lorber shines during a spacy synthesizer solo and also adds keyboards. The seminal jazz fusion keyboardist is the only musician aside from Richter and Crissman who appears on all three Vibes Alive albums.

Just prior to “Vibrasonic”’s street date, Richter spoke almost presciently about the healing elements in the music that he and Crissman make. With the US reeling from the devastating health and financial crises caused by the virus along with civil injustice and unrest, the need for our collective healing perhaps has never been greater.

“As it is these days for everybody, life’s kind of hard. We need things without bias, without judgement; open our hearts to love and sonic enhancement for the sake of healing. These frequencies and rhythms are the most base and obvious connection to our souls,” said Richter.

“Vibrasonic” has been well received by the jazz media and with people beginning to emerge from quarantine, Vibes Alive hopes the new single will help the well-crafted album garner the attention that it richly deserves as it further escapes from the buzz-killing shadow of COVID-19. 

Below is a sampling of album reviews: 

“On this absolutely superbly-crafted record, one just so beautifully shaped by Dirk and Randall's uniquely layered compositions and visionary blend of vibes and guitar, right from the lush, free flowing opening track 'Sweet Vibes' you know you're in for a right royal musical treat.” – Exclusive Magazine

“This latest album, 𝘝𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤, is an album that undeniably and unmistakably roots itself in the very foundation of jazz, incorporating the fusion element in a light, almost unimposing manner while effectively influencing your musical senses delightfully.” – Smooth Jazz Ride

“I’m not aware of too many albums where vibes and guitar are used as dual lead instruments…twin strikers, if you would. Then I’ve never come across Vibes Alive…a dynamic duo who have just released a third album of jazz grooves where their respective talents…the vibraphone of Dirk Richter and the guitar of Randall Crissman share the limelight; neither dominating the other but rather the one respecting and complementing the other.” – Soul&Jazz&Funk

“The combination of vibraphone and guitar as the main instruments in contemporary jazz is not common, yet they form a warm and earthy sound…pleasant contemporary jazz.” – Keys and Chords

“It is sweet Jazz in its purest form.” – The Pulse of Entertainment & EUR Web

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

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com 

Jazz from Amazon.com

Guitarist Lawson Rollins’ imaginative “With the Wind” hopes to blow to the top of the charts #jazz

The second single from “True North” dropped Monday

The winds of change are upon us and while possessing the power of destruction, wind can also purify, refresh and foster renewal. It’s the latter that world music guitarist Lawson Rollins had in mind when composing “With the Wind,” the second single from the recently released “True North” album, a collection that the Billboard chart-topper wrote and produced marking his 20^th anniversary as a recording artist. The single recently serviced to radio began collecting playlist adds on Monday.

“‘With the Wind’ is an expression of energetic joyfulness. The song emerged out of improvisation - as songs often do for me - so the inspiration was spontaneous and enigmatic as the music flowed naturally, like the steady force of the wind,” said the San Francisco-based Rollins who was named by Guitar Player magazine as one of the “50 Transcedent Acoustic Guitarists” of all-time.

“With the Wind” follows the success of the album’s first single, “Bluewave Bossanova,” which went to No. 1 on the SmoothJazz.com chart, Top 10 on the Mediabase and Groove Jazz Music charts, and Top 30 on the Billboard and Radiowave Monitor charts. Opening with tribal percussion beats, “With the Wind” takes off on an exuberant flight. Rollins crafts whirling gusts of masterful acoustic guitar delivered at alacritous speed and technical brilliance, searing electric guitar accents and snappy beats at cadences that vacillate between a cascading and careening thrill ride mixed with deliberate and dramatic pauses seemingly to allow the listener the opportunity to catch their breath. The track is an eclectic escapade unlike any other recorded by Rollins, who was accompanied by Stephen Duros (additional keyboards and electric guitar), Dan Feiszli (bass) and Dave Bryant (drums and percussion).

        

Named by Jazziz magazine as one of the “10 Albums You Need to Know,” “True North” displays familiar Rollins’ hallmarks while introducing new and different elements. His prodigious fingerstyle guitar work remains the focal point of the tracks that stylistically serve a melange of contemporary jazz, world music, Latin and New Age sounds. On this outing, Rollins expands his repertoire by playing electric and slide guitars and steel string guitar alongside his signature classical Spanish nylon string acoustic guitar. He also adds textured synthesizer swatches. Known for embarking on lengthy improvisational explorations, Rollins keeps the tracks tightly focused on “True North,” exhibiting discipline and control.

Exotic travel and exhilarating adventure have long been Rollins’ primary thematic subjects, however, as pictured on the album cover and accompanying photography in the CD packaging, “True North” derives much of it’s geographic inspiration from a more familiar locale: Rollins’ favorite vacation spot on the Outer Banks in his home state of North Carolina.         

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

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com 

Jazz from Amazon.com

Smooth Jazz Chart - Weekly Top 20 - June 1, 2020 #jazz

SmoothJazz.com Top 100 Album Chart

THE WORLD'S ONLY SMOOTH JAZZ ALBUM CHART - FORMERLY THE GAVIN REPORT

Click here to access the smoothjazz.com chart

This chart is valid for this week only if there is a new chart published next Monday.

Best selling smooth jazz at amazon.com 

Jazz from Amazon.com