Woodward Avenue Records

Saxophonist Elan Trotman has “Got To Give It Up” to Marvin Gaye

Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

Elan Trotman

Saxophonist Elan Trotman has “Got To Give It Up” to Marvin Gaye

He drops a tribute album, “Dear Marvin,” on April 2, the iconic crooner’s 80th birthday. The first single, “Got To Give It Up,” is the No. 1 most-added single on the Billboard chart this week.

BOSTON (20 March 2019): Sax salutes sexy soul on Elan Trotman’s “Dear Marvin,” a collection of ten of Marvin Gaye’s best-loved songs that drops on April 2, the late legendary R&B singer’s 80th birthday. Preceding the set’s arrival is the single “Got To Give It Up,” a vibrant reboot of one of Gaye’s funky dance tracks that is the No. 1 most-added single on the Billboard chart this week as an instrumental from the Woodward Avenue Records album produced by Charles Haynes (Marcus Miller, Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah) and Trotman.

“It’s amazing how this project came about. ‘Got To Give It Up’ has been a huge part of my live show for the past two years and has always been a crowd favorite. That is just one of the many factors that inspired me to record the song and to dig deeper into Marvin’s catalogue and life story. I had no idea that his 80th birthday would be coming up around our time of completing the album, but once I found out, I knew we had to release it on April 2 to mark the occasion,” said Trotman, an award-winning saxophonist who has topped the Billboard singles chart more than ten times.

In reimagining Gaye’s catalogue in instrumental form, Trotman shares the spotlight on “Dear Marvin,” with premier soloists, including Grammy-winning keyboardist Jeff Lorber, seminal urban-jazz flautist Najee, esteemed trumpeter Patches Stewart, soul-jazz-hip hop-funk trombonist Jeff Bradshaw and veteran guitarist Sherrod Barnes. Trotman strategically deploys vocals to illumine a few key tracks. Ray Greene (Santana, Tower of Power) begs on “Mercy Mercy Me”; rapper Obadele Thompson plies his come-on skills to “I Want You”; and Tim “Smithsoneon” Smith provides the cure through “Sexual Healing.” Members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra enhance a pair of tracks with strings. Including Haynes, Trotman’s core collaborators are his former colleagues from Berklee College of Music: keyboardist Mitch Henry (Marsha Ambrosius), bassists Kyle Miles and Keithen Foster (H.E.R.), and percussionist Atticus Cole.

“It’s been an honor to be able to share my interpretations of some of Marvin’s classics. As with all cover projects, I made an extra effort to learn lyrics and storylines for each composition in order to truly understand his interpretations and performances on each song,” said the Boston-based Trotman, who is planning to be in Los Angeles on April 2 for an 11am ceremony held by the United States Postal Service at The Greek Theatre to celebrate the release of the Marvin Gaye commemorative Forever stamp.

“We, Marvin’s family, heard about Elan doing a musical tribute to Marvin. We are very pleased with his album ‘Dear Marvin,’ and are so happy that it will be released on his birthday, April 2. The musicians are all incredible! Thank you, Elan Trotman. Job well done,” said Janis Gaye, Gaye’s second wife.

“Dear Marvin,” is Trotman’s eighth album and second on the Woodward Avenue Records imprint. The label issued the saxophone-flute player’s 2013 disc, “Tropicality,” an autobiographical album that colors contemporary jazz with native sounds from Trotman’s homeland, Barbados. Trotman curates, produces and hosts the Barbados Jazz Excursion and Golf Weekend annually over Columbus Day Weekend with the sixth edition taking place this October 10-14. Bringing that winning formula closer to home, he will launch the first annual Martha’s Vineyard Jazz Excursion and Golf Weekend in Oak Bluffs, MA on June 28-30. To support the album release, Trotman will perform at festivals, theaters and nightclubs through October beginning with the prestigious Boscov’s Berks Jazz Festival in Reading, PA on April 5.

“Dear Marvin,” contains the following songs:

“Inner City Blues” featuring Sherrod Barnes

“Got To Give It Up”

“Distant Lover” featuring Patches Stewart

“Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing”

“Mercy Mercy Me” featuring Ray Greene

“I Want You” featuring Obadele Thompson

“Sexual Healing” featuring “Smithsoneon”

“After The Dance” featuring Najee

“Trouble Man” featuring Jeff Lorber

“I Heard It Through The Grapevine” featuring Jeff Bradshaw

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

Grammy-winning hit-maker Paul Brown follows his heart “Back” to his roots

Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

paul-brown

 

Grammy-winning hit-maker Paul Brown follows his heart “Back” to his roots

The urban-jazz guitarist releases the bluesy “One Way Back” on Friday, an album on which he collaborates with four contemporary jazz guitar giants and another Paul Brown.

SHERMAN OAKS (30 September 2016): Paul Brown has had the Midas touch since the early ‘90s when he began producing some of the biggest contemporary jazz hits and definitive chart-topping albums by the brightest urban-jazz stars in the galaxy, amassing more than 60 Billboard No. 1 singles. In the past twelve years, the guitarist stepped forward as an artist in his own right, consistently cranking out hits of his own. Although his formative recordings established the sound of the smoother side of contemporary jazz for more than two decades, Brown yearned to reconnect with his first musical passion: the blues. On Friday, Woodward Avenue Records issued his eighth solo collection, “One Way Back,” a self-produced ten-track outing on which he followed his heart back to his blues roots.

“There was only one way back to my roots and that was to go down every road and embrace each one of them in order to find my way back to where I began,” said Brown, a two-time Grammy winner who wrote nine new tunes for the disc that was preceded by a reimagined take on Joe Sample’s party starter “Put It Where You Want It,” currently bulleted at No. 8 on the Billboard singles chart.

Bubbling under Brown’s clean and cool electric jazz guitar expressions throughout “One Way Back” are blues-powered keyboard and Hammond B3 organ blasts courtesy of the similarly-named Brother Paul Brown (no relation) and stacks of muscular horn section workouts from saxophonist Greg Vail and trumpeter-horn arranger Lee Thornberg. Having enjoyed a tremendous amount of success producing signature hits for saxophonists Boney James, Kirk Whalum, Euge Groove and Jessy J, Brown invited label mate saxman Darren Rahn to guest on “Sexy Thang.” Guitar fans will rejoice that four cuts – “Piccadilly Circus,” “River Walk,” “Take Flight” and “Rear View Mirror”- spotlight Brown trading stringed barbs with contemporary jazz guitar sensations Chris Standring, Marc Antoine, Peter White and Chuck Loeb respectively. Standring, Antoine and White stand apart using the voice of nylon guitars while Fourplay’s Loeb emotes deftly on jazz guitar. The session boasts a roof-raising gospel-jazz vocal from Don Bryant on the celebratory juke joint original “Well Alright.” Brown himself takes to the mic to croon the intimate “Heaven,” a poignant, heart-on-the-sleeve country-blues album closer spotlighting the artist’s character-rich voice.

“’One Way Back’ is a journey thru my musical and life experiences. This album is a pure sense of expression and everything I’ve got to give,” said Brown before adding, “I’m a much better guitarist, producer and writer now than ever before.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif., initially Brown was a drummer before picking up the guitar. After learning his way around the recording studio, he became the engineer for R&B legends Diana Ross, Luther Vandross and Aretha Franklin. Moving over into the producer’s seat, Brown almost single-handedly architected the sound of smooth/contemporary jazz since the 1990s before delivering his solo debut in 2004, “Up Front.” From subsequent albums, three of which went Top 10, two singles -2005’s “Winelight” and 2007’s “The Rhythm Method” – were the most-played radio songs of their respective years. Concert performances around the world enabled him to refine and develop his guitar chops as well as cultivate his fan base far beyond the limiting confines of a recording studio. For more information, please visit www.PaulBrownJazz.com.

Brown’s “One Way Back” album contains the following songs:

“Put It Where You Want It”

“Sexy Thang” (featuring Darren Rahn)

“Hush”

“Piccadilly Circus” (featuring Chris Standring)

“River Walk” (featuring Marc Antoine)

“Well Alright” (featuring Don Bryant)

“Take Flight” (featuring Peter White)

“One Way Back”

“Rear View Mirror” (featuring Chuck Loeb)

“Heaven”

Description: Description: C:\Users\Dell User\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\H2RL54ZY\woodwardlogo.jpg

Hitman Darren Rahn seeks maximum impact with “Sonic Boom”

Pink and Blue NotesLeave a comment

Darren Rahn.jpg

 

Hitman Darren Rahn seeks maximum impact with “Sonic Boom”

The saxophonist’s fifth album, due March 4, will have an exclusive world premiere on February 27; 

dynamic first single, “D-Luxe,” explodes onto radio playlists.

DENVER (24 February 2016): Whether it’s with a devastating jazz-funk workout, nasty R&B groove, bellowing gospel soul call or an emotionally-intense melody, saxman Darren Rahn is hitting and hitting hard on “Sonic Boom,” his fifth album and first for Woodward Avenue Records, which is releasing the recording March 4. Responsible for crafting 25 No. 1 singles, Rahn, who produced and wrote all nine originals on the ten tracker, is virtually guaranteed to add to that total with the combustible new set on which he trades blows with chart-toppers Rick Braun, Jonathan Fritzen and Julian Vaughn as well as Rico Wint (vocals) and Robin Eubanks (trombone). The multiple GRAMMY® nominee’s new offering is already off to a powerful start with radio programmers making the lush, horn-ignited “D-Luxe” the No. 1 most-added single on the Billboard BDS chart.           

Undaunted by his successes as a solo artist as well as a producer, songwriter and engineer behind some of the biggest instrumental hits by marquee artists over the past decade, Rahn changed his approach on “Sonic Boom” in an effort to elevate his sound, technique and unique artistic expression.  On previous releases, he orated through tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, but elected to play tenor exclusively on the forthcoming album to define a singular voice. The record plays and is paced like a live show with each song having a cold ending as opposed to a studio fade. Rahn’s production sounds live and warm, aided in part by his decision to use only real drums, another first. His melody-rich material comes straight from the heart sounding grand and luminous, packing a wallop with potent hooks that are passionately performed. The outing also serves as a showcase for Rahn’s proficiency as a multi-instrumentalist – the sax player also plays piano, keyboards, Hammond organ, vocals, EWI and synth programming on “Sonic Boom.” He makes it a family affair by inviting his brother, Jason Rahn, to play trumpet, flugelhorn and guitar and coaxes his wife, Priscilla, to play flute on the lone cover, a rapturous “Rock With You.” Guitarist Allen Hinds and bassist Mel Brown maintain constant presences on the disc while several drummers (Anthony Steele, Tarell Martin and Anthony Jones) pound out the beats. Vaughn fills in admirably for the late bassist Wayman Tisdale on “Losing You,” a moving musical tribute penned by Rahn for his frequent collaborator and departed friend.        

“The idea behind ‘Sonic Boom’ is about real music – inspired music – created with real musicians playing real instruments and presented in a way that plays much like a live set. I wanted to condense my personality down to the very core to concisely express the essence of who I am as an artist. Drawing from the assorted musical styles that form my musical personality and saxophone playing – jazz, funk, R&B, soul, pop, rock, gospel and fusion – I wanted ‘Sonic Boom’ to reflect the diversity of my musical influences and history while at the same time flowing and working as a cohesive collection. In an era when music is often created by taking shortcuts, it was my desire to use the finest analog and digital studio equipment and state-of-the-art techniques while gathering as many of the best studio session players as possible. I wanted to create something that would provide the listener with a truly amazing listening experience, sounding full, warm, punchy, luxurious and exciting. My hope is that people will genuinely be impacted by the music, that it will bring joy and encouragement,” said Rahn about “Sonic Boom,” which will premiere in its entirety on Saturday, February 27 at 10am PT/1pm ET on the SmoothJazz.com site.

The British Columbia native who calls Denver home issued his solo debut, “Soulful,” in 2004. That same year, Rahn produced Tisdale’s No. 1 signature smash “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.” He hit full stride as an artist and producer in 2009 when his “Talk of the Town” reigned supreme at No. 1 on the Billboard chart at about the same time he produced No. 1 hits for Dave Koz, Eric Darius and Tim Bowman. During one particular period of chart domination, he occupied the top three spots and later had four singles in the top 10 simultaneously. Rahn earned GRAMMY® nominations for his work on a pair of Koz albums (“Hello Tomorrow” and “Summer Horns”). His meticulously-constructed sonicscapes have made his deft touch highly sought after, affording him the opportunity to work with Bob James, Kirk Whalum, Norman Brown, Jonathan Butler, Najee, Toby Keith, Jeffrey Osborne, Phil Perry, Nick Colionne and Lebron as well as Fritzen and Vaughn. For more information, please visit www.DarrenRahn.com or www.WoodwardAvenueRecords.com.       

The songs contained on “Sonic Boom” are:

“D-Luxe”

“Sonic Boom”

“Funk Avenue”

“Losing You” (For Wayman)

“Together…Forever…”

“Altered Ego”

“101 One”

“Rock With You”

“Sunday Soul”

“Promises” (For Priscilla)

woodward ave