Kerry Wilkins – “TC Park” – WKM
According to Wilkins, “T. C. Park is a park that I actually used to walk to when I was a kid. It has an Olympic sized swimming pool which I used to enjoy tremendously. Also, it has a couple of baseball fields and walkways along the concrete bayou which many people use every day. I used to get my walks at this park so I figured I’d write a song from the vibe the park gives me every time I go by there, especially late afternoons/early evenings.”
ThreeStyle ft. Magdalena Chovancova & Robert Fertl – “No Matter What” – Welovemusic
From its divinely soulful, melodic and grooving core, award-winning #1 Billboard Smooth Jazz charting group ThreeStyle presents its new powerful and energetic single “No Matter What.” Soulful and funky, groovy and strongminded, this song lets you stay in tune with yourself, be yourself, be your best self – no matter what. Featuring Robert Fertl on guitars & production, twin sisters Magdalena (saxes, keys) and Gabriela (drums), Damon Dae’s amazing vocals, James L. Manning’s bass grooves and Lew Laing on keys.
Al DeGregoris – “Timeline” ft. Oli Silk - A-Pex Int'l
On his newest project, we find DeGregoris vibing for the first time with #1 Billboard charting keyboard artist/producer Oli Silk, and they get into the powerhouse groove action immediately! Following a splashy brass intro with his joyful piano energy riding over a snappy percussive groove, the tune is backed by Silk’s subtle colorful atmospheric harmonies, and occasional bursts of jangling rhythm guitar and sizzling horn accents. “Timeline” seems designed as a journey with a cool seductive flow punctuated with the cool rollercoaster of rising emotional anticipation and a trippy descent back to the main melodic thread. A few minutes in, the pace quickens and DeGregoris amps up the freewheeling improvisations, weaving in and around the ever-tightening groove and the furious horn blasts.
Jonathan Butler - "Bon Appétit" – Mack Avenue
Legendary singer-songwriter Jonathan Butler traveled back to his home country of South Africa to craft his most exciting and deeply personal album to date. Featuring producer/bassist Marcus Miller, Ubuntu is a reintroduction of Butler’s life story, going back 60 years to his upbringing in apartheid-era Capetown, which shaped his world view, prompted years of advocacy and instilled the ideology of ‘Oneness’ (Ubuntu). “Bon Appetit is a rediscovery of myself on the guitar and a rediscovery of melodies, a rediscovery of myself and myself on the guitar while being able to say something from my homeland.” – Jonathan Butler
Walter Beasley - Nice and Easy (Walter's version) feat. Najee - Affable Records
Originally released in 1998 on Beasley’s For Your Pleasure album, “Nice and Easy” is a simple yet progressive production as the 2023 “Walter’s Version” features one of the most amazing saxophonists of our time, Najee. This classic will long be remembered as the first collaboration of two of the most influential musicians in the industry.