Mack Avenue

On his latest single “Bedtime Story,” legendary bassist/composer Brian Bromberg enlisted his nephew — producer/composer Zach Bromberg — for a modernistic, R&B-inspired groove that brings his soulful original into brand new territory. Sit back and enjoy the lullaby-inflected lyricism of “Bedtime Story,” which opened new creative doors for Bromberg to explore. “I love collaborating with Zach because it makes me go places that I would not normally go,” Bromberg says. “His music is very different than mine, but sometimes he’ll write something that just paints an amazing picture that opens new doors for me. That’s exactly what happened with Bedtime Story and it’s one of my favorite songs on The Magic of Moonlight.”

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). Featuring special guests Keb’ Mo’ and Stevie Wonder on harmonica, the new album serves both as a rebirth of musical creativity and reconciliation with systemically biased history to forge a brighter future.

Steve Cole’s exhilarating new album, Without a Doubt, his first outing with producer and songwriter partner Adam Hawley, finds Cole taking the opportunity of this fresh start to approach his music with the open mind of a beginner and the confidence of a veteran at the top of his game. Without a Doubt is a breezy affair that packs a high-energy punch. The album is chock full of memorable melodies that could be easily retooled as hits for the likes of the Commodores or Earth, Wind & Fire. In a sense , that brings Cole full circle to some of his earliest musical experiences. Cole’s longtime producer David Mann also returns, adding horn arrangements and reeds to “C’mon Y’all” and “One, Two!”

Saxophone icon Kirk Whalum (Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross) teams up w/ producer Greg Manning (Keb’ Mo’, Herb Alpert, 2x GRAMMY® nominee, 10x #1 Billboard artist) for an electrifying collection of smooth jazz grooves. Whalum focuses on his songwriting, channels the spirit of his years with Luther Vandross to craft an album of all originals that are deep and soulful, with cross-genre appeal. “Bah-De-Yah!” has an instantly memorable hook, with a thrilling dose of Earth Wind and Fire funk. “Bah-De-Yah!” represents what it feels like to LOVE LIFE! Cowriting this project with the brilliant Swiss soul brother Greg Manning, especially this song, was pure JOY!