Showing posts with label Kim Waters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kim Waters. Show all posts

Friday, February 16, 2024

Kayla Waters - Apogee

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 42:00
Size: 96,2 MB
Art: Front

(2:15) 1. Earth Arrival
(4:33) 2. I Am
(3:23) 3. Sunkissed
(4:27) 4. Heaven Is Here
(3:21) 5. Freedom March
(4:45) 6. The Dream
(4:42) 7. Elevation Bop
(3:50) 8. Spirit Awakening
(4:41) 9. Look to Love
(1:58) 10. Pluto Departure
(4:01) 11. Apogee

Contemporary jazz pianist, composer and writer Kayla Waters, the daughter of famous saxophonist Kim Waters, debuts with her first work Apogee (2017) on Trippin N’ Rhythm Records.

Along side of Kayla, Kim was also executive producer for her album. Apogee is another word for the highest point in the development of something, a climax or culmination. For Kayla this album is the first highlight of her musical career. She has written all songs of the CD.

The album was recorded in six days straight. The album has biographical references. So for example Earth Arrival tells the story how Kayla arrives on earth, the point when everything started. The song grows with a constant flow, a springy rhythm and vibrant keyboard works.

I Am implies Kayla's personality and her love for music. The arrangement is from shiny appearance and polished blank. You can feel the wings of Kim Waters. Sunkissed describes a person whose appearance is attractive because they have recently been in the sun. Figuratively it means pampered by life. Kayla chooses this adjective for her state of life. For being in a happy position to make those things, what she loves most. This piece is astoundingly positioned in contemporary jazz.

Heaven Is Here underlines this with another musical expression. The song gets an unexpected twist when Kayla presents a vocal impact transferring the tune from an even and smooth keel to excitingly troubled water. Freedom March is conceived as a protest song. However, in the absence of a strong text, the meaning is lost in an admittedly successful instrumental showpiece.

The Dream is a tribute to Martin Luther King's socio-political appeal in August 1963. A surprisingly political reference that is seldom in the smooth jazz genre. When Sister Peace and Mr. Freedom are in search of their dream than you know in which direction. Elevation Bop is the anthem for the world to raise and move forward. Kayla and Kim create a unique theme by uniting smooth and contemporary jazz in transcending genre and expectations.

Kayla refers Spirit Awakening on herself as young woman with her talent, her possibility of sustainable development and potential. She feels the song like a blossoming of a flower. In this sense the melody unfolds in its multiplicity. With the ballad Look to Love Kayla defines her very own emotional and vocal approach on this subject.

A frozen region north of Pluto’s icy mountains, is informally named “Tombaugh Regio” (Tombaugh Region) after Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. Pluto Departure is Kayla's idea, if even this planet is so far away, love is possible over there. The unreality of this region is reflected in her song.

The final Apogee embraces all elements, which are popular in today's smooth jazz. A catchy piano theme, strings, synth bass, horns and a stomping beat. Kayla Waters is a hot ticket in smooth jazz. She shows individual character in her compositions leaving a lasting impression. Avoiding sonorous platitudes with intelligent arrangements and dazzling themes is a promising concept. http://www.smooth-jazz.de/starportrait/Waters/Apogee.htm

Line-up/Musicians: Kayla Waters keyboards, vocals; Kim Waters saxophone; Shacara West vocals; Kelly Gainer flute

Apogee

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Kim Waters - That Special Touch

Styles: Smooth Jazz
Year: 2022
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:08
Size: 99,4 MB
Art: Front

(4:11) 1. Joy Dance
(4:45) 2. House Call
(4:21) 3. Easy On Me
(5:03) 4. That Special Touch
(3:47) 5. Get Ur Groove On
(3:46) 6. If I Was Your Man
(3:58) 7. Listen To Your Heart
(4:19) 8. Morning Sunrise
(4:23) 9. Breathless
(4:31) 10. Pathway To Love

Kim Water's new album That Special Touch (2020) is his 25th recording and fifteenth CD for the Shanachie label. In contrast to his earlier recordings, he developed his musical ideas not in the studio but on the piano at home like he did on Shakedown. This concept has crystallized as productive.

Kim Waters is evolving into a multi-instrumentalist. He performs almost all instruments, but of course his focus is on the saxophone. Chris Harris plays the guitars, and his daughter Kayla guests on the track Easy On Me. With the exception of two covers, Kim wrote all the tunes himself.

The album opens with the emotional Joy Dance, which musically describes that feeling for which Kim's music stands, joy and love. “I think that everybody needs love. It’s something for certain that in today’s world, we need more of and if we had more of it, the world would be a better place,” explains Waters. Kim takes it up a notch with House Call. The goal is clear, the song should cause a sensation in clubs.

English singer Adele is known for writing and interpreting particularly heartwarming songs. Her song Easy On Me immediately caught the interest of Kim, who delivers a perfect rendition on the saxophone. Kim fosters a special relationship with his daughter Kayla. Her piano accompaniment reveals her extraordinary talent.

The title song That Special Touch has that Midas radiation immediately finding the attention of the listener. In the tradition of earlier R&B songs, Kim finds the approach to a contemporary interpretation. The drum programming of Get Ur Groove On is strongly reminiscent of the early songs of such formations as Al B Sure, Chuckii Booker or New Edition.

If I Was Your Man of the singer Bruno Mars is the second cover of the album. Kim cleverly uses the popularity of this hit to enrich his album with it. The rendition is featuring singer Raynard Gibson.

Also on his new album Kim follows the proven concept of putting the love relationship in the center of his musical performances. Listen To Your Heart, Breathless or The Pathway To Love are fashionable examples. Inspired by his fans, Kim Waters has nailed it again with That Special Touch. http://www.smooth-jazz.de/firstview/Waters/ThatSpecialTouch.htm

That Special Touch

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Pamela Williams - The Perfect Love

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 47:21
Size: 110,7 MB
Art: Front

(3:59)  1. Afterglow
(4:09)  2. Just As We Are
(4:48)  3. Unconditional
(3:31)  4. Got Me Wrapped Around Your Finger
(6:03)  5. The Perfect Love
(5:13)  6. Destined To Be
(3:57)  7. Twin Souls
(4:51)  8. Sexy Mf
(5:31)  9. A Bee Charmer
(5:13) 10. Whipped

2003 was a great year for female sax players, with Candy Dulfer returning after a four-year hiatus, Mindi Abair revitalizing smooth jazz with It Just Happens That Way, and The Perfect Love, a sensual funk label debut by one of the more underrated performers on the smooth groove scene, Pamela Williams. Shanachie Entertainment is known for its picture-perfect radio hits, and Williams kindly obliges her label with some instantly kick-back and likeable tracks right off the bat. Yet as nice, catchy, and easy grooving as "After Glow" and "Just As We Are" are, there's a sense that Williams is holding back just a bit. Ditto the kindly, sweet-talking "Unconditional," which is one of three songs written by labelmate saxman Kim Waters and very much in tune with his sweet, smoky style. Williams eventually lets loose, however, and the heavier grooves of "Got Me Wrapped Around Your Finger" stimulate some more aggressive playing, backed by some snazzy horns and a dreamy retro vibe. Even more fun but probably too intense for radio is her slamming, slightly bluesy crunch-funk take on Prince's "Sexy M.F." Waters gives her a quick-rolling challenge on the closer, "Whipped," which she more than accepts with constantly powerful bursts of energy. The label also cleverly pairs her with another label great, keyboardist Kevin Toney, whose optimistic keys play off Williams' cool perfectly. Overall, it's a perfectly balanced disc, but listeners who are seduced by the cool might find a more perfect love by the fire. ~ Jonathan Widran http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-perfect-love-mw0000599775

Personnel: Pamela Williams (saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, keyboards, drum programming); Wayne Bruce, Bernd Schoenhart (guitar); David Mann (saxophone, keyboards, drum programming); Kim Waters (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, keyboards, synthesizer, drum programming).

The Perfect Love

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Chuck Loeb - In a Heartbeat

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2001
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 71:37
Size: 164,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:35)  1. North, South, East and West
(0:19)  2. Mingling with Mike
(5:04)  3. Rhythm Ace / Funky Stuff
(5:40)  4. Billy's Song
(5:14)  5. Pocket Change
(5:25)  6. New Life
(4:34)  7. Vincent
(6:14)  8. Santa Cruz
(4:39)  9. On and On / Fire
(5:00) 10. Sway
(7:32) 11. Big Time
(4:59) 12. Soulmate
(4:46) 13. In a Hearbeat
(6:30) 14. The Goodbye

For the past 15 years or so, Chuck Loeb has been a first-call session guitarist and producer, as well as recording and performing under his own name and with the bands Petite Blond, Metro, and the Fantasy Band. His earlier touring gigs included Chico Hamilton, Hubert Laws, Ray Baretto, Stan Getz, and Steps Ahead. So it's fair to say that he has experience in a wide range of musical settings. On his latest release, In A Heartbeat, you can hear the breadth of his musical experience expressed throughout the program. 

Some of the tunes are standard contemporary fare: nice melodies, fairly basic chord structure and rhythms, but with tasty solos by Loeb and a bevy of big-name guests. Loeb's full, warm guitar sound is like a duck floating on a pond - smooth and serene above water, yet paddling energetically beneath the surface. But there's much more diversity and variety here. The second tune opens and closes with some relaxed noodling on Rhodes from Mike Ricchiuti (called "Mingling with Mike"), but the body of the song is a medley of funky R&B fun - a blending of two tunes called "Rhythm Ace" and "Funky Stuff." Alto saxophonist Andy Snitzer and tenor man David Mann get down with some meaty solos, and the in-the-pocket rhythms, unison sax-guitar-bass lines, horn section, and earthy Rhodes and organ provide a cookin' groove. The "Sway" is a straight-ahead jazz shuffle. "Big Time" has darker chords and a more edgy, hard-driving intensity; Andy Snitzer on tenor is grittier and more intense than we usually hear from him. The tender ballad "Billy's Song" is inspired by and dedicated to a friend who recently passed away unexpectedly.

On most instrumentalist's CDs, the guest vocal spots are often included for the sake of commercial appeal and are more of a disruption to the rest of the program, especially when they suffer from trite, sappy lyrics. Such is never the case with Chuck Loeb's CDs, as they always include the vocal talents of his wife, Carmen Cuesta. She's a welcome part of each release, and merits attention in her own right. (Record labels, are you listening?) The CD's title cut introduces vocalist Brandon Singleton, whose gentle tenor lovingly interprets the optimisticly romantic lyrics. (Shanachie 5078) ~ Dave Hugles https://www.allaboutjazz.com/in-a-heartbeat-chuck-loeb-shanachie-records-review-by-dave-hughes.php

Personnel: Chuck Loeb - guitars, keyboards, programming;  Mike Ricciuti, Jon Werking - keyboards;  Will Lee, Mike Pope, Jerry Brooks, Ron Jenkins, Tim LeFebvre, Mark Egan - bass;  Wolfgang Haffner, Brian Dunne, Vinnie Coliauta - drums;  David Charles - percussion; Nestor Torres,  Christina Loeb - flute; Elizabeth Loeb - piccolo; Andy Snitzer - alto and tenor sax; Walter Beasley - alto sax; David Mann - tenor sax, flute; Tony Kadleck, Larry Lunetta - trumpet; Jim Pugh - trombone, bass trombone, baritone horn; Tony "The Fish" Lakatos - soprano and tenor sax; Kim Waters - soprano sax; Carmen Cuesta, Brandon Singleton - vocals.

In a Heartbeat

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Kim Waters - Rhythm And Romance

Size: 103,6 MB
Time: 44:34
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Jazz: Smooth Jazz
Art: Front

01. Bring It (4:27)
02. No Sleeep (3:56)
03. Rhythm And Romance (4:28)
04. Forever Yours (4:16)
05. Morning Star (4:13)
06. Time Will Reveal (4:23)
07. Smoothness (4:59)
08. Can't Let You Go (5:15)
09. Heaven's Gate (4:10)
10. I'm Not The Only One (4:22)

Smooth Urban Jazz superstar Kim Waters has sold over one million albums in his more than 20 years of touring and recording. Loved by R&B and Jazz fans alike, his crossover appeal, twenty Smooth Jazz number 1 radio hits, and dynamic performances have placed him among the elite in his field.

Rhythm and Romance, Kim's most satisfying release yet, has it all.

Cover versions of the Janet Jackson smash No Sleep featuring Chris Big Dog Davis, Sam Smith's multi platinum I'm Not the Only One and Kim's reimagining of the DeBarge classic Time Will Reveal.

Surefire radio hits the joyful Waters original Vibin', the spirited Feelin' It and the romantic ballads Moments With You, In Deep and much more.

Rhythm And Romance