Artist: Marion MeadowsFeatured: 0List Ranking: 0Review: Marion Meadows is a classically trained saxophonist who studied at the Berklee College of Music as well as the SUNY system in New York State. However, like so many jazz musicians, Meadows also received his practical education on the road through touring with performers such as Norman Connors and Joe Henderson. Those connections led to steady work as a sideman and eventually to a career as one of the most recognizable artists in contemporary jazz. Meadows has released 13 albums since his 1991 release, For Lovers Only, and that includes his new project Soul Traveler. Meadows, of course, chose the right instrument to achieve lasting success in contemporary jazz. Saxophone players have been that genre?s biggest and brightest stars going back to the 1970s heyday of Grover Washington, Jr., the artist who probably had more to do with crafting the genre as it exists today than anyone. Meadows, like many of the contemporary jazz sax players, is a creative and energetic improviser who possesses the ability to launch his sax on flights of fancy on up-tempo and slower tracks alike. He is also comfortable exploring genres such as R&B, hip-hop and funk, and that allows him to make music that appeals to listeners who are not quite ready to immerse themselves fully into straight ahead jazz or the deeper strands of jazz-funk-rock fusion. That?s the territory that the successful contemporary jazz artist must occupy ? for better or worse. Meadows has occupied that territory better than many in large part because he combines his creativity with a willingness to be a part of the ensemble. There has been a tendency among some contemporary jazz sax players to create arrangements that sound like they are playing over recorded music. However, Meadows brought in strong players on Soul Traveler and he gives them room to improvise. Meadows maintains a constant rapport with his bassists throughout Soul Traveler. Bass players such as Chip Shearin on the track ?Magic Men? provide the constant bottom that serves as the foundation for solos by Meadows. However, Shearin?s funk-influenced bass playing provides him with opportunities to bring a level of bounce to that foundation. ?Andalusian Sunset? finds Meadows engaged in an instrumental conversation with another strong soloist, flamenco guitarist Carlo Pennisi, while the up-tempo ?Humanity? finds the soprano sax man trading with pianist Lamar Gaines. Soul Traveler is an album that will never make it with the purist crowd - who will likely be hard pressed to even call it jazz. Ok, let us take them up on that and call something like instrumental R&B, despite the fact that one of the cuts, ?Mother Earth,? includes rapping. Freed from the jazz label, perhaps those purists will be able to accept Soul Traveler as an enjoyable piece of instrumental music that will become the soundtrack for get togethers and romantic get aways. Nah! The purists will never buy it, but plenty of smooth/contemporary jazz or instrumental R&B fans will purchase and enjoy. And that?s what really matters. Recommended. By Howard Dukes Album Image: Click on CD cover to listen or purchaseAlbum Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Soul-Traveler-Marion-Meadows/dp/B00QKMCRIK/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_til?tag=soultracks-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=3S5VYWPW7WRUJ3HJ&creativeASIN=B00QKMCRIKFacebook Comments: 1Title: Soul TravelerASIN:  var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='soultracks-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B00R9K9QUY'; amzn_wdgt.title='Soul Traveler'; amzn_wdgt.width='250'; amzn_wdgt.height='250'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='False'; amzn_wdgt.marketPlace='US';

Featured: 0 We've been following R&B/jazz flutist Jef Kearns for a few years now. His fresh, funky take on an instrument that isn't always either of those things has made us a fan.Facebook Comments: 1

Artist: Mark RonsonFeatured: 1List Ranking: 0Review: In case you didn?t get the memo the first time, producer Mark Ronson is a fan of nostalgia. It?s what made him the go-to guy in the music biz. He was the brains behind the Motown-sounding throwback soul of Amy Winehouse?s records. He gave Duran Duran their ?80s comeback sound on All You Need Is Now, creating a hip time warp back to the tidal waves of ?80s  New Wave and synthpop. On his own 2010 solo record, Record Collection, Ronson paid homage to everything ?80s, creating a linear canvas of synthpop-meets-soul art. But, after producing some of Bruno Mars?s biggest hits on Unorthodox Jukebox (?Locked Out of Heaven,? ?Gorilla?), Ronson is exploring newer avenues of retro on Uptown Special. On this eleven-track road trip, Ronson digs mostly into the land of funk. With the James Brown-influenced ?Feel Right,? Southern-bred rapper Mystikal spits adult fun into a horn-blazed jam session fit for ?Get Up Offa That Thing.? Mars acts as club emcee while Mystikal sets off a firestorm of lyrics, giving him enough motivation for a new millennium comeback: ?Still rapping, slapping kittens and grabbing my crotch/I?m the artist, the Godfather still hard as a rock.? Things fast forward into Minneapolis funk on ?Uptown Funk? with Mars up front and Prince-hued synths and catchy ad-libs (?Uptown funk ya? up?) not far behind. Technically speaking, Uptown Special isn?t as star-studded as Record Collection ? unless you want to factor in Stevie Wonder?s spot on the intro and outro of the record. Even though those are simply short admissions, they still play with the genius of Wonder?s fingers: the intro sounding like leftover adventures from Songs in the Key of Life; the outro more In Square Circle. But, Ronson doesn?t need star power to pull off a collection that displays an earful of delectable charm. The Chaka Khan spunk of ?I Can?t Lose,? and brilliantly otherworldly grooves of ?Daffodils? are just as rewarding as the attention-getting Ronson/Mars collaboration. Not everything on Uptown Special caters to funk aficionados, which might be a bit of a slump for those expecting a complete house party rollercoaster. The breezy West Coast rock of ?Summer Breaking,? featuring the Tame Impala frontman, Kevin Parker, sounds like it is on cruise control drifting into Eagles/Steely Dan territory. His calm falsetto can also be heard on the Lenny Kravtiz?s rock-funk of ?Leaving Los Feliz." It is these inclusions that will halt other critics from labeling this as a total fantastic voyage into Funkytown. However, like most Stevie Wonder records or just about any collection of groundbreaking listening, you?re going to easily find genre fusion growing in the rear. That too happens here. Ronson is building up his catalog, exploring dimensions untapped on his previous records. Maybe after hearing the ear candy of Daft Punk?s Random Access Memories and D?Angelo?s awe-inspiring Black Messiah, Ronson has had a mountaintop epiphany and felt it was best to put his love for nostalgia to the test. Though Uptown Special isn?t as thorough as those aforementioned records, it sounds like his most cohesive record to-date. Recommended. By J Matthew CobbAlbum Image: Click on CD cover to listen or purchaseAlbum Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q4EJVRO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00Q4EJVRO&linkCode=as2&tag=soultracks-20&linkId=IXLC4B6ZNOUWPTBBFacebook Comments: 1Title: Uptown SpecialASIN:  var amzn_wdgt={widget:'MP3Clips'}; amzn_wdgt.tag='soultracks-20'; amzn_wdgt.widgetType='ASINList'; amzn_wdgt.ASIN='B00PXAL2AE'; amzn_wdgt.title='Uptown Special'; amzn_wdgt.width='250'; amzn_wdgt.height='250'; amzn_wdgt.shuffleTracks='False'; amzn_wdgt.marketPlace='US';

Featured: 0A voice that is like a fine, aged Scotch that gets even better as the evening progresses?  Check.  A band so tight that it makes even the artist occasionally smile and shake his head in disbelief?  Check.  A back catalog of hits that most soul artists would envy?  Check.  A physique such that, now in his sixties, the ladies still call out for him to remove his tie and suit coat?  Check. Welcome to an evening with the great Jeffrey Osborne.  Facebook Comments: 1

Featured: 0Like many soul singers, Angie Stone began her life listening exclusively to Gospel music. Her father was a member of a noted Gospel group in their native Columbia, South Carolina and the music played at the family household was of a similar nature. However, as she hit high school her musical world expanded, as did her burgeoning talent as a singer and songwriter. Facebook Comments: 1