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 Grammy winner Skip
Martin of Kool & the Gang and the Dazz Band releases his debut jazz
CD ‘Miles High’ today. ‘Are
You Ready’ the debut single with Skip on trumpet and vocals, features
Wayman Tisdale on bass guitar and 6-time Grammy winner Ricky Lawson on
drums. The 13-track CD also features sax man Ronnie Laws, 5-time Grammy
winner Al McKay of Earth Wind & Fire and Bruce Conti of
Tower of
Power. 'Miles High’ will be in stores on Tuesday, August 8,
2006.
The idea of Skip Martin’s
debut jazz project was pure and simple – “it was just time”. With
over 26 album releases as lead vocalist with the Dazz Band, Kool &
the Gang and his own solo projects, Skip wanted to record a project
where he did his ‘singing’ through his trumpet. “I’ve recorded
with both groups in the horn section but never as a solo artist,”
stated Skip. The result is ‘Miles High’ filled with hip, cool,
funky, smooth jazz grooves. “You’ll definitely come away ... with
... a sense of what Miles might be doing musically if he were still with
us.” (Scott O’Brien for smoothjazz.com).
‘Are You Ready’ is “...a
laid back blend of classic styles. If Freddie Hubbard and
Donald Byrd were in the same band they would open their set with this
tune...” (Gene Harris, Jr., MBA and Cat Lee for
GrooveDoctorsRadio.com). Ronnie Laws appears on the
‘Smooth Sailing’ track in a beautiful trumpet and sax duet –
ranging from sultry grooves to profound narratives.
‘Miles
High’, the title cut, a tribute to Miles Davis written the night Miles
died, clearly shows an insightful range of diverse influences from the
modern jazz era known as the Miles Years. “...
jazz that can appeal to the novice and seasoned listener...” (Enorman
for soulpatrol.netradio).
Al McKay comes through on guitar with the track ‘Old School
Rules’ and Bruce Conti also on guitar is featured on ‘Careless
Whisper’. The album includes the first recordings of spoken word poet
Bronze Paragon on the tracks ‘Are You Ready’ (Spoken Word) and
‘Apropos’ (Spoken Word) – which just make you sit up and listen.
“I’m very excited about this project” admits Skip Martin. “It
took 2 years in the making with a few starts and stops but the journey
was well worth the time.”
The album is beautifully mastered by multiple Grammy winner Bernie
Grundman.
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