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| Blake Aaron's Next Chapter May Be Of Grammy Nominations In literary vernacular, soul-jazz guitarist Blake Aaron's "Soul Stories" is a gripping page turner. "Europa, " the latest single issued from his fifth album, is quickly conquering the country after scoring airplay on SiriusXM and over 40 radio stations on the first day of release, vaulting the single into a tie as the No. 1 most added track on the BDS Billboard chart. It's a strong indication that the jazz-rock instrumental composed by Carlos Santana and provides Aaron the platform to use his electric guitar to serenade, scream and seduce simultaneously could become the fifth single from "Soul Stories" to hit the Billboard Top 10. The timing couldn't be more perfect because GRAMMY voters are currently considering the album for award nominations in seven categories. It had been eight years since Aaron released an album, but he kept a constant presence in the marketplace by consistently crafting hit singles - four Top 10s with two peaking in the Top 5 - that comprise the core of "Soul Stories." The critically-hailed collection of contemporary jazz, R&B, Latin and funk "stories" released last May by Innervision Records is up for GRAMMY nominations in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album and Album of the Year categories. Individual songs culled from the set - Aaron's first that is entirely self-produced -are also under consideration for GRAMMY nominations. An elegant Brazilian jazz outing, "Story of My Life" made the long-form ballot as Best Instrumental Composition as did the rousing anthem "Story of the Blues." The Top 5 retro disco-pop energizer "Groove-O-Matic" and "Encantadora, " the latter highlighted by soaring flute flourishes from Najee, are candidates for Best Arrangement Instrumental. Jazz crooner Spencer Day guests on the head-bobbing hipster "You're the One for Me, " a Best Arrangement Vocals contender. In addition to touring and playing on, writing and producing recordings for other artists as a long-time first-call session ace, Aaron hosts a weekly radio show, "Blake Aaron Live with Tina Anderson, " which is nationally syndicated. Below are highlights from some of the "Soul Stories" album reviews: "A Hollywood session cat that's remained jive ass free no matter how deep he's plugged into the scene comes forth with his latest high octane, guitar led, fusion set that simply smokes." - Midwest Record Recap "This album plays out like a delightfully eclectic radio station that touches all the bases on the field known as jazz." - Smooth Views "Included here is just a beautiful potpourri of goodies, both stompin' up-tempo and sweet, subtle and exotic." - The Smooth Jazz Ride "One of the most artistically expressive albums I've comes across. As a series of musical vignettes, each track tells a different story." - Smooth Jazz Magazine "It all beings with a great soul instrumental. 'Groove-O-Matic' features some tight beats and rides a great groove." - Soul and Jazz and Funk "From the very first track, 'Groove-O-Matic, ' it was easy to hear that Blake is no run-of-the-mill guitarist, but rather a highly accomplished virtuoso of the instrument. He plays with a controlled fluency that shines through whether the song is slow, fast, acoustic or electric." - Critical Blast "Blake Aaron's cover of the Santana smash hit 'Europa' has set the Contemporary Jazz scene on its ear!" - Smooth Groove Phoenix "Smooth as silk and you can't help but be impressed by Blake's command of the modern electric jazz guitar sound." - MusicWeb Express 3000 "Blake Aaron leans towards the 'smooth' side of jazz, but he can make it sound nice and musicular." - Jazz Weekly "A refreshing mixture of jazz, R&B, soul, rock, blues and Latin." - Keys & Chords "The album grabs me from the first note to the last." - Smooth Jazz Daily write your comments about the article :: © 2015 Jazz News :: home page |