LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Rick Scott Productions) - Paul Jackson Jr.'s Lay It Back growing at radio, the multi-dimensional guitarist lining up concert dates following his American Idol band performances.
In between juggling duties as the guitarist in the American Idol all-star band and being a first-call session player who has performed on best-selling albums by many of the biggest stars in popular music, Paul Jackson Jr. carved out time to ply his immense "guitarisma" on his first solo collection in nearly six years. Lay It Back, released last Tuesday (March 17) by Branch Records, Inc., is his seventh solo collection of soulful R&B, contemporary jazz excursions, cuddle-up close pop ballads and contemplative blues jams. Jackson Jr. produced or co-produced the fourteen selections that comprise the album for which he wrote or co-wrote ten compositions, one of which is the title track. The cut, featuring incendiary cool jazz riffs laid in rapid-fire succession back of a funky shuffle beat, is a Cornelius Mims collaboration that is currently ascending the radio charts.
Jackson Jr. entered the recording studio for the Lay It Back sessions with two goals. First, he desired to create music brimming with passion that resonates with listeners in a more meaningful way. Second, he strived to propel his songwriting, production and performances to the next level, no easy task after his last solo disc, Still Small Voice, spawned his first No 1 single, a cover of the Motown classic, "It's A Shame." Aside from the tracks he produced alone, Jackson Jr. shared productions chores with Mims, Jeff Lorber, Rex Rideout, Jeff Carruthers and Dave Delhomme. With a BlackBerry full of gifted musicians to call upon, some of those texted to bring Lay It Back to life were Jackson Jr.'s mentor Patrice Rushen (piano), keyboardist Bobby Lyle, bassist Alex Al, vocalist James Reese, Ray Brown (Earth, Wind & Fire horns) and The Rickey Minor Band, the latter with which Jackson Jr. performs on American Idol, award shows (Grammy Awards, NAACP Image Awards) and at various special events and television shows.
In addition to radio programmers welcoming the arrival of new music by Jackson Jr., so have reviewers. JazzTimes wrote, "On his latest, which features bigwig studio cats like bassist Alex Al, drummer Teddy Campbell and pianist Herman Jackson, Jackson throws in the obligatory covers-Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" and the Commodores' "Easy"-but the real meat comes with a generous selection of 12 originals, with Jackson's electric, easy-gliding guitar singing along. They include '2 For 10,000' with guest pianist Bobby Lyle, the playful 'Lucy the Cat,' the real blues of 'Fourteen 'Til' and the Top 40 stylings of 'Hit It.'" Urban Network stated, "The project opens with a powerful 1-2 punch of 'The Workout' (a collabo with Jeff Lorber) and the title track 'Lay It Back' (a collabo with Cornelius Mims).Also of note are 'Ballad for Uncle Ronnie' (a tribute to his one-time boss Luther Vandross.) the funky 'Swing It'.and best of all, a collabo with the ever-ubiquitous soul-jazz producer Rex Rideout titled 'Hind's Feet.'"
Although committed to his American Idol band duties through the show's May 20th finale, Jackson Jr. will sneak out with Lyle to perform a tribute to his idol Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith at the Berks Jazz Festival in Pennsylvania on April 3rd. After American Idol wraps, Jackson Jr. will play in the band backing a stellar cast on VH1's Divas Live. On June 23rd, he'll team with Abe Laboriel, Tom Brooks and others at a benefit at Orange County's Saddleback Church. In July, Jackson Jr. will lead his own band at California dates at the Agua Dulce Winery in Santa Clarita on the 11th and at the Broadway Plaza Summer Jazz Series in Walnut Creek on the 23rd. Jackson Jr., Chuck Loeb and Chieli Minucci form the potent triple guitar assault unit billed as Guitarzz that will perform September 6th at the Heritage Jazz Festival in Nashville, Tennessee.
Respected for his musical diversity, agility and precision, Jackson Jr. has played on over one thousand albums that amount to over 90 million records sold. His remarkable discography lists recording with Vandross, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Steely Dan, Sir Elton John, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Madonna, Rod Stewart, Barbara Streisand, Queen Latifah, Yolanda Adams, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Sergio Mendes, Smokey Robinson, Anita Baker, Barry Manilow, Bette Midler, Bobby Brown, Dionne Warwick, Kenny Rogers, Teddy Pendergrass, The Temptations, Julio Iglesias, Luis Miguel, Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters, Chicago, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Tom Scott, Will Downing, Richard Elliot, Dave Koz, David Benoit, Boney James, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum and Brian Culbertson. In addition to American Idol, Jackson Jr. can be seen on television performing on America's Got Talent and Don't Forget The Lyrics. The last two years, he composed the theme song for the NAACP Image Awards and has played on more than a dozen movie and television soundtracks including Undercover Brother, for which he co-wrote the theme song, and The Martin Lawrence Show, on which he served as musical director. Additionally, Jackson, Jr. was the musical director for the Icon Awards honoring Berry Gordy, which featured performances by Wonder, Robinson, Lionel Richie, and Herbie Hancock. Additional information is available at www.pauljacksonjr.com.
