New York, NY (Top40 Charts) You can almost smell the tangy barbecue sauce dripping from the forthcoming third album �BWB� by chart-topping trio BWB, who throw down like a sweaty garage band at a
Memphis backyard house party on their debut for the Artistry
Music label arriving April 22. It�s the first time the band made up of GRAMMY� winners
Norman Brown (guitar, vocals) and
Kirk Whalum (saxophone, flute, vocals) and
Rick Braun (trumpet, flugelhorn, valve trombone, vocals) cooked up a festive, sticky-fingered feast of ten new contemporary jazz, R&B, soul and funk joints. Braun produced the session in his suburban Los Angeles-area home studio where the band moved in with their families and lived together for an entire week. The result is a collaborative disc celebrating brotherhood and live music. The tantalizing title track is the first radio cut, which enters Billboard�s Top 10 on next week�s singles chart and appears to be ticketed for the top spot.
Anytime the three solo stars get together to record, it�s an instant candidate for event album of the year in the contemporary jazz world. BWB has been itching to record original material ever since they first recorded as a high-wattage trio in 2002 when they released a collection of covers entitled �Groovin�.� Over a decade later, they reunited as a combo in 2013 with �Human Nature,� paying tribute to Michael Jackson�s songbook and scoring their first No 1 hit with �Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground).� This time around, they decided to compose the material entirely on their own, creating party jams specifically with their spirited live shows in mind.
As Braun tells it, �A long time ago in a faraway galaxy, three brothers dreamed of recording a CD of all original material as a band. Although the evil forces of time and geography stood in their way for many years, a dream is a powerful idea and ultimately the collective, creative force will prevail. And in that spirit, Norman and Kirk moved into my house for a short week with their loved ones. We played our horns, sang, drank wine, wrote, laughed and lived together. Thus it began!�
Primarily instrumental with a batch of tunes amped up by fun-filled vocal refrains and catchy, sing-a-long choruses, BWB�s members wove DNA from their hometowns into the music mix. With Whalum�s
Memphis soul serving as the nucleus, Braun�s Philly funk atoms and Brown�s Kansas City jazz genes add flavor, flair and some old-school stank to the homegrown offering that struts and seduces with swagger and sophistication along with a devilish dash of mischief. An equally important nonmusical component is incorporating the enduring love and joy of treasured friendships that exists between the musicians.
�As I grow wiser, grayer and more awesomer (!), I realize just how important relationships are to me �� much more important even than music. But how awesome it is to make great music with great friends! This is a glorious bonus and a wonderful journey. I am grateful for �the Chord of three strands� that is BWB,� Whalum testified.
Brown concurred enthusiastically. �I believe in the Master Mind! Two or more minds joined in harmony with a common goal will surely connect to higher source energy. BWB is a brilliant vibration channeling a spirit of joyful elevation. I love my brothers!�
BWB are touring throughout the year in support of the new album playing festival dates including Boscov�s Berks Jazz Festival (April 8), Las
Vegas City of
Lights Jazz and R&B Festival (April 16), St. Lucia Jazz Festival (May 7), Steel City Jazz Festival (June 4), Tri-C Jazz Festival (June 25), QC Summerfest (July 31), Wolf Creek Jazz Festival (September 4) and the Capital Jazz SuperCruise (October 23) as well as a pair of
Texas dates in Austin at the One World Theatre (May 27) and
Houston at Dosey Doe (May 28).
The songs contained on �BWB� are:
�Triple Dare�
�Bust A Move�
�BWB�
�Bolly Bop�
�I Want You Girl�
�Lemonade�
�Memphis Steppin��
�Hey Baby�
�North Star�
�Turn Up�
For more information, please visit www.MackAvenue.com.
