New York, NY (Top40 Charts) t�s a musical event worthy of celebration whenever three premier recording artists who individually and collectively have amassed dozens of No. 1 singles, a catalogue of chart-topping albums and a couple of GRAMMY��s get together to make a record. Putting solo careers on hold in favor of a collaborative outing as a trio known as BWB for only the third time in 14 years, trumpeter Rick Braun, saxophonist
Kirk Whalum and guitarist
Norman Brown released a self-titled disc on the Artistry
Music label last Friday (April 22). This home-cooked feast of
Memphis soul, dance party jazz and garage band funk is their first set comprised entirely of original songs written by the powerhouse combo and produced by Braun. �BWB� quickly stormed up to No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart and is virtually a lock to take possession of the top spot.
Brown and Whalum moved their families into Braun�s Los Angeles-area home for a week of brotherly bonding and merry music making. Each member of the triumvirate arrived with creative ideas for new songs. The sound concept is loose, spontaneous and fun garage band grooves that incorporate elements from each musician�s hometown roots: Whalum�s
Memphis backyard barbecue soul, Brown�s Kansas City cool jazz and Braun�s sweaty Philly funk. Of special interest is the clever incorporation of Indian music motifs along with Whalum�s flute on the exotic amalgam �Bolly Bop.� Organic, spirited, live-sounding instrumentals ignited by combustive horn power and raw R&B guitar riffs, a few singalong vocal choruses (�Bust A Move,� �Lemonade� and �Turn Up�) and cooed come-ons (�I Want You Girl� and �Hey Baby�) add to the boisterous party tone of the disc.
BWB has already begun touring nationally in support of the new release with a busy slate of festival headline dates on the books through summer. The threesome first jammed in 2002 to record a set of covers packaged as �Groovin�� and reunited in 2013 to pay tribute to Michael Jackson�s songbook on �Human Nature.� The ten handcrafted tracks that make up �BWB� bode to become radio hits and fan favorites, establishing the new project as a legitimate contender for �event album of the year.�
Below is a sampling of the initial album reviews:
�Like their splendid work of the past, �BWB� is another terrific set of songs that plays to the strengths of its prodigious personnel, with prodigious being the key word!� � The Urban
Music Scene
�The uber talented trio brings us an eclectic jazz collection of 10 tracks that make you hit repeat on your CD player time and time again. Their exceptional talents as soul-jazzsters is an event to be savored with each release, and with
Rick Braun coming up with some brilliantly layered and fast-flowing arrangements on �BWB,� you already know the album is one you need in your jazz collection.� � Exclusive Magazine
�Smoking stuff that even brings soul and gusto to commercial music. A winner throughout.� � Midwest Record
�This newest effort is a complete kaleidoscope of funk and charm and spells out all the reason you need to believe that BWB is dangerously good.� � The Smooth Jazz Ride
�Classic, smooth jazz purveyed by three of its leading exponents.� � Soul and Jazz and Funk
�Undoubtedly one of the albums of the year.� � No Solo Smooth Jazz
For more information, please visit https://www.mackavenue.com/artists/bwb.
