Listen while you read. Discover more music here
Jeff Ryan has said that he called his debut album Embrace because he wanted people to embrace the music and the feelings he was expressing through it, and that he wanted them to be embraced by the music. Well, we have and it does. His debut single the energized “Up and Up” went #1 on the Billboard chart as well as most other genre charts, The next two singles went top 10 and other honors followed: 2020 Billboard #1 Smooth Jazz Artist of the year, JazzTrax debut artist of the year, Smooth Jazz Network Breakout artist of the Year. His second album, Duality, continued the trend with three hit singles so far including Smooth Jazz Network song of the year “Sentimental Soul.” Since then he has released a series of successful singles and wowed concert and festival audiences across the country.
So who is this guy who seemingly came out of the blue and managed to catch so much attention so quickly in the midst of a massive amount of releases by new and established artists? He came from a musical family, his father was a classical pianist and composer, His mom and grandfather were also musicians. He began playing piano at age 6 and violin shortly after that. But at around age 10 he fell in love with the Saxophone when he heard a Richard Elliot song on a radio station compilation CD. He started listening to everyone from Elliot and Gerald Albright to contemporary and straightahead heros like Michael Brecker and Dexter Gordon. He said that as a kid he had no social life and spent all his time practicing. From that time on he has put in a lot of practice time balancing skill and techniuqe with finding his own voice and expressing his artistry on a very personal level. And he had fun. He spent his teen years “cutting his teeth” with traveling soul bands and weekly performances at rowdy bars with a not-so-legal ID. “It was a lot of fun playing those early bar shows,” said Jeff, “I had to stay on the down low about my age, but the nightly experience performing for engaging crowds really helped pave the way to the performer I am today.
Born in Walnut Creek CA, he also spent some time in Asheville NC. He was in jazz ensembles in jr. high and high school. He started college in Concord CA then attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music. He returned to the San Francisco Bay Area and established himself while playing in jazz, blues, and rock bands, appearing at regional festivals, and opening for smooth jazz stars. His star began to rise with the opportunity to record his debut album working with hitmaker keyboardist, songwriter, and super-producer Greg Manning. Collaboration is one of his favorite parts of the creative process and he expanded on that with his second album, working with Manning, Darren Rahn and Adam Hawley. He has also been featured on top 10 singles by multiple artists over the last two years by Hawley, Lisa Addeo, Kim Scott and others
The words that define him as a performing musician are authenticity, connection, musicianship, charisma, and again, authenticity. I was able to see him do a solo set and play wiht Greg Manning then sit in with several other muicians and take the stage for a straightahead set during a weekend event. THe way he compliments and connects with other musicians when sharing the stage during their sets is amazing. If you have a chance to see him live don’t miss him.
Keiko Matsui’s music will transport you. It may even transform you. Her albums are more than collections of songs. They are experiences, journeys, time captures of who sie is and what she is feeling musically and spiritually at that point in time. Euphoria, her 30th album, was released last March. Like her previous releases it is accessible, adventurous and original. “This album is about the hope that we all carry inside of us,” She says in her bio press release“I have this dream where we can each cherish our own happiness and learn to accept and care for one another. At the core of this album is beauty, strength, energy, love, and hope. These are all the things in life that we need to move forward on a new path. This music is dedicated to a new era.”
Matsui grew up in Tokyo and started piano lessons when she was five. Japanese tradition holds that a child who is introduced to lessons at this time will continue in those studies for a long time. The tradition held true for Matsui, who was classically trained in the beginning but began add jazz and pop artists like Stevie Wonder and Chick Corea to her classical influences as she began composing while in her early teens. She says she would create little motifs inspired by day-to-day experiences kind of like a diary but in music. She attended Japan Women’s University surprisingly not as a music major. She says that at the time she didn’t even think of becoming a professional musician. After gradution she moved the the prestigious Yamaha Music Foundation in Tokoyo. It was there that she formed a “new age” group called Cosmos that recorded four albums. Her first solo album, A Drop of Water, featuring a number of future CJazz stars was released in 1987. She was signed to MCA records and released two albums – Under Northern Lights and No Borders. This was the beginning of a career that has spanned over three decades and delivered multiple chart topping singles and albums. Her body of work covers a plethora of influences, from classical influences to jazz, orchestral, meditative, electronic, and everything in between. She is currently wrapping up her U.S. tour in support of the new album and has already posted some 2024 dates on her website.
Visit Keiko’s website www.keikomatsui.com
Here’s an excellent interview from Jazziz.com podcast
Listen while you read – here’s a playlist. She has such an extensive body of work that it is difficult to represent everything she has done. Also several of her early 90s albums are not available but this is over an hour of exciting emotional music. Enjoy.
London based guitarist Roberto Restuccia is making a name for himself in the smooth jazz world and bringing an eclectic collection of influences in the process. He started out in what he calls the “University of Slash,” learning to play with videos from rockers like Guns’N’Roses and Pearl Jam. Then he started gaining recognition through a series of YouTube videos that were mostly solos for rock and blues guitar competitions. This is the sound that shines through even on the more traditionally smooth side of his work. You can hear references to two generations of Jeffs – Jeff Golub and Jeff Beck as well as CJazz players like George Benson, Ronny Jordan, and Chuck Loeb. In his bio he also mentions Robben Ford – an original member of the Yellowjackets and Tom Scott and the LA express who is equally influential in jazz, rock and blues.
The fascinating thing is that he is largely a self taught guitarist. While he was playing along with videos and listening to a lot of music he was also a gifted painter and intended to go into a university arts program. When that fell through he went for the music and enrolled in the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford (England) where his teachers included Guthrie Govan (a shredder who toured with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai) and Pete Callard, whose touring credits include Lionel Richie.
So we see more diverse influences. He spent a year there then left and began teaching. Some life events led him to pull back on his then overwhelming teaching schedule and get serious about getting his work out there. He created more popular videos and released two albums independently.
The indie albums sound solid but he felt they were not quite where he wanted to be, but as they often do
when you put in the work serendipity intervened. He met keyboardist Oli Silk at a live gig, gave him one of the albums and told him he was working on some new material. They hit it off. Restuccia started sending tracks to the keyboardist and their creative relationships blossomed from there as the tracks that evolved into With Every Turn came together. The two live about an hour’s drive from each other on the outskirts of London.
Silk introduced him to Trippin’ N Rhythm records. He was signed and began work on his label debut With Every Turn. That album came out in 2021 and delivered several chart climbing singles including “Love Crazy” which has over 1 million spins on Spotify so far. His new one, Lounge Katz was released in April with two singles so far – the funk/blues/cjazz jazz “Stand Up” and “1979” – a collaboration with super-producer and keyboardist Michael Broening that mixes the smooth jazz vibe with rockin’ electric guitar work. It’s definitely one of the most exciting tracks in the genre so far this year.
Visit his website here
Listen to the interview he did for the Jazziz Podcast here