Richard Elliot - Boom Town

In The Zone includes a simmering, hypnotic retro-soul cover of "Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)," a Marvin Gaye staple whose original instrumental version marked Washington's first session as a leader. Beyond that, the collection is driven by 9 powerful retro-flavored original songs penned by Elliot and co-producer Jeff Lorber, who share a colorful collaborative history over the past 10 years. The two played numerous shows in the early 2000s as part of the all-star Groovin' For Grover tour (with Gerald Albright and Paul Taylor) and have worked together on various tracks on Elliot's recordings Crush (2001), Ricochet (2003), Metro Blue (2005), RnR (Elliot's hit dual 2007 recording with trumpet great Rick Braun) and Rock Steady.

"The interesting thing about my desire to pay homage to the wonderful array of R&B and jazz I grew up with on these last two recordings is that I actually wanted to do it as far back as Metro Blue," says Elliot of the album whose key single, a cover of The Stylistics' "People Make The World Go Round," spent an unprecedented 11 weeks at #1 on Radio & Records airplay chart. "The music of the '70s carved out a lot of where I wanted to go musically, and I felt this need to express some musical gratitude, not by doing a cover record but by incorporating a few familiar songs among originals that had references to my influences. Compared to Rock Steady, the vibe is definitely subtler on In the Zone, especially with David's wonderfully sophisticated low-key horn arrangements, but the same love of that time is there. The vibe is the '70s forerunner to the contemporary instrumental music that became popular in my own era as an artist."

The first single, "Boom Town," has an exuberant and aggressive, in-the-pocket tenor hook that does Sanborn proud—it's intense yet has a smooth, poppy finish. Elliot launches the set with the playful and lilting tropical chill vacation "Island Style," then gets back to the city on the moody and atmospheric mid-tempo ballad "Metropolis," which as it evolves includes Elliot's rich sense of improvisation and emotional power. The same type of sensuous atmospheres caressing that track play behind the lighthearted funk of the drive time tune "The Lower Road." With Lorber providing the percussive synth blasts and Fender Rhodes harmonies, Elliot gets down to bluesy business with his muscular playing on the horn-drenched funk of "Bring It!"

"Just a Taste" takes the groove down a notch into romantic chill territory, while the vibrant, in-the-pocket title track lives up to its name with a swirl of percussive synth accents, brassy vamps and bubbling-over retro keyboard flavors. Elliot saves some of his most expressive, in your face tenor playing for another horn-fired jam "Panamera" before wrapping In The Zone on the wistful, candlelit ballad "Golden Triangle."
Taking the concept of In The Zone to another metaphoric place, Elliot has been on one of the most incredible rolls of his career since Metro Blue, which debuted at #2 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart. In addition to the incredible chart success of "People Make The World Go Round," "RnR" (the title track from the album Elliot recorded with Braun) stayed at #1 on the chart for over two months. Elliot and Braun crisscrossed the US as part of Jazz Attack (with Peter White and Jonathan Butler) in 2005, 2007 and 2009; and spent 2008 touring as RnR. The saxman also did media appearances and performed in South Africa for the first time, and did his first ever shows in Russia and St. Petersburg in January 2009. Elliot is currently headlining on tour with Grammy® award-winning guitarist Norman Brown.

"My original motivation for doing an album like In The Zone was the opportunity to reconnect with my earlier self, the musician I was when I first started out," says Elliot. "The songs remind me of listening to my heroes in those days and seeing them perform live, feeling incredible joy and enthusiasm about the possibility of following in their footsteps. The wonderful thing is, so many years after I began performing professionally, I still feel that excitement. I love to play live more than anything. Under certain circumstances, the recording process can be arduous, but when you can tap into the kind on inspiration I draw from here, it's a whole different, joyous experience. It's all about feeling the same way I did back when I was 18 and dreaming that this could someday be my life."

Buy CD:
http://www.amazon.com/Zone-Richard-Elliot/dp/B005C0AUEE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1319334289&sr=8-6

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