*“We were all recording artists on Warner Brothers in 2002 and the president said, ‘I’d love to hear you guys together grooving.’ We did our first album and didn’t do anything for 11 year,” said Grammy Award winning guitarist Norman Brown about the union of himself with Grammy Award winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum and Billboards’ #1 Smooth Jazz Song Artist of 2015 trumpeter Rick Braun to form the trio BWB. “We did a Michael Jackson (“Human Nature” in 2014) tribute album…to make a statement.”
The Michael Jackson tribute album garnered a #1 hit for the trio. On April 22, 2016 BWB (Brown, Whalum, and Braun) are releasing a new self titled project of original material on Artistry Music/Mack Avenue.
“The Michael Jackson tribute was covers of his hits. ‘Grooving’ (their debut) was hit songs and cover songs. We wanted to do an album of original songs,” Norman said about the new project. “(The audience) they are loving it. They showing us much love. We did a tour and decided we are officially a group.”
BWB are currently on tour promoting the previous and new projects arriving at the One World Theatre on May 27th; the Dosey Doe on May 28; the St. Lucia Jazz Festival on May 7th; the Steel City Jazz Festival on June 4th; the Tri-C Jazz Festival on June 25th; the QC Summerfest on July 31st; the Wolf Creek Jazz Festival on September 4th, and the Capital Jazz SuperCruise on October 23rd.
When asked about the recording process Norman Brown said, “We were camped out at Rick Braun’s place, he has a studio. It was natural flow. I would start an idea…each contributed – each individual.”
Brown said the title track he is fawned of because they all wrote on it.
“I like ‘Turn Up’ because it’s a party song and ‘North Star’ because I contributed,” he laughed when I asked which songs on the album were his favorite.
My favorite cuts on the album include #1 “Triple Dare” because it offers the essence of Jazz providing a prime reason for the official creation of the trio – a perfect mix; #2 “Bust a Move” because you get that Smooth Jazz sound along with a treat of vocals from the guys; #3 “BWB” which offers Funky Jazz all the way to the last note, and #8 “Hey Baby” is another treat of vocals of the guys on the hook covered over by a Jazz filled symphony.
The “BWB” project offers 10 selections of original material. To learn more about the “BWB” release or the members of BWB log onto www.MackAvenue.com. www.KirkWhalum.com, www.NormanBrow.com and www.RickBraun.com.
SYNDICATED COLUMN: Eunice Moseley, has an estimated weekly readership of over ¼ million with The Pulse of Entertainment. She is also a Public Relations Strategist and Business Management Consultant at Freelance Associates, and is Promotions Director (at-large) for The Baltimore Times. www.ThePulseofEntertainment.com. EVENT: Sat October 22, 2016 (TBC) the “Uplifting Minds II” Free Entertainment Conference arrives at the Celebrity Centre in Hollywood, CA. www.UpliftingMinds2.com.)
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