Bringing a much-appreciated powerful infusion of raw, rootsy bona fide blues to smooth jazz, Paul Brown - one of the genre’s biggest hitmakers and influential artists and producers – has been on a creative and chart-topping tear lately. Four of his last five singles – including “Booglaoo,” the first from his 2018 album Uptown Blues- hit #1 on the Billboard charts, and his most recent single “Blues for Jeff,” went Top 5 on Billboard and topped the Mediabase and Smoothjazz.com charts. Brown’s zesty swirl of pop, R&B and blues influences reaches its latest fever pitch on his new single “Some of This,” which should keep this train to the top a rollin’ for the next few months.
While “Boogaloo” was pure nonstop wild energy from the get-go, “Some of This” is more about a slow-building seduction, a playfully strutting, simmering horn tinged, mid-tempo funk gem that invites us to explore Brown’s crisp blues chops and improvisational virtuosity but in an infectious pop-soul setting. Building on the coolly grooving foundation of Mel Brown (bass). Dave Karasony (drums) and Hans Zenmuehien (keys), the casually sassy tune features the guitarist’s spirited interaction with the lead sax intensity of Greg Vail and a sly dance in and around trumpeter Lee Thornburg’s snazzy, dynamics-filled brass arrangement.
One of the more noteworthy aspects of “Some of This” is that it’s that rare Paul Brown track that the guitarist didn’t pen himself – proving that he’s more about recording the greatest songs possible, wherever they originate. Though it was written by his fellow veteran guitarist Allen Hinds, Brown makes it very much his own as he showcases the slightly more laid-back side of those Uptown Blues.