Latest album from Louisville-born JOHNNY BRITT is a wonderful confection of smooth jazz and sophisticated soul, ‘After We Play’. Those who already know the singer, songwriter, producer, trumpeter, arranger and composer’s work would expect nothing less. They know that Mr B boasts an impressive CV that includes work with people like Josh Groban, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, The Temptations, Maxwell, Peabo Bryson, Quincy Jones, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, Kashif, Norman Connors and the wonderful Impromp2.
Johnny’s own work, like the albums, ‘Mo Jazzin’ and ‘Marvin Meets Miles’, are held in esteem by soul connoisseurs so, like we said, no surprise that ‘After We Play’ is stuffed with quality music. The album was flagged up by brace of singles. The LP’s title track (with guest input from lauded acoustic guitar man Peter White) and the lovely ‘Butterflies’ with vocals from Will Downing. Both those songs still sound good in the context of the album but they’re just two of a plethora of goodies!
Johnny’s status in the music biz is such that he can always call on big names to help him flesh out his ideas. So, we’ve just mentioned White and Downing, but amongst others featured on ‘After We Play’ are Tom Browne, Gerald Albright, Ricky Petersen, bassist Blair Bryant and George Benson and Little Anthony. The last two join Johnny on a new rendition of Mr Gourdine’s classic ‘Going Out Of My Head’ (anoraks will know that Johnny Britt has worked with the Imperials since 2018) and custom hasn’t yet staled the beauty of the Teddy Randazzo song. Johnny, George and Anthony do it full justice.
The album features another pop/soul classic, Bacharach’s ‘Walk On By’. Johnny takes the vocal here , trading lines with his muted horn. It’s a lovely, “different” treatment. Amongst other highlights is the sweet and lovely ‘Love Paradise’. This comes in vocal and instrumental versions and it’s a perfect summation of the art of Johnny Britt – a tasty mix of smooth jazz and sophisticated soul.
JOHNNY BRITT ‘After We Play’ – out now
