A SMOOTH JAZZ VALENTINE CONCERT

“An Intimate Evening of Music for Friends & Lovers,” featuring Boney James, Will Downing and just added Rebecca Jade takes place Friday, February 14, 2020 at 8:30pm.  This annual Valentines concert (now in its’ 11th year) is always a major destination event that allows friends and lovers to experience a night of romance, excellent cuisine and of course the sounds of jazz from legendary artists.

 

This special Valentine concert is presented by Rainbow Promotions, LLC, producers of the flagship Long Beach Jazz Festival, the Bayou Festival, and The San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival.  In addition, Rainbow Promotions, LLCproduces year-long entertainment concerts.

 

“A Smooth Jazz Valentine Concert” take place at the elegant Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center providing the perfect venue to relax, unwind, and enjoy an enchanting night of great music.

 

Boney James: It’s been a full quarter-century since a young saxophonist and composer released his debut recording as a leader, Trust. Now, on September 1, 2017, Boney James will release his 16th album, this one titled Honestly. If you sense a direct line between those titles, you’ve already come a long way toward understanding what motivates the four-time GRAMMY nominee and multi-platinum-selling musician.

 

Honestly follows futuresoul, James’ 2015 release which spent eleven weeks at #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart. The New York Times raved, “Boney James performs with panache…His arc as a soloist is emotional…he can paint a scene.” Honestly, says James, is quite different sounding than the previous record. “It’s more exposed,” he says of the 10-track collection. “Some of the arrangements are not as dense. A number of the songs have a more buoyant, cheerful, happy quality to them.” James produced the record and co-wrote all but one track, his interpretation of the Johnny Mercer–Hoagy Carmichael classic ‘Skylark.’

 

James recruited collaborators and musicians whose work he admires, including chart-topping vocalists/co-writers Avery*Sunshine (on the title track) and Eric Roberson (on ‘If I Can’t Hold You’).

 

Each track on Honestly reflects a different side of James’ musical personality. “Songs like ‘Kicks’ or ‘Up All Night’ are much more boisterous sounding than the last couple of records,” he says. “Then there’s ‘Skylark,’ a song that I have always loved…a standard which I’ve never recorded before. The track Honestly (and first Urban Adult single) featuring Avery*Sunshine is straight up R&B.” Regarding Avery, James says, “I heard her at a festival, we were both playing and then I heard her #1 single ‘Call My Name’ on the radio. I was instantly a fan and just waiting for the right song for us to collaborate.”

 

James plays all of the tenor and soprano saxophone parts on Honestly and contributes keyboards and drum programming to several of the tracks. But his career might have turned out a lot differently had a music store in his native New Rochelle, New York, had his first choice in stock the day he walked inside. “I wanted to play trumpet but when we went to the store to rent a trumpet all they had were clarinets, so I went home with a clarinet. Two years later I guess I was the best clarinet player in a band full of clarinets and the teacher wanted a sax player so he leaned on me to pick up the saxophone. I didn’t want to do it because it was a much heavier case I’d have to carry. But as soon as I switched I loved it and it pretty quickly became my favorite thing to do. It still is!”

 

Over the years, James has racked up sales of more than three million records, four RIAA gold albums, four GRAMMY nominations, a Soul Train Award, nominations for two NAACP Image Awards and 10 CDs atop Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. In 2009, Billboard named him one of the Top 3 Contemporary Jazz Artists Of The Decade along with Kenny G and Norah Jones.

With Honestly, as with futuresoul and the GRAMMY-nominated The Beat before it, Boney James is making some of the most stellar, wholly realized music of his career. “I’ve just grown up, personally and musically,” he says. “I’m a lot calmer now when I approach making music and have more confidence. I’m a “give-110 percent” kind of person and I’m enjoying the process more now. I think that comes out in the music. Maybe that’s why this new record is so much fun to listen to. There are parts on the record that still make me smile.”

James lives in Los Angeles with his wife of 32 years, Actress/Director Lily Mariye and has written scores for her film projects.

 

With a career that spans over 30 years and 21 albums, Will Downing is one of the most versatile and loved voices of our time. Known as The Prince of Sophisticated Soul, his repertoire consists of signature interpretations of R&B classics like “I Go Crazy”, “Wishing On A Star” and “I Try”, with original hits “A Million Ways”, “Sorry I” and the show-stopping duet with Rachelle Ferrell, “Nothing Has Ever Felt Like This”. His distinctive baritone voice has resonated in the hearts of women world-wide and carved a unique niche in the music marketplace. With fresh melodies and lush arrangements that satisfy all musical palates, Downing continues to serve his fan base through his own Sophisticated Soul record label and sold out tour dates across the country. His latest release entitled “Romantique Part” was released on November 8, 2019. He also hosts his weekly radio show The Wind Down which is aired on this site and over 20 stations around the world in the USA, UK, Japan, and Spain.

 

                                                                  Rebecca Jade has performed with the most sought-after musicians and at some of the best venues across the nation and the world. Rebecca’s versatility has allowed her many unique opportunities to perform: she has been touring with percussionist and musical icon, Sheila E. since 2017; She performed on the 2016 Soultrain Party Cruise and the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Dave Koz Cruise, which included singing with Kenny Lattimore and Larry Graham; She has done multiple concerts at Spaghettiniand the House of Blues (San Diego, Anaheim, Boston, Las Vegas); She has also performed the National Anthem for many professional and collegiate athletic organizations.

 

Rebecca has over 25 years of recording studio experience. She has sung demos and background vocals, as well as jingles on many different projects and has also been featured in a variety of works, including an on-going project with Kevin Flournoy (piano player for Chaka Khan, Pointer Sisters, Donny Osmond). She also released her debut original music project, “The Jade Element” and opened for Grammy-nominated musical artist, Musiq Soulchild on two separate occasions. Her sophomore album was released with her new group project, Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact, which earned them consecutive San Diego Music Awards in 2014, 2015 and 2017 and a “Best of San Diego” Award in 2016, and the opportunity to open for and later sing a duet with El Debarge during his set. Rebecca Jade and the Cold Fact is working on a follow-up album, set for release this year. Rebecca is also a jazz vocalist and released a Cole Porter album with the amazing jazz guitarist Peter Sprague, which earned them a 2018 San Diego Music Award for “Best Jazz Album”. Rebecca is also currently working on her first solo project, which will be self-written and co-produced with pianist/arranger/producer, Carnell Harrell (The Jacksons, J-Lo).

 

Rebecca is also an actor and pinup model, having done a variety of work, such as a commercial for Pechanga Casino, an industrial video for Qualcomm, and featured as a singer in the film, “5 Hour Friends” (starring Tom Sizemore). She also was an actor in short films that were submitted for the 48-Hour Film Project in 2015 and 2016, which earned the 2015 Best Film Award and the 2016 Audience Choice Award.