Recordings
Recordings
Bradley’s music is widely available at your favorite streaming sites
Groove Yard
Tracks:
Reviews
What utter sensuous artistry!! What sublime tracks of flute mystique!!! This is a first for me to review the west coast craftsmanship of one Bradley Leighton, jazz flautist extraordinaire. The frosting is his choice to use some of the more hidden musical treasures of the great “Tom Jobim” which Bradley nails with total abandon and supreme melodic panache. This is a player who offers us his music, harmony, and melodies in a visceral, sophisticated, & ethereal manner. Yet his renderings are lyrical and traditional as well. No turbulence here…just a lovely cache of notes that are legato or sustained. Animated or dynamic.
The intros languish gently into some really cool flute by Bradley on this fine lil’ jazz CD… it’s not due on the street until August 23rd this year – & if you’re a dedicated jazz listener, this will be one you’ll just have to have! As I commented (issue #70) in a review of his “Just Doin’ Our Thang” CD, his flute is “delicate” & “fine”. The distinct Latino flavoring on the tracks chosen for this album take that description up a notch, as they’ve got a bit more “passion” in the architecture (hmmm…. never heard of architecture with passion before, but I don’t edit my thoughts very often… improvised writing, ya’ know?)… heh! heh! Mike Wofford’s flashy piano, Bob Magnusson’s solid bass, Duncan Moore’s dancing drums, Allen Phillips poignant percussives & Jaime Valle’s great guitar work all contribute to making a musical experience that you’ll never forget. This is another KEEPER from Bradley, & it also gets our MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating for any/all who DIG truly spirited (yet gentle) jazz! You owe it to your ears to GET this one!
I would describe his album, Groove Yard, as Straight-ahead jazz for the Smooth and Contemporary jazz set. His selections definately have the unmistakable energy and improvisation that marks it as Straight-ahead but is so warm and inviting that it would be appropriate to have it playing while you’re romanticising that special someone in your life. The title track has the funky bass grooves that make jazz what it is while his rendition of Wes Montgomery’s “Road Song” is an upbeat, finger-snapping tribute to one of the greatest jazz musicians of our times. Bradley gets Latin on us with the smooth lines of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Fotografia” and also the first cut “Mojave” featuring the great guitar licks of Jaime Valle. If this album doesn’t give you enough of Bradley Leighton then you can check him out on other releases such as “Back to the Funk” and “Soul Collective”
Groove Yard, in sum, joins the brilliant-toned force of Bradley Leighton’s calm authority with the daring precision of Jaime Valle’s musical skills. It draws no less upon the sublime artistry of one of the most engaging and significant pianists in the world of jazz, Mike Wofford. Bassist Bob Magnusson is without equal in several ways that make his difficult instrument both the unacknowledged and unforgettable foundation of each instance of lyrical wisdom imparted here. Provocateur Allan Phillips seems to float and sparkle everywhere on this disc. Is there a more imaginative, discretely masterful percussionist anywhere? I doubt it. Drummer extraordinaire Duncan Moore seems to be on more albums that “merely work” — a euphemism for that improbable achievement, genuinely seductive music — than any other. How interesting it is to contemplate the unsung victory of authentically musical time keeping. This band, these men, Bradley Leighton’s self-confident ease and Jaime Valle’s sage judgment, conspire to make sounds that will own part of you once you let them in. I’ll bet you can’t listen once. Think how many albums deserve one hearing. I’ll bet you cannot give Groove Yard only one.
Just Doin’ Our Thang
Reviews
With the kind of cool mood that brought us Herbie Mann and Hubert Laws, Pacific Coast Jazz introduces Bradley Leighton, a flutist who combines groove with soul. This is his second solo album. Backed by organ, guitar and drums, he employs an alto flute, which brings its gentler tone front and center to be reckoned with on the basis of intimacy.
Up close and personal, the flutist’s program draws from a wide spread. “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Europa” and the “Pink Panther Theme” sit side by side with classics such as “Now’s the Time,” “Speak Low” and ”Summertime.” Keeping his focus on straight-ahead jazz, Leighton creates a lovable session that comes recommended for its ease of communication. Three originals provide a close look at the flutist’s intentions. “Carefree” oozes casually with a hip flavor as the organ trio melds with Leighton’s warm embrace in a loose, bouncing affair. “Lazy Summer Days” adds a little funk to the formula, as we kick back with a devil-may-care attitude. The piece runs smooth and casual. “Easy Morning” turns to smooth jazz for its delicate waves, as Leighton folds in a tinge of Latin texture.
Better are his hot encounters with straight-ahead jazz, where he exhibits the musical virtuosity that has carried his career around the world with a die-hard jazzman’s torch. He takes to spontaneous improvisation as a bird takes to flying. The flutist performs weekly in La Jolla and more often at various jazz clubs in the San Diego area.
On Bradley Leighton’s second album, Just Doin’ Our Thang, the flutist tackles tunes from points on the musical map as diverse as classic bebop, the Great American Songbook, the Henry Mancini oeuvre and the reflective R&B of Bill Withers. He’s backed by an estimable organ trio comprised of Hammond B3 player Rob Whitlock, drummer Duncan Moore and guitarist Bob Boss, Leighton blows on the alto flute for the entire project in an attempt, he says, to inject the music with a warmer and mellower sound than his Brazilian-tinged, 2003 debut, Groove Yard. Does it work? You betcha.
Whether playful on “Summertime” and “Sunny” or jazzy on Charlie Parker’s “Now’s the Time” and his own “Carefree,” the flutist keeps his focus on bop and tight musicianship. Familiar tunes like Bobby Womack’s “Breezin’” and Carlos Santana’s “Europa” get fresh makeovers, and originals like “Lazy Summer Days” show that Leighton can confidently mix in his own tunes with classics.
Unusual instrumentation sets this CD apart. Leader Bradley Leighton plays alto flute in front of Hammond B3 player Rob Whitlock, bassist Bob Boss and drummer Duncan Moore, with percussionist Allan Phillips added on most tracks. Although rooted in bop, Bradley pays heed to the fluid grace of Latin music and offers an individualistic take on several standards and contemporary popular songs.
His own compositions, of which there are three hereon, display considerable talent. Attractive music, played with skill and ingenuity.sics.
Simply smooth is the best way to describe flautist Bradley Leighton’s latest thing. Smooth in its style, sound, and performances, Just Doin’ Our Thang is the followup release to the southern California based musician’s 2003 debut, Groove Yard. Leaning towards an urban and contemporary style, Bradley has the credentials–but more notably the talent–to deliver an enjoyable recording for fans of mellow music.
Some of the key elements include Leighton’s use of an alto flute (with its deep and whispery tone), clever reworkings of popular songs, and capable band members–featuring the Hammond B3 organ as a nice backdrop to flesh out musical ideas. The combination of the alto flute‘s resonance and the B3’s signature sound make for a soothing blend.
Though the recording is a little top-heavy with covers of other songs, it draws you into a blissful reminiscence–starting off with a fine remake of the pop hit “Sunny” with a toe-tapping and head-bopping tempo filled with nice flute and organ work. Other memorable remakes include Charlie Parker’s ”Now’s The Time,” proving the band can swing, and “The Pink Panther,” which shows their sense of humor. On the southern classic “Summer Time” Leighton’s dual-channeled flute breezes with warm notes and feathery trills that fit the mood appropriately.
Leighton contributes three of his own compositions, and though not as memorable as their more popular counterparts, they are consistent with the overall feel of the recording, thanks to producer Allan Phillips, who also plays percussion and keyboards, as well as organist Rob Whitlock and guitarist Bob Boss, who both lay down some sweet backup and solo work on Leighton’s “Lazy Summer Days” and Bill Withers’ R&B classic “Ain’t No Sunshine.” If you have a taste for cool sounds with an old school vibe, Leighton and his crew do justice to the music.
Back to the Funk
Reviews
Bradley Leighton is in on the joke. Sporting Coke-bottle shades, white hat, a beefy fur coat and bling dangling from his neck and weighing down his fingers, the flutist pimps with the best of the 1970s funk masters on the cover of his latest smooth-groove project. Turn the CD over, though, and you’ll see Leighton stripped of his gaudy accouterments. “Hey,” he’s saying, “I’m just a flute guy playing around with the funk that’s inspired me.”
Unlike Leighton’s previous CD, where he covered some of his favorite tunes from the past, Back to the Funk offers eight tunes he composed with producer and keyboardist Allan Phillips. But don’t expect the foot-stompin’ nasty funk of Sly Stone or the slap-happy bass grooves of Bootsy Collins. Leighton’s funk is “funk lite.” Influenced by jazz flutists such as Bobbi Humphrey and the late Herbie Mann, Leighton instead lays down flighty grooves that are just fine for easy listening.
“Runaway” and “Clear Blue Skies” pump up the energy, but more in tune with the CD’s mood are mellifluous songs like “Back to the Funk” and the best track, “Flow.” Covers of “Special Lady” and “Make It With You” veer into mall-music territory, but Leighton closes with a satisfying take on Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s Light in Flight.”
While Leighton’s session carries only memories of a bygone era, it succeeds in reminding us that music remains the lifeblood of what inspires us every day. ~Jim Santella, LA Jazz Scene As the title suggests, Bradley Leighton takes us back to the time when jazz and funk made perfect bedfellows by blending his harmonious alto flute into these caked-on grooves. But it’s not so much pimplicious as it is straight up delicious. With plenty of bass and strings, Leighton knows how to lay the thing down. It’ll make you dance, it’ll make you prance. You’ll be boppin’ to this groove way down in the seat of your pants. “b.m.w. rollingout.com With an understated style, impeccable tone and a smart approach to alto flute, Leighton turns in a thoroughly enjoyable workout on his appropriate titled third album, ‘Back to the Funk.”
Back to the Funk is an intentional throwback to early-’70s funky jazz, the type of music performed by flutist Herbie Mann and a little later by saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. The R&B-ish grooves are catchy if predictable and the backup band is solid, with flutist Bradley Leighton in the lead nearly all of the time. Nothing unusual happens, but Leighton plays well over the vamps, sounding enthusiastic and reasonably creative within the genre. While eight of the 11 selections are recent originals, this could very easily be an album from 1972. Fans of that era’s funky music will want to pick this one up.
Soul Collective
Reviews
You may have never heard the flute played like this until you’ve heard Bradley Leighton‘s twitters and flaps. He plays the flute like it moves with the swiftness of guitar chords, the liquidity quality of the keyboards, and possesses the enigmatic presence of the saxophone. He turns his flute into whatever instrument he wants it to be. His latest release Soul Collective, produced and arranged by Allan Phillips, is Leighton’s fourth studio album. The songs display a sinewy soul-funk stylistic that shares an association to the work of saxophonist/producer/arranger Darren Rahn and peppered with R&B influences that have an attachment to Earth, Wind & Fire and Tavares. Soul Collective features several guest musicians such as saxophonist Tom Scott on the remake of the Hall & Oates pop single “She’s Gone.” The interplay of instruments is kiln by a mellifluous gloss as the notes build into billowing crescendos and taper off in the outro. It pumps a euphoric air into the album, which is geared towards a dance-funk destination. Saxophonist Tom Braxton and Leighton lead the trail into dance-funk domains with the opening track “It’s On.” The flexibility in the joints that connect the flute and saxophone phrases together enables the melody to bend in ways that mesmerizes the listener. The album keeps to its mission providing a peppy strut with the Latin-flavoring of “Café Con Leche” featuring guitarist Evan Marks who trades off his riffs with Leighton and produces wavelets of vivacious dynamics. “Wake Up Call’ brings the horns to the front cultivating an allegro tempo shaped by swiftly moving segments buttered in coasting legato grooves. Vocalist Paula Prophet’s singing on “That Man,” which is written by Prophet, moves with a loose swagger and blissful fluidity that shines with R&B/soul cinders. Leighton gives country diva Bobbi Gentry’s classic tune “Ode To Billy Joe” a smooth jazz treatment that brings out its silky curvaceous ride. Leighton keeps the music dancing with prints of gentle motifs on “Rock Me Softly” and “Undercover.” The final track “Keep That Same Old Feeling” is a remake of the Crusaders hit song and sung by Katresse Barnes delivering a smooth sensuality that lulls the listener with pacifying tones.
Starting out in Tacoma, Washington, Bradley Leighton has made a name for himself in smooth jazz cliques amassing a sweet lineup on Soul Collective that additionally includes Greg Adams on trumpet and flugelhorn, Mic Gillette on trumpet and trombone, and Jason Miles on keyboards. Leighton debuted in 2003 with his solo album Groove Yard followed up with his 2005 release Just Doin’ Our Thang. His third album Back To The Funk is comprised of inventive arrangements an dstandards that gave him critical acclaim worldwide. His latest release Soul Collective is to Bradley Leighton what Grand Central is to Jeff Golub’s catalog of music. It is an album that shows where Leighton has come from, what he has learned to do with his talent, and introduces audiences to the friends that he has met along the way. Soul Collective is a personal best for Leighton who canmake his flute sound like anything that he wants it to be.
RadioIndy is pleased to present Bradley Leighton with a GrIndie Award for their CD “Soul Collective”
“Soul Collective” by Bradley Leighton is a smooth jazz fusion album with groove and an upbeat flair. The arrangements are solid and very active. There is quite a lot going on in every song and yet it all comes together. The musiciansship throughout is outstanding. The sax and flute work in particular on this album really stand out, playing quite well off each other. The production on the CD gives an excellent classic smooth jazz sound.
Highlights are “Cafe” Con Leche”; with Latin elements in the percussion and a vibe that makes you feel like you are walking on clouds;”Ode to Billy Joe”; has a funky bassline, mellow flute and nice accentual elements. “Undercover”; is one of the strongest arrangements and features some fantastic guitar work. If you enjoy smooth jazz and listening to outstanding jazz musicians, you”ll love this CD.
In the contemporary jazz world – where guitars and Saxes currently reign supreme – flutist Bradley Leighton brings a Smooth rendition of some soul grooves. For this project Bradley enlisted some seasoned veterans to assist in the making. His playing blends so beautifully with the horns and the rhythm section, if you grew up with Tower of Power and Herb Alpet, you will love this CD.
The first track called “It’s On!” is an upbeat smooth jazz flow with the alto flute playing center stage. Track two “Café con Leche” is a Latin beat featuring Tom Braxton and Mic Gillette, sure to make you want Salsa. “Wake Up Call” is next featuring the smooth sound of Tom Scott; this tune will surely take you back to your bell bottoms and big collars. Since we’re in the seventies here is a cover of the hit by Hall and Oats, “She’s Gone”, with assists from Tom Scott and Mic Gillette. You knew the vocals were coming and this next selection “That Man” was led by the vocals of Paula Prophet, and on horns Greg Adams and Tom Scott. Once again Bradley takes you back with his version of “Ode to Billy Joe”, with Jason Miles. To get your head bobbin again Bradley and Greg Adams come together to rock this next song entitled “Rock Me Soflty”, my favorite track on thecd. “Keep That Same Old Feeling” wraps up the cd and it has a nice R&B flavor to it, with vocals done by Katreese Barnes.
This is a nice cd to own if you enjoy the sound of the flute. Bradley Leighton brought together a nice combination of players to get a nice assortment of smooth jazz tunes.
Welcome to the latest issue of Denis Poole’s Secret Garden, the page that offers a British perspective on the very best from the world of smooth jazz and classic soul. In the world of innovative contemporary jazz 2008 may well prove to be the year of the flute. Its spine tingling vibe has the ability to take the art form to another place and one protagonist with the potential to do just that is the extraordinary Bradley Leighton. His brand new album, the aptly titled ‘Soul Collective’, is replete with a deliciously soulful vibe and it is testimony to Leighton’s growing stature within the genre that a galaxy of stars have come out to collaborate with him.
There is none more in this respect than the legendary Tom Scott who adds his distinctive sax to the succulent ‘Wake Up Call’. With his hip, brass adorned backdrop creating the ideal canvass for Leighton’s intricate yet rhythmic playing they together create four minutes of magic that is a sensation from beginning to end. When Scott returns to lend a hand with the Hall and Oates classic ‘She’s Gone’ his interplay with Leighton is a pure delight. The fact that the tune generates a luscious horn driven warmth is due in no small part to the excellent trumpet and trombone of Mic Gillette. This Bay Area icon and former Tower of Power mainstay is also called upon to play a part in the two numbers for which Leighton joins forces with Pacific Coast Jazz label-mate Tom Braxton. The first of these, ‘It’s On’ is a tremendously zesty slice of smooth jazz while the Latin infused Café Con Leche’ is a wonderful showcase for Leighton’s talents. The restrained yet jazzy ‘Undercover’ is one of five tracks composed by Allan Phillips who also arranges, produces and plays keyboards throughout. It features another of Tower of Power’s exclusive alumni, trumpeter Greg Adams, plus guitar from Fattburger stalwart Evan Marks. In fact Marks makes a contribution to seven of the nine cuts. When he gives way to Sherrod Barnes for Leighton’s re-imagining of the Bobbi Gentry hit ‘Ode To Billy Joe’ it’s the keyboard and production touches of Jason Miles that faultlessly complement Leighton’s picture perfect playing. Rhonda Smith also features on bass and, with the addition of Katreese Barnes on vocals, it’s this same Miles, Sherrod Barnes and Smith partnership that holds down the groove for Leighton’s take on Wayne Henderson’s ‘Keep That Same Old Feeling’.
If ever there was a doubt that the flute could be funky then the totally compelling ‘Rock Me Softly’ proves it for all time. The tune is another welcome chance to enjoy the muted trumpet of Greg Adams and when Leighton brings him back one more time the result is the retro tinged ‘That Man’. Written by Paula Prophet, who also provides the distinctly 5th Dimension like vocals, the track is further blessed by more magnificent sax from Tom Scott. ‘Soul Collective’ follows Leighton’s 2006 album ‘Back To The Funk’ and is his fourth in all. It has the red thread of joyous warmth running right through it and is sure to be one of the highlights of 2008.
Holiday of Lights
Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the holidays
Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2011
I was not familiar with this artist when it was recommended. Great arrangements and smooth instrumentation. This would be an excellent addition to anyone’s holiday music
Every Little Bit Hurts
Reviews
Good melodies are timeless. Here is a C-Jazz EP from jazz/funk flutist Bradley Leighton that will have you humming with pleasure. Every Little Bit Hurts contains six songs from the artist’s past that he has creatively updated with modern rhythms and sounds producing a very current C-Jazz feel. Solid rhythms, great sounds and Leighton’s lilting, lyrical style make this a project not to be missed.
