Vocalist and composer Jacqui Naylor performs with her quartet at Washington DC’s Blues Alley March 11th 2024. Photo by Thomas Heinser. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Vocalist](\"https:\/\/img.einpresswire.com\/large\/628098\/toth-soft-orange-vertical-heins.jpeg#4096x4096\")
<\/a><\/p>\nJazz artist Jacqui Naylor launches new album with U.S. tour dates starting March 11 at Blues Alley in Washington DC. Photo by Thomas Heinser<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n“Treasures of the Heart” is the 12th album from vocalist and composer Jacqui Naylor available April 26 2024, in stores, online, and at her live shows starting March 11. Photo by Thomas Heinser<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Album Available April 26th Online, in Stores, and at Naylor’s Live Shows Including Blues Alley Washington DC March 11 and More Tour Dates in the U.S. and Europe<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 Jacqui Naylor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 7, 2024 \/EINPresswire.com<\/a>\/ — JACQUI NAYLOR is one of the most innovative vocalists on the scene today. Her albums are not easy to characterize, taking listeners on unexpected adventures with songs flavored with jazz, R&B, soul, and pop. The prolific recording artist, singer, and composer is now releasing her 12th album, TREASURES OF THE HEART<\/a>, comprising four re-imaginings of well-known jazz and pop standards and 10 original compositions penned by Naylor and her husband, pianist ART KHU, who also wrote all the arrangements. Naylor kicks off an international tour<\/a> in support of the album on March 11th with two shows at Washington DC\u2019s historic Blues Alley Jazz<\/a>.<\/p>\n Naylor is based in San Francisco and has headlined at esteemed venues and festivals throughout the world, including Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, London\u2019s Ronnie Scott\u2019s, and the Blue Note in New York, Milan, and Tokyo. She follows her Blues Alley DC date with more U.S. concerts, including six at San Francisco’s SFJAZZ Center, and a five-country European tour. <\/p>\n Naylor is joined on TREASURES OF THE HEART by an extremely tight, top-notch band that has worked together for over a decade. They include Khu, who plays piano, organ, guitar, Rhodes, and celeste. In addition to his many music credits on 11 of Naylor\u2019s albums, Khu has worked with Donald Byrd, Idina Menzel, and other notable artists. He also composed a symphony for the Oakland Symphony. Also on board is Naylor\u2019s long-time bass player RICHIE GOODS, who toured and recorded with Mulgrew Miller for nine years and has worked with a who\u2019s who of jazz and pop artists, including Lenny White, Russell Malone, Chris Botti, Christina Aguilera, and Whitney Houston. Naylor, who is known for her ability to interpret a diverse repertoire and bring together music from different genres and generations, enlisted two younger but very experienced players for this recording: drummer and percussionist EL\u00c9 HOWELL, a former student of Khu\u2019s whose credits include Ravi Coltrane and Christian Scott, and trumpet and flugelhorn player ERIK JEKABSON, whose credits include Phil Woods, Benny Golson, and Tito Puente. <\/p>\n During the pandemic lockdown, Naylor and Khu wrote and arranged over 200 new songs and launched a monthly livestreamed subscription concert series called Home2Home. The series continues, with Naylor including broadcasts from recording and mixing studios and remote locations. Naylor has also used the series to invite fans into the songwriting, album song selection, and recording processes.<\/p>\n Naylor has been a practicing Buddhist for 30 years and took the album title from The Three Kinds of Treasure, a letter written in 1277 by Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk and scholar. \u201cMore valuable than treasures in a storehouse are the treasures of the body, and the treasures of the heart are the most valuable of all.\u201d <\/p>\n Through her original compositions and soulful interpretations of jazz and pop songs, Naylor sets out to capture the essence of Nichiren\u2019s message by creating uplifting music about life\u2019s most meaningful treasures. The title song, \u201cTreasures of the Heart,\u201d a funky, soul-jazz original penned by Naylor and Khu, summarizes the album\u2019s theme. \u201cI found joy when only dark clouds came to call \/ I felt springtime when the leaves began to fall \/ In the sunshine and the rain \/ In the joy inside the pain \/ Joy is a treasure of the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Naylor\u2019s groove-based vocals and smoky sound have a subtle, intimate quality that conveys the emotional depth of a song without resorting to vocal pyrotechnics. She draws you in with gentle intensity on love songs like \u201cAll That We Could Be,\u201d \u201cWalk Out in the Sun,\u201d and \u201cLove in Springtime,\u201d but she utilizes her powerful range on the blues and funk of \u201cWe\u2019ll Shine Through\u201d and \u201cLove\u2019s Around.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re the One for Me\u201d has a \u201860s Motown feel, while \u201cHappy Adventure\u201d gives a joyful nod to \u201870s disco. <\/p>\n Naylor and Khu wrote \u201cPicture Book of You\u201d for one of their fans who asked them to write a love song for his wife. He sent them a note listing qualities he loves about her, noting he thinks about her and their life together in pictures. The result is this lovely, Calypso-inflected tune with sweet lyrics like, \u201cAnd though I never doubt what our love is about \/ I love to reminisce \/ Fine art in Florence, you by waters in spring \/ The day we exchanged our rings.\u201d Even the darkest tune, \u201cHold On,\u201d which Naylor and Khu wrote for a friend suffering from depression, has a message of hope. <\/p>\n Khu\u2019s imaginative interpretations and Naylor\u2019s distinctive renderings of the covers take well-known tunes and transform them. \u201cI Didn\u2019t Know What Time It Was,\u201d has an Afro-Cuban feel with layered percussion, while \u201cTrue Colors,\u201d a pop anthem made famous by Cyndi Lauper, is turned into a spacious, gospel-tinged love song. Naylor is known for a technique she coined, \u201cacoustic smashing,\u201d where she sings the lyrics and melody of a jazz standard over the groove of a well-known rock anthem or vice versa. You can hear it at the end of \u201cLovely Day,\u201d where she sings some of the lyrics and melody of \u201cOver the Rainbow\u201d on the outro. She sings Burt Bacharach\u2019s \u201cThis Guy\u2019s in Love with You\u201d in a classic jazz trio setting, adding a pensive turn at the song\u2019s end.<\/p>\n Jacqui Naylor\u2019s distinctive voice has earned her legions of fans worldwide. She appears on all the streaming platforms, with some songs streamed over 5 million times on Spotify alone. Her albums consistently make exclusive “top-ten” lists, and her music has been featured in ad campaigns, television shows, and films, including a full-length documentary made about her. TREASURES OF THE HEART is another showcase for Naylor\u2019s splendid, sensitive, and surprising vocals. The music is diverse, the musicianship first-rate, and her compositions with Art Khu are well-crafted and heartfelt.<\/p>\n # # #<\/p>\n TREASURES OF THE HEART will be released on April 26, 2024, available on all streaming platforms. The album will also be available on CD, double-vinyl LP, and in Dolby<\/p>\n Holly Cooper My Funny Valentine – Arranged with ACDC Back In Black: Jacqui Naylor vocals, Art Khu piano, Ugonna Okegwo bass, Danny Gottlieb drums, Ken Dashow (Q-104) laugh.<\/p>\n \n
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