"Thank You For The Love" is the first solo/group release from Downbeat Magazine award winner guitarist/producer Jay Alan Thompson. In 1988, he was voted Blues/Pop/Rock guitarist (collegiate category). "Thank You For The Love" also features the dynamic lead vocals of Jim Branch and David Buckholtz. On those tracks that feature vocals, all three gentlemen sing together in the form of OFS- Our FathersSons. The album recalls a smooth R&B/Jazz type flavor that is romantic, spiritual and danceable at the same time. Standout songs are "Carry Me To Love", "The Best Thing I Ever Did", "So In Love" and "Loving You, Kissing You."
Jay Alan Thompson: Guitar, Bass, Keys, Drums, Drum Programming, Vocals
Jim Branch: Primary Lead Vocals, Background Vocals
David Buckholtz: Lead & Background Vocal
Jay Alan Thompson: Jay Alan Thompson started playing guitar at age seven. Stylistically, his sound can best be described as a mixture of Wes Montgomery, BB King and Andres Segovia.
He attended Rutgers University in New Jersey and eventually earned two degrees from Howard University [Bachelor of Music-Jazz Studies] and [Master of Music- Guitar]. He was voted Best Blues/Rock/Pop Guitar by DOWNBEAT magazine in the 1988 Collegiate Awards category. Performance credits include: Regina Belle, Skip Jackson, Illinois Jaquette, Wynton Marsalis, Terrance Blanchard, Joe Burden, Frank Lacy, Ethel Ennis. He is featured on the albums "Quiet Christmas" [Casierra Records, 1996], "Acoustic Autumn" [Casierra Records, 1997], and various Howard University Jazz Ensemble records from 1986 to 1993. His first solo major release is the R&B/Smooth Jazz flavored "Thank You For The Love," released in May of 2005 by Third Stage Publishing.
Jim Branch: "Wow, what a voice...!" That is the standard and typical reaction upon hearing the voice of Jim Branch. It is a voice that touches your soul and pierces your heart... He has blessed thousands (literally) with his unique vocal resonance and musical spirit- from sports stadiums singing the National Anthem before multitudes of enthusiastic and awed crowds...to souls aching for hope and meaning in nursing homes and churches. He lights up a room when he walks in- and lights up the stage when he walks on it. He has the potential to help bring a new "renaissance" to R&B. There is only one voice like Jim Branch- a voice powerful enough to stop traffic. "Wow, what a voice!"
David Buckholtz: David's musical career began at the age of 13, when he became road and equipment manager (and part-time singer) for his siblings' band The Ethics, while living in Japan. After moving to Maryland, he sang and played bass guitar with Starpoint, and had the unique opportunity to perform with Dizzy Gillespie, before recording with his own band, Blizzard ("Blowin' Cool all over the Land"). David attended Hampton Institute where he toured with the Chapel, College, and Concert Choirs, playing bass and singing tenor and solos. David's voice has been heard at the Christian Broadcasting Network's complex in Portsmouth, Virginia (performing with Andre Crouch and the Virginia Philharmonic at CBN's opening gala), the Symphony Hall in Chicago, the US Virgin Islands, the Kennedy Center, the Cathedral of the Church of St. John the Divine in New York City (with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Sarah Vaughn, Dave Brubeck, and Joe Williams), and Carnegie Hall. For the last thirteen years, David has been lead vocalist for the regional R&B horn band, Too Many Daves and the Brass SOULution
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