Album Notes

Crooning over back-in-the-day riff reminiscent of 70's soul, there's nothing "neo" about Marlon Saunders.

"I want to combine the richness of the 70's - all of it, the music and psyche of black folks, the sense of beauty and awareness - and incorporate that into what I find unique and special about today's music," he says. And the emphasis, like his idols Marvin and Stevie and Rufus, will be songwriting. "In r&b music, we need to go back to the basic songwriting," says Saunders. "I was listening to a Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway record the other day and I was amazed at the beauty of it. It's simple recording in terms of instrumentation, but those sturdy, beautiful songs transcend everything. You can do anything to that music - bop to it, make love to it, hang out with your friends to it, cook a good meal to it.

I want my music to have the same effect. Or like the way Curtis Mayfield could marry the groove with the spiritual concept to the lyrics and still keep it ambiguous.

I want my music to have that sense of discovery."


A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Saunders is one of the founding members of Jazzhole, a 10 - member group that merges jazzy riffs with soulful crooning over a variety of stylish grooves.

Saunders was also a founding member of Sepia, another acclaimed vocal group. As a highly sought-after background vocalist, Saunders has worked with major talents such as Billy Joel, Sting, Michael Jackson, and Barry White (for whom he also penned "The Longer We Make Love"). He has also toured with Bobby McFerrin as a member of Voicestra, an innovative group created by McFerrin.