Album Notes

NEW R&B/JAZZ CD IS "2 SMOOTH 4 WORDS"

Southern California musical duo Daniel A. Nelson and Mark Drummond have released a smooth jazz/R&B instrumental CD,2 Smooth 4 Words, now available online and at live performances.

Daniel Nelson (keyboards) and Mark Drummond (guitar) met working the SoCal indie music scene as sidemen. After hearing the production work on Mark's debut CD "Six Strings One Love", Daniel invited him to mix and add guitar to his "Just A Touch" gospel-jazz project. Discovering shared musical sensibilities and complementary skill sets, the two set forth upon a collaborative production venture, focused on the kind of music they both loved to create: R&B-inflected smooth jazz with plenty of old-school funk accoutrements.

Nelson's agile, melodic keyboard tracks lay the foundation for 2 Smooth 4 Words, as he effortlessly moves among jazz, gospel, R&B and funk styles. Drummond quickly stakes out plenty of territory for his groovy guitar work and deftly mines it for tasty leads and rhythms. The CD opens with "Baby Oil", a sultry smooth-jazz instrumental in the mode of groups like Fourplay, then the listener is taken on forays into neo-soul ("Way Back In Tha Day"), instrumental jazz-pop ("Can't Live Without You"), and even Earth-Wind-&-Fire-styled funk, replete with snazzy horn stabs and burning guitar and synth solos ("2 Smooth 4 Words").

Drummond and Nelson are currently performing and promoting 2 Smooth 4 Words and working on material for upcoming releases.

Booking info: 310.613.6377
Licensing inquiries: 562.650.2397

comments on "2 Smooth 4 Words":

"...2 Smooth 4 Words" takes me back to the days of in-the-pocket R&B grooves that I could play all day and night on the stereo. It's a nice break from the over-processed stuff that passes for R&B these days."
-Phil Underwood / eJazz Monthly

"Drummond & Nelson's CD sounds like they kidnapped members of Fourplay, Earth Wind and Fire, Chic, Cameo, Maze and locked them in a studio until they came up with tracks!
You can definitely hear the influences of those great self-contained bands from back in the day"
-DM, LA CA,USA

"Nice playing, always appropriate for the track. Guitarist definitely has that classic funk vibe but also can chill when he needs to."
-JP, Phoenix AZ, USA

"Well produced and recorded, I enjoy to hear from beginning to end. Good variety."
HW, Stuttgardt DE

"My two favorites are "Shh Im Groovin" and "Delightful Jazz". I was singing along with Delightful Jazz by the second chorus! LOL!"
-RR, Houston TX, USA