SOLO by Julian Vaughn
With seven albums under his belt, Composer/Bass Player Julian Vaughn has reached #1 on the Billboard charts eight times and he is just getting started. Having toured all over the United States, he’s ventured to Dubai, Nairobi, Italy, Spain and Germany and back again. And with his new album, SOLO, created entirely during the pandemic, Vaughn continues to redefine the lead bassist role in the smooth jazz genre along with a cast of all-star performances by featured artists: Saxophonists Steve Cole, Darren Rahn, Marcus Anderson, Elan Trotman; Drummers Lester Estelle (Kelly Clarkson), RJ Kelly (American idol, Miguels); and Keyboardists Greg Manning, Jeremy Nixon, Lew Laing and Nicholas Cole.
SOLO begins with “Take That”, an in your face kind of vibe, a mix between the Gap Band and music from the1960s Batman TV show. This song gets the party up and dancing. The next song on the album titled “Coastin” was produced by jazz guitarist Adam Hawley and features saxophonist Darren Rahn with some amazing playing and artistry. “Hermosa” has a Cuban influence, unlike anything a lead bass player has ever done. Things pick up becoming more intense on “Busta Move” when Julian and Steve Cole show why they make a great sax and lead bass duo. “Funk Yo Fusion” opens and closes with blazing guitar solos by Ethan Ridings. The first single from the album, “Bass Trap,” had its debut on the The Wendy Williams Show (average viewership 1.6M per episode), gaining major traction with nearly 880K streams on Spotify alone in the first year. The final track “Willie C” is a gospel quartet song with a jazz twist dedicated to Vaughn’s late grandfather who’s gifted him his first bass guitar.
"Kansas City's Julian Vaughn is an adept, soulful bassist who makes his own brand of gospel-influenced smooth jazz and instrumental R&B”. - AMG
Tracklist
| 1. | Take That | 4:18 |
| 2. | Julian Vaughn feat. Darren Rahn - Coastin | 4:05 |
| 3. | Julian Vaughn feat. Elan Trotman - Hermosa | 3:53 |
| 4. | Julian Vaughn feat. Marcus Anderson - Bass Trap | 4:42 |
| 5. | Julian Vaughn feat. Steve Cole - Busta Move | 4:34 |
| 6. | Next Time | 4:09 |
| 7. | My Prayer | 4:12 |
| 8. | Funk Yo Fusion | 4:26 |
| 9. | Love Connection | 4:32 |
| 10. | The Offering | 4:25 |
| 11. | Willie C | 4:16 |
Credits
Mixed By: Darren Rahn: 1,2,4,5,7,8,9,10
Mixed By: Alan Litten: 3,6,11
Mastered: Joe Yannece
Photography: Byron Ewing Bee’s Photography
Creative Design: Dinh Tran
Julian Vaughn plays MTD Guitars & Labella Strings
Executive Producer: Julian Vaughn
Associate Producers: Marilyn James, Jingwei Chu, Art Dubose, and Tony Oguike
MUSICIANS
Mel Brown - Bass: 2, 5, 10
Darrell Freeman - Synth Bass: 1
Julian Vaughn - Bass: 3, 6, 7, 8, 11 Adam Hawley - Guitar: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 Andrew Freeman - Guitar: 9
Ethan Ridings - Guitar: 6, 8
Mike Hart - Guitar: 10, 11
Jeremy Nixon - Keys: 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11 Greg Manning - Keys: 1, 5
Nicholas Cole - Keys: 7
Lew Laing - Keys: 9
Caleb Middleton - Keys: 2
Elan Trotman - Sax: 3
Marcus Anderson - Sax: 1, 4, 8, 11 Donald Hayes - Sax: 6
Darren Rahn - Sax: 2
Steve Cole - Sax: 5
Emmanuel Echem: Trumpet: 1, 10 Lester Estelle - Drums: 2, 8, 10, 11 RJ Kelley - Drums: 1
Marcus Finnie - Drums: 5
Emmanuel Echem: Horn Section: 1, 10
License
All rights reserved.Tags
A dynamic lead bass player from Kansas City, bassist Julian Vaughn has made a international name for himself since 2010 as a bassist in the smooth jazz which is dominated by artist who play sax. Although the bass is often associated with funk, Vaughn likes to play with more of a finesse style as well as some funk.