Acid Jazz Records and the Flying Dutchman label release veteran soul singer Billy Valentine’s hugely acclaimed new album. The first album of new music on the iconic jazz label since 1976.
After 40 years of dormancy, Bob Thiele, Jr. decided that an album from his friend and collaborator Billy Valentine would be the best way to herald the return of Flying Dutchman Records. As listens to pre-release tracks like the stirring Gil-Scott Heron tribute “Home Is Where The Hatred Is” or a remarkable take on Curtis Mayfield’s “We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue” attest, Thiele’s instincts are proving correct.
Recorded at Hollywood’s legendary East-West Studios (Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Elvis Presley’s ‘68 Comeback Special, Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On and Michael Jackson’s Thriller), in the shadow of both the coronavirus epidemic and the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, Valentine brings a sense of solemn power to these eight iconic protest songs, giving us his own spirited expressions of the boundless outrage, struggle, despair, and resilience contained therein. Backed by a veritable who’s who of modern jazz — including Theo Croker, Pino Pallodino, Jeff Parker, Immanuel Wilkins and so many more (full credits below) — Valentine’s performances are given a sharp and reactive backing upon which to elaborate new contours of songs by the likes of Prince, Stevie Wonder, and more.
Billy Valentine’s musical journey has been long and varied and includes stints as a teenage lounge singer opening for bigger acts such as Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway; touring with the original road company of The Wiz; andsigning with A&M Records alongside his brother John as part of The Valentine Brothers, who scored hit with their Reaganomics-critiquing ‘Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)’, and the quiet storm classic ‘Lonely Nights’.
Following the duo’s dissolution in 1987, Valentine linked up with Bob Thiele Jr. (now the caretaker of Flying Dutchman) and Phil Roy, who as a trio began collaborating on songs that would ultimately go on to be recorded by Ray Charles, The Neville Brothers, and both Pops and Mavis Staples. Over the years, Valentine’s voice continued to pop up in surprising places, including television (as part of the soundtracks for shows as varied as Boston Legal and Sons Of Anarchy) and in pop hits by Nas (‘Legit’) and Axwell (‘Nobody Else’).
Now with an illustrious and multifaceted career that spans more than 50 years, Billy Valentine is ready to be reintroduced to world with the glowing, Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth. A civil rights album for the 21stcentury.
Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth features an array of jazz luminaries that include tenor saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, trumpeter Theo Croker, bassist Linda May Han Oh, guitarist Jeff Parker, vibraphonist Joel Ross, percussionist Alex Acuña, pianist/keyboardist Larry Goldings, session bassist Pino Palladino, and soul-funk drummer James Gadson, among others.
Tracklist:
We The People Who Are Darker Than Blue
Home Is Where The Hatred Is
My People
You Haven’t Done Nothing
The Creator Has A Master Plan
Sign O’ The Times
Wade In The Water
The World Is A Ghetto
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