Contact: Rick Scott
310.306.0375
rick@greatscottpr.com
Sax-vocalist Michael J. Thomas is “Driven” to compete with an upbeat and diverse passion project
The
first single, “Baby Coffee,” earned most added honors at Billboard and
hit the SiriusXM playlist ahead of Friday’s album release, leading to a
distribution deal.
DESTIN (18 August 2017): No sophomore slump for contemporary jazz-pop artist Michael J. Thomas, who released his second album, “Driven,” on Friday on the Harbor Breeze Records
imprint. The ten-song set burst out of the gate jolted by a wave of
national airplay for the first single, “Baby Coffee,” earning Billboard most-added honors in its debut week followed by an add at SiriusXM’s Watercolors, leading the saxophonist-vocalist to sign a distribution deal for the project with Perry Music Group/Sony Music.
It’s been seven years since Thomas issued his instrumental debut album, “City Beat,”
and six years since he made his vocal debut with the infectious
standalone single “I Think About Amy,” which peaked at No. 16 on the
Billboard chart after a remix by two-time Grammy winner Paul Brown.
“Driven” is his first collection to combine sax-led soul-jazz
instrumentals and R&B-pop vocal tunes that showcase a voice that
programmers and reviewers have compared to Michael Jackson and George Michael. It’s a varied, exhilarating session written and produced by Thomas and longtime collaborator Shannon Wallace with additional tracks produced by Oli Silk, Trammell Starks and Music Man Dre Forbes.
"I
got the bug to record a new album in 2014. I hadn’t written anything
new in a while and all of these melodies and lyrics were hitting
me. However, the songs didn’t all fit into one genre, but I recorded
them anyway. I decided that this would be a passion project for me more
than trying to write music that fits the traditional model,” said the
Destin, Florida-based Thomas, who is submitting “Driven” for Grammy
nomination consideration. “I titled the album after one of the
pop-oriented songs I wrote that has to do with staying driven and
motivated to compete.”
While
“Baby Coffee” has all the makings of a late summer instrumental hit
–percolating groove, stimulating funk beats and energizing horn-powered
harmonies – Thomas opens the disc with the shimmering and slick “My
Love,” one of four vocal numbers. An empowering vocal drop adds street
cred to “In America, You Can Do It!,” an instrumental inspired by
Thomas’s alto sax and Gino Rosaria’s glistening keyboards. “You
Know You Got This” is another confidence-building instrumental. A
Minneapolis-style old-school funk party meets disco vibe breaks out on
“Girls Got Moves,” a dance floor filler vocal tune that also closes the
album in instrumental form. The percussive instrumental “Make Me Crazy”
is an aggressive agitator that showcases Thomas trading barbs during an
extended improvisational breakdown with trumpeter Paul Scurto. A
congenial “Get Your Smooth On” benefits from a luminous anthemic chorus.
Thomas caresses on the intimate “Say Goodbye” with a mix of heartbreak
vocals and a tender soprano sax solo followed by the reassuring Quiet
Storm instrumental affirmation “Never Gonna Leave You.” The title track
offers a take-no-prisoners attack on raw ambition as kinetic beats,
incendiary horn and synth blasts, and a screaming electric guitar solo
from Mark Jaimes (Simply Red) ignite this scorching vocal number.
Underneath
the invigorating instrumental veneer and the pure power pop panache
that make “Driven” a bright, vibrant and an assured listen, there is a
vulnerable artist who struggled to overcome an intense personal crisis
to complete the record.
“‘Driven’
is very personal and represents a particularly sensitive and difficult
period that I endured emotionally. I started writing it in the midst of a
romantic relationship. Tragically, she passed away and I didn’t know if
I could finish the album after dealing with depression in the
aftermath. But I did and I continue to push forward. That’s what I want
the takeaway to be from this album.”
The “Driven” album contains the following songs:
“My Love”
“Baby Coffee”
“In America, You Can Do It!”
“You Know You Got This”
“Girls Got Moves”
“Make Me Crazy”
“Get Your Smooth On”
“Say Goodbye”
“Never Gonna Leave You”
“Driven”
“Girls Got Moves” (instrumental)
