Guitarist Blake Aaron celebrated the release of his latest project Soul Stories yesterday, May 5, 2015. The album was released by Innervision Records and has already entered the Billboard Top 10 with “Encantadora”, a salsa-influenced track featuring Najee on flute.

The album weaves through the contemporary jazz, R&B, Latin and funk genres with a collection of ten tracks both originals and covers. In Blake Aaron’s words, “It’s the most expressive album I’ve ever made as an artist representing the many different facets of the music I love and who I am creatively.”

Soul Stories begins with the horn-driven, disco-inspired “Groove-o-Matic” and then steps back a decade in style with the 60’s influenced Wes Side Story. He next serenades use with nylon string guitar during “Sol Amor” and uses a combination of nylon string and electric guitars for the ever popular ballad “Europa.”

Joining forces with vocalist Spenser Day on “You’re the One for Me”, Blake Aaron steps into the jazz realm before shifting to the bluesy-rock style on “Story of the Blues.” The album closes with “You’re My Miracle” and the chart-topping “Encantadora.”

Soul Stories is certainly a cinematic experience as Blake Aaron paints a diverse collection of aural landscapes for his listeners as the project progresses from track to track. There’s definitely something for everyone on this project – whether you enjoy Latin-fusion or blues.

On Soul Stories, Blake Aaron is expertly accompanied by Derek Bordeaux, Tom Zink, Rob Mullins, Lew Lain, Hussain Jiffry, Melvin Davis, Mike Whittaker, Craig Sharmat, Ronnie Gutierrez, Rick Lawson and Winston Butts.

Get Soul Stories on Amazon.

Title: Soul Stories
Artist: Blake Aaron
Date: May 05, 2015
Genre: Jazz, Smooth Jazz
Label: Innervision Records

Tracks:

01 Groove-o-Matic
02 Wes Side Story
03 Sol Amor
04 Europa
05 You’re the One for Me feat. Spencer Day
06 Story of the Blues
07 Sara Smile
08 Story of My Life
09 You’re My Miracle
10 Encantadora feat. Najee

Get Soul Stories on Amazon.

[template id=”182″]

Published by Shannon Kennedy

Shannon Kennedy is a vocalist and saxophonist living in Southern California. She is author of "The Album Checklist" and the founder of Teen Jazz. She has been contributing articles to music magaizines and websites since 2004.