PREMIERE : Mark Adams & The Ubiquity Band - LLS Groove

Roy Ayers band Musical Director Mark Adams heads up a decorated ensemble of musicians for new soul-jazz album ‘This Is Neo-Soul’. The 10-track record features guest artists who have toured with greats like Lonnie Liston Smith, Chic, Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, Gloria Gaynor, Gill Scott Heron and Gladys Knight. The album comes on DownJazz Records, a boutique outlet from NYC and Detroit that deals in R&B, downtempo, nu-jazz, electronica and more, and is headed up by David Schwartz, who founded the multi-storied talent collective, Detroit Rising. A heavyweight remix album will follow later in the summer featuring Jimpster, Kaidi Tatham, DJ Spinna, Kai Alce, EVM128, Crackazat, Makez and more. Mark Adams is a keyboardist who has been the Musical Director for the Roy Ayers band for over 25 years. He has appeared on the legendary Tiny Desk series on NPR with Roy Ayres and here works with the band's drummer, Chris DeCarmine, lead vocalist Jonn Pressley and bass players Donald Nicks and Chulo Gatewood plus guests Monty Croft on vibes, who has worked with Gladys Knight, Lonnie Liston Smith's guitarist Bill White on guitar, and Chic vocalist Kimberly Davis. ‘This is Neo-Soul’ has been in the works for over three years and pays homage to the legendary sounds of Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith and other 70s neo-soul icons. It features several re-worked classics and new tracks from the band, from the strident opener 'Sweet Tears' to the deep cut jazz chairs of 'Day Dreaming' via a wonderful cover of the seminal 'Expansions'- a comic odyssey full of spiritual uplift and soaring vocals. Slower jams come in the form of the hushed late-night soul of 'Talking Walls' and funk drums and expressive sax lines of 'Dre's World.