Award-Winning Songwriter/Musician Michael StClair Lays Out his Soul Print on “Shining” EP
So, what is smooth jazz?
Before listening to the release of Shining, a new “smooth jazz” EP by award-winning songwriter, producer and guitarist Michael StClair, I wanted to check out exactly what smooth jazz was about.
Of course, we all know of smooth jazz pioneer, guitarist George Benson. And, then there were others like Anita Baker, Sade, Al Jarreau, Grover Washington Jr. and Kenny G. I looked up “smooth jazz” on Wikipedia and it said: “As a radio format, it is clear that smooth jazz became the successor to easy listening music on radio station programming in the mid-1970s to the early 1990s.”
Okay, that was then, but this is now. So, what was Easy Listening music and, more importantly, what is it today? I Googled “Easy Listening Today” and a random “Easy Listening Music 2024 Mix” came up and guess who was on the YouTube playlist, someone who seems to be ubiquitous today, someone singing admittedly easy listening music — yes, Taylor Swift and her video for “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone on vocals which has 70 plus million views after only a few weeks of release.
And, right below Swift was Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” with 140 million views over 10 months. And, then another Taylor Swift tune, “Down Bad” with some really modern-day lyrics — “I might just stay down bad/fuck it if I can’t have him/down bad/fuck it if I can’t have him.”
Easy Listening ain’t what it used to be, that’s for sure. But good on Taylor, pretty cool tune with references to silent film superstar Clara Bow, and her challenges with mental illness.
Which takes me back to Michael StClair’s Shining 5-song EP, which, after a few listens, features a variety of very tasty and listenable tunes — call it smooth jazz or easy listening or whatever.
First, the tunes on Shining represent an eclectic mix, starting with the first single, “Coastal Waters.” They’re not smooth jazz per se, but they are long, cool easy listening. And, a lot of fun.
Shining’s press materials offer some additional material:
With “Coastal Waters” being the latest single off his new Smooth Jazz EP entitled Shining, award-winning songwriter, producer and guitarist Michael StClair proves to be an irresistible storyteller whose smooth, sexy and mellow musical tales encompass a variety of musical genres.
More specifically, each song on Shining is a smooth “soul print” of StClair’s life including: the positive people he’s met, like in “Coastal Waters” inspired by an authentic dude in Jamaica; the musicians he works with like songwriter Frangelica who rises above a personally challenging time to proclaim “Look at Me Now”; a poignant re-interpretation of Canadian songwriter Sarah McLachlan’s transcendent song “Angel” as an instrumental; a smooth jazz number “The Cat” inspired by the comfort and joy that these ultimately inscrutable creatures bring; and a smooth jazz reggae track called “Itopia” — a joyous funky waterfall of sounds.
Shining is StClair’s personal signature, one that plays out the contour and content of his soul — his special soul print.
That is an awfully insightful and progressive way to describe some new music — a songwriter/musician’s own “soul print.” Not comparing StClair to other musicians or songs or even styles. In many ways, megastar Swift, just like the Beatles or Michael Jackson, in their time, created their own signature style like StClair has done here.
Personally, for this writer, I know what I like, and I like StClair’s soul imprint on Shining.
And, to wrap, here’s a little more on Michael StClair: He was born in the UK and moved to Toronto, Canada where he honed his music skills through his sessions and live performances with other talented artists. He currently enjoys the West Coast life of Vancouver Island where he has met other skilled artists — both local and international — who are also featured on his new Shining EP. He describes his art as, “Afro, soul, samba and jazz soundscapes coloured with electric and acoustic guitars.”
Drop in on Michael StClair’s website, and check out his Shining EP on all major music platforms now, including: Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon Music, iHeart Music, Pandora.
