On
June 21, the debut album of African-American R&B and jazz singer Kat
Hawley, the wife of guitarist Adam Hawley, was released. A year ago, her debut single 'Keep On, Keepin' On' was released, with the collaboration of saxophonist Steve Cole. “I wanted my debut single to be a stamp on the scene that left no doubt about my abilities as a vocalist and songwriter. The track sounds very edgy and modern, but I wanted to give my vocals a contrast by making them have a late 80s/early 90s sound,” she said.
She wrote 8 of the 10 songs on that album with Adam, who also produced the album. Love and romance reign supreme here, and the sensual debut single opens the album, together with saxophonist Steve Cole. The same sensual atmosphere can also be heard on 'No Chill', an R&B track on which Judah Sealy plays sax.
Husband Adam shows off his nylon guitar on the seductive 'Love Me Tonight (A Lover's Duet)', and Kat had this to say about it: “The goal for this song was to create a very seductive and hypnotic sound with the instruments and the vocals to envelope the listener. I really wanted the listener to be drawn in and feel like they were in the room with me seeing and feeling exactly what I was writing and recording so, I made my vocals smooth, very long and stretched out notes so the listener would hang on my every word – seduced and hypnotized.”
Then the pace increases for the danceable 'Can We Dance', followed by the second single 'Never too Busy', on which Kat sings that you have to make time for who or what is important. 'Summer Breeze' lets the summer in, and we can really use it here! Pianist Greg Manning is a guest on 'Lazy Afternoon', in honor of the late Cecil Ramirez, a pianist from the San Francisco area and a friend of the Hawley's. The three of them released this song together before Cecil died of cancer in early 2021.
The third single 'Rather Be' has now been launched, followed by 'Moonlight (for A.J.)'. This track is for their son and his birthday is 10/09/08, which is exactly what the title of the album stands for. An intimate cover of Adele's 'Chasing Pavements' closes.
Highly recommended for all those R&B and smooth jazz fans all over the world!
Tracks:
Keep On, Keepin’ On
No Chill
Love Me Tonight (A Lover’s Duet)
Can We Dance
Never Too Busy
Summer Breeze
Lazy Afternoon
Rather Be
Moonlight (For A.J.)
Chasing Pavements