Bob Baldwin

Staying On Top Of Your Career in the “Friggin’” Music Business is a music handbook that primarily helps prepare aspiring musicians to create a successful career in the music industry.

The handbook, created for high school and college level students, explains how aspiring musicians can create a successful career path and make a name in the industry while maintaining their integrity. It’s also a refresher course for veteran artists and a manager’s reference guide to improve their own work ethic.

Excerpt:
After 25 short years of being in the music game, only to watch the industry fall so quickly, gone are the label-funded recording studios with their 20-foot sound boards, coffee runners and all night physical tape edits. Over the years, I studied the business and observed those very few Execs sitting at the top of the pyramid scheme, who built their mansions on your shoulders and the sweat of your backbone, blinged you down to your Mercedes feet while pushing their subliminal messages up on the big video screen and at the end of the day, all you were left was a quarterly bill written in red negatives. Believe it or not, back in the day, it was worse! They used to buy your copyright for a dollar and fed their grandchildren off the heels of your ignorance. At least you got the 12 – carat gold necklace. –Bob Baldwin | Author/Musician

For more information, visit Baldwin’s website at www.bobbaldwin.com. Buy the book at Amazon. - Smooth Jazz Life

Faust Harrison Pianos Presents

Bob Baldwin Jazz Trio
Faust Harrison Pianos & Arts Center in Westchester
214 Central Avenue
White Plains, NY 10606
Mount Vernon, NY native Bob Baldwin, Jazz Artist, Radio Host and Music Presenter, is an unsung hero when it comes to the Contemporary/Smooth Jazz genre and is on the move. With a vision to take his gift of music to help non-profit organizations who may be in need of help, Bob Baldwin adds Arts Advocate, Educator, and recently Author to his resume.

In 2012 Baldwin is slated to perform with Cynthia Calloway (daughter of the esteemed legend, Mr. Cab Calloway) and Michael Mills for the Feed the Children Program in Phoenix, Arizona. Humanitarian efforts go back to 1986, when he raised the awareness of HIV/AIDS in his hometown. On a production front, he is working with Peak Records, The Best in Contemporary Music to produce a tribute to the great Thom Bell, Philadelphia Songwriter legend and Music Producer, who is known for being one if the creators of the Philadelphia sound for groups like The Stylistics and The Spinners. The project is slated for first Quarter 2012, and includes: Paul Taylor, Russ Freeman, Vivian Green, and new voices Ragan Whiteside, and Elan Trotman.

Baldwin will return to the ArtsWestchester in February and March as co-curator of the NewUrbanJazz Series. The series will feature extraordinary artists from Westchester County, Hiroshi Yamazaki Quartet (Pianist Extraordinaire), Vaneese Thomas (Legendary Vocalist), The Tony Jefferson Quartet (Jazz Vocal Standards), and The John Patitucci Trio (Award-Winning Bassist). - Faust Harrison Pianos

Nestled neatly away in the Owings Mills, MD, community is a venue of which, until recently, I was admittedly totally unaware – The Gordon Center for Performing Arts. It was at this polished, smartly designed, and attractive venue that I was treated to one of the best concerts I’ve experienced in a very long time. Not only was the lineup spectacular – Ken Navarro, Bob Baldwin, and Art Sherrod – but the cause for which the show was presented, Melanie’s Memories, was heartwarming and noble.

Melanie’s Memories was conceived by Kevin Opher, the Maryland State Trooper/music promotion partner of Melanie Shockley, in honor of Melanie who, at the age of 49, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and later passed away at age 55. After a decade together, Melanie had to leave Kevin to carry the torch for smooth jazz in the Baltimore, MD, area…and it’s evident by this concert, he succeeded, much to Melanie’s delight, I’m sure. A portion of the concert proceeds were donated to the American Alzheimer’s Foundation, and I understand that the plan is to make this wonderful effort an annual event — to the pleasure of all who attended, I might add.

Joining Navarro, Baldwin, and Sherrod onstage were drummer Tony Lewis, bassist Dave Anderson, keyboardist Dan LaMaestra, and Brazilian percussionist Café de Silva. Words cannot describe the caliber of artistry displayed by this supporting cast. Each was truly phenomenal.

Saxman Art Sherrod, in addition to being one of the night’s performers, also served as a very engaging MC. He kicked things off in high gear right out of the gate, first introducing the cool yet intensely charismatic renowned guitarist Ken Navarro who immediately lit the flame that would burn all night. With his spirited “In My Wildest Dreams,” from the album by the same name, he placed the audience in a place from where no one would stray for the entire three-hour musical adventure. Following that with the smooth mid-tempo track “Skating on the C&O Canal,” from his 1993 I Can’t Complain release, he convinced the appreciative audience to settle back and truly delight in his silky trademark style.

In dedication to his son Eric, Navarro penned a tune in 2007 called “Eric’s Dream” which appears on his Brighter Days release. This night, he included in the dedication his daughter Melissa (excellent name choice, especially since I named my daughter the same – but I digress) who would celebrate her birthday the next day. Eric wasn’t present, but Melissa was there in the audience and, I’m sure, Bob Baldwin concert picincredibly proud of her prolific and artistic dad.

There were two tunes from Navarro that especially and absolutely floored me. The first was his mind-blowing guitar work using what is known as a Boomerang, a type of device that captures specific parts of one’s playing and plays them back while the artist moves into another chord or riff. The result is absolutely stunning. Using this device on his “Kings and Queens” track, found on his Ruby Lane release, he was able to create twelve — count ‘em – twelve separate parts in perfect synch with each other! We were now witnessing a one-man show that left me speechless.

The other tune was Navarro’s finale, a hotter-than-hot intense blues number like you haven’t heard since Hendrix (well, maybe Joe Bonamassa now) called simply “The Blues in G.” By the time his set was finished, the audience was in a frenzy, showering the guitarist in much-deserved applause and cheers.

Up next would come the prolific and cool keyboardist Bob Baldwin, joined by quality saxman Sherrod. Together, they took the Gordon Center into the stratosphere with such tunes as “The Way She Looked (At Me)” from Baldwin’s Standing Tall release, the crazy-hot funk jam “Funky Onion” from Art Sherrod concert picBaldwin’s Twenty release, a monster of a cover of Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon,” which can also be found on Baldwin’s Twenty release, and Sherrod’s “Smooth Groove” from his Seasons release – a high-steppin’ and funky tiger of a track which he considers his “ode to Washington, DC.”

Sherrod’s transition from Earth, Wind & Fire’s “That’s the Way of the World” to Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour” was truly something to behold as he demonstrated the nuances of great sax at work. He then took a stroll into the audience to wow the women and totally impress the men with both charisma and clear skill.

After a knockout of Baldwin’s Brazilian-flavored “Cafezinho” from his Brazil Chill release and showcasing the stellar conga work of percussionist de Silva, the trio of exceptional talent all joined in to mesmerize with most everybody’s favorite Seals & Crofts classic “Summer Breeze.”

All in all, this was the party of the week and should surely claim the distinction as one of the finest exhibitions of what true jazz artists always strive to do best – reach the soul of the listener. With the promise of returning again next year, same place, same time, the Washington, DC metro area will be buzzing with anticipation. Mark your calendars, watch for announcements on the web, listen to Charm City Jazz Radio in Baltimore, check Facebook & Twitter…whatever you do to access news of smooth jazz happenings and, if you can, plan to be in the area for this exciting and refreshing demonstration that smooth/contemporary jazz is long from dead. – Ronald Jackson

Photos by Aira Olave - Smooth Jazz concert reviews

MUSIC FOR DAVE, A DAVE VALENTIN TRIBUTE, is a music event and fundraiser, tributing the great Jazz Flutist, Dave Valentin, who suffered a stroke on March 3, 2012. While he is still recovering, he has not gigged since 2012 and his medical bills are piling up.

Dave has had the pleasure of winning grammy awards with vibraphonist Dave Samuels for their work under the artist header THE CARIBBEAN JAZZ PROJECT" in the 1990's and 2000's. On more than one occasion, he's been written up by the New York Times, outlining his day-to-day exploits.

Enter Pianist Bob Baldwin, a music producer that has worked with the likes of George Benson, Grover Washington, Jr., Pieces of a Dream and Marion Meadows, to name a select few, and friend of this Latin legend. Baldwin and his companies, NewUrbanJazz and City Sketches, Inc. are driving a campaign to raise money to cover the health expenses for Valentin. In 2010, Baldwin plucked Valentin to sit-in at a Jazz for Haiti benefit in Newark, NJ. "Dave's a good friend of mine, and I would do anything to help my musical amigo out, so this is something I'm very honored to spearhead."

All funding raised will be used to cover the rental fee of $3,500.00 for the Tarrytown Music Hall, as well as advertising promotion Campaigns at radio and print to promote the event. Baldwin will also utilize his 22,000 emails in the NY/NJ area as well as 7,000 DC and 23,000 Atlanta emails, and he will spread the word about Dave on his radio show, which reaches out nationwide to 453,000 listeners weekly. it is our goal to present 100% of the door proceeds to Mr. Valentin, which is capped at $24,000.00 if at full capacity. - Bob Baldwin

Bob Baldwin – MelloWonder: Songs in the Key of Stevie

June 19,2015

With the robust energy and cool enthusiasm that has become the trademark of pianist/keyboardist/composer/producer Bob Baldwin’s tributes to the Bob Baldwin CDicons of our time, he has again worked his magic on a tribute to the great Stevie Wonder with a project called MelloWonder: Songs in the Key of Stevie.

Calling on the superb talents of top-tier artists such as Marion Meadows, U-Nam, Chieli Minucci, and Ragan Whiteside, Baldwin makes it a most enjoyable experience to reenter the world of Wonder through the imaginative colorings of the Baldwin touch. From groovesters like “The Real Thing” to the slick “Creepin’” to his funky rendition of the classic ”Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” to cool and snappy “That Girl” and on and on for 14 of some of the most polished and delightful tracks befitting such a solid nod to the Wonder of music.

Adding his own soulful, lilting piano and keys flavoring to the pieces, it is clear that Baldwin meant to tap into that part of the listener’s heart and soul that is reserved for the likes of Wonder, and in my opinion, he was more than successful, making sure he captured the very essence of the R&B/soul genius with all of the careful and meticulous intent so majestically displayed on the original tracks.

As Baldwin himself has stated, “There is only and will only be one Stevie Wonder, the perfect blend between ‘genius’ and ‘humanitarian’.” So true, but one must tip his/her hat to Baldwin’s magnificent effort to strut Wonder’s stuff in such a superior fashion as to undoubtedly make Wonder beam with pride. A Class A effort and remarkable tribute indeed. – Ronald Jackson - The Smooth Jazz Ride

ontemporary/Urban Jazz Keyboardist, Pianist and Songwriter Bob Baldwin Pays Homage to Music Legend Stevie Wonder with the Release of project “MelloWonder”: Songs in the Key of Stevie – Coming June 16th, 2015

LISTEN TO “LOVE’S LIGHT IN FLIGHT”!


One of the more consistent and long time purveyors of jazz music, Bob Baldwin, is getting set to step into the limelight again with the release of his 21st CD to date – “MelloWonder: Songs in the Key of Stevie,” from City Sketches Inc. on June 16th. The project celebrates the legacy of music legend Stevie Wonder and boasts over 14 tracks of great memorable covers, including “Love’s Light in Flight,” “Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You),” “Love’s in Need of Love Today” and much more. The players assisting Mr. Baldwin on the special album are U-Nam, Marion Meadows, Chieli Minucci, Ragan Whiteside, Jorel “J-Fly” Flynn, Tres Gilbert, Dr. Derek Scott, Toni Redd, Stanley Thompson, and more.

Bob Baldwin is constantly on the move. Since 2000, Mr. Baldwin had 7 Top 20 Billboard Contemporary Jazz chartings, traveled all over the world in sharing his love and passion for music with his large fanbase & is still active with his radio syndication program called NewUrbanJazz, with over 453,000 listeners weekly.

T.U.M.S. will keep you posted with additional information as it comes!

Pre-Order “MelloWonder” NOW on Amazon. Also purchase and listen to sound clips now at www.bobbaldwin.com. - The Urban Music Scene

Contemporary smooth jazz giant Bob Baldwin - an acclaimed keyboardist and longtime collaborator with the likes of Grover Washington, Jr., Freddie Jackson and George Benson - headlines the exclusive live concert film Bob Baldwin: Memoirs from the Hudson. In it, Baldwin plays a number of rousing and inventive jazz tunes before an enthusiastic audience at the Croton Point Park Music Festival in the Big Apple. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi - New York Times

Twenty (2013)
"With so many artists celebrating milestones in this biz, it is only fitting that we turn to yet another in keyboardist/producer/entrepreneur Bob Baldwin who celebrates 20 albums in 25 years with his release of Twenty.

This one was a bit late getting to me, but the music makes the wait very tolerable as Baldwin produces some more of that slick, strutting sound of R&B/jazz/funk that bears his fingerprints all over it.

With masterful tributes to the late Michael Jackson (Never Can Say Goodbye) and Thom Bell (Betcha By Golly Wow: The Songs of Thom Bell) now under his belt, Baldwin again ventures out with his own creative endeavor. The tunes here are typical Baldwin: Tight, well-phrased, often funky, and with a lot of bounce and charm.

Along with rich covers of Herbie Hancock and Freddie Hubbard, Baldwin has Marion Meadows, Joey Sommerville, Ragan Whiteside, and Gabriel Mark Hasselbach, among others helping out here. The result is simply of top-shelf quality. ” - DC BEBOP

By Chris Walker

There's been an overload of 9-11 homages in just about every musical format imaginable. Contemporary pianist, arranger and producer Bob Baldwin conceived a record that's a tribute to the American spirit, too, one that he hopes will help promote healing and inspiration.

Amazingly, Baldwin has been able to overcome the most difficult aspect of doing a tribute of this sort-not having it sound hokey while still expressing sentiment. He successfully achieves that on The American Spirit by creating unencumbered arrangements with universal themes, and many of the selections recall Bob James' sophisticated light funk.

Probably, the strangest thing about this effort is that the renditions of the various anthems-"God Bless America," "My Country Tis of Thee," "America the Beautiful"-actually sound better, and are more effective, than the originals and pop covers on the CD. The cores of these grand American national themes are intact, but the songs are presented with a fresh contemporary approach-sounding far too hip to be the same ones used for school assemblies and sporting events.

Without question, that's the beauty of The American Spirit. - Jazztimes

Never Can Say Goodbye: A Tribute to Michael Jackson (2010)
"Baldwin interprets Jackson in a pretty straightforward and direct manner, with few frills or unnecessary flourishes. Another artist might have overly embellished the material with strings, horns, a battery of overdubbed keyboards, vocalists and other trappings; instead, Baldwin lets the music do the talking, and guest appearances by guitarists Steve Oliver, Chieli Minucci and Chuck Loeb, along with trumpeter Joey Sommerville, add subtle but not showy contributions.

Chuck Loeb—the newly recruited replacement for Larry Carlton in Fourplay —shines especially on "Never Can Say Goodbye.”.

~ Jeff Winbush - All About Jazz - All About Jazz - Jeff Winbush

NewUrbanJazz.com isn't just a clever album title, it's a web address and marketing tool where keyboardist Bob Baldwin streams jazz online for listeners looking for their contemporary jazz fix. Baldwin's site joins other Internet sites and satellite radio as replacements for terrestrial radio stations in San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia and other cities that have abandoned the smooth jazz format.

As the smooth jazz format seems to be reliant on 20-year-old Sade songs and waiting for the next Kenny G to come along and revive the flagging format, Baldwin is thinking ahead and looking back to the days when radio was the source for something more adventuresome. More jazz fans are embracing the internet as the medium to bypass radio conglomerates and their timid, tepid programming.

NewUrbanJazz.com is like a Valentine's Day card from Baldwin to the radio days of the late '70s and early '80s. Baldwin fondly looks back at a time when musical genres weren't so stratified, and New York disc jockeys and night clubs set trends instead of following them.

Over 70 minutes in length, Baldwin alternates between bouncy beats ("Jeep Jazz," "She's All That" "It Is What It Is," "Third Wind"), old school soul ("Somebody Else's Guy," "Too Late," "Natural Thing") and neo-hip-hop ("Seems Like One of Those Daze," "Don't Keep Me Waiting").

Hip-hop and jazz sometimes make for uneasy bedfellows, and the album might have benefited from more of the latter and less of the former. Baldwin might have considered a "less is more" approach, as the album does drag a bit toward the end. This might be in part because the younger vocalists/rappers are not yet as accomplished as the old school guest soloists, which include Jocelyn Brown, Phil Perry, and Freddie Jackson.

Baldwin gets major mileage from a trio of guest saxophonists—(Najee, Marion Meadows and Joey Sommerville)—and a full horn section on the tribute, "Joe Zawinul." This production was clearly a labor of love, and Baldwin's own playing on keyboards, piano and other instruments is strong and passionate throughout.

NewUrbanJazz.com is virtually a throwback to rock n' roll concept albums like Pink Floyd's The Wall (Columbia, 1979). The theme here isn't one of alienated youth and jaded rock stars, it's kicking back as a long hot day comes to an end, with the prospect of a chilled-out night full of cool grooves and good times.

Fans of the smooth jazz radio format are waking up to find their favorite stations flipping formats to talk and classic rock like pancakes at IHOP. Going even softer than smooth jazz with the chill format is merely delaying the inevitable end. NewUrbanJazz.com may or may not be The Next Big Thing, but at least Baldwin's approach is proactive, not reactive.

Track Listing: Jeep Jazz; Third Wind; My Cherie Amour; Somebody Else's Guy; Take My Hand; Seems Like One of Those Daze; She's All That!; Too Late; All Nite; It Is What It Is; Natural Thing; Flying High; Joe Zawinul; Don't Keep Me Waiting; New Urban Jazz. - All About Jazz