Jamison Jamison Ross

• 1 Deep Down in Florida 05:24
• 2 Martha's Prize (Instrumental) 03:53
• 3 Emotions 03:52
• 4 Sack Full of Dreams 04:13
• 5 Set Us Free (Instrumental) 05:52
• 6 Sweet Surrender (The Hook) [Interlude] 00:40
• 7 My One and Only Love 03:23
• 8 These Things You Are to Me 04:22
• 9 Jazz (Aubrielle Ross) [Interlude] 02:01
• 10 Epiphany 03:39
• 11 Bye Bye Blues, Part I 02:57
• 12 Bye Bye Blues, Pt. II 05:10
• Total Runtime 45:26

Info for Jamison

Three years ago, Jamison Ross won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition as best drummer. The Florida native now released his debut album and not only shows his drum chops, but also his talent as singer, producer, and composer.

With “Deep Down In Florida”, he starts out on a bluesy note with a song that would have been a perfect vehicle for Gregory Porter as well. The very joyful instrumental “Martha’s Prize”, written by the great Cedar Walton (from his 1996 album “Composer”), features Alphonso Horne III on trumpet and Chris Pattishall on piano. Both stick to the very positive and upbeat feel of the original. It is one of the better Walton compositions for sure.

Jamison’s soulful vocals come to the fore on his own “Emotions” which starts out like a “Poinciana”/Ahmad Jamal kind of tune and later turns into a cute Soul/Jazz number with a fine sax solo by Dayve Stewart. Jamison’s vocals at times resemble those of Peabo Bryson. With a little more twist and edge. And he delivers a very sympathetic version of the Gary McFarland tune “Sack Full Of Dreams”.

I think the choice of material is quiet interesting and diverse. The Eddie Harris composition “Set Us Free”, from the Harris/Les McCann 1971 LP “Second Movement”, is a welcome diversion here which also features the guitar of Rick Lollar. Jamison even manages to come up with new twists on the arrangements for the often-heard “My One And Only Love” which has Jonathan Batiste on piano (he also did the arrangement with Jamison) and which gets a new, soulful treatment.

We also get a beautiful interpretation of Carmen Lundy‘s sublime “These Things You Are To Me”. It is a reminder of Carmen’s ability to write timeless songs and the arrangement here with a nice guitar solo shows respect and honesty for the original. There is too much fooling around though on “Jazz” and “Epiphany” which didn’t really catch fire. And to include two parts of the cheesy “Bye Bye Blues” which I never really liked, unfortunately makes me want to forget the last 15 minutes of this otherwise succeeding debut.

Cory Irvin, Hammond B-3 organ (track 12)
Jonathan Batiste, piano (tracks 1, 7, 11, 12)
Chris Pattishall, piano, Fender Rhodes
Jamison Ross, vocals, drums
Corcoran Holt, bass
Rick Lollar, guitar
Dayve Stewart, tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12)
Alphonso Horne III, trumpet (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12)

Jamison Ross
is a GRAMMY-Winning R&B/ Soul artist whose music emanates from the intersection of R&B, Gospel, and Blues supported by modern production + contemporary Soul. Jamison's previous projects from Affective Music releases have been influenced by some of history's greatest Soul singers, including Marvin Gaye, Rance Allen, and Al Green.

A native of Jacksonville, FL, Jamison honed his talent studying at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, before attending Florida State University and then on to the University of New Orleans, where he earned a Master of Music. Shortly after graduating, Jamison released his debut album, Jamison (2015), earning his first GRAMMY nomination.

In 2019, Jamison and business partner, David S. Hargrett founded Affective Music, a Soul music-focused record label and management company dedicated to defining the sound of Soul for this era. Later that year, the label released Mykal Kilgore’s debut single, Let Me Go, produced by Jamison, earning his second GRAMMY nomination.

Following numerous accomplishments in his career, Jamison achieved a significant milestone in 2023 by winning a GRAMMY with Snarky Puppy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Empire Central.

While Ross continues this journey as an artist, songwriter and producer to make a major imprint in R&B this year, he has released his most anticipated single yet, Say You Love Me written by the late DJ Rogers. This single was released on February 14th, Valentine’s Day and has so far made it to the top 20 R&B charts as well as being #1 most added.

Jamison’s unique ability to marry smooth vocal melodies with soulful production is sure to take audiences on a listening experience like never before. In the current state of music, Jamison Ross is a refreshing treat to true music lovers.

“I’m thrilled to have the creative freedom I need to take my artistry to new heights and build upon one of the greatest genres of music ever created,” said Jamison.

This album contains no booklet.