>> U-Nam
bio: U-Nam, the guitarist with a memorable name and an acrobatic, soulful and sweet melodic touch, with “Back From the 80’s” has crafted music firmly rooted in funky smooth jazz but crossing into genres as excitingly diverse as R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock and Chill. He calls it "Classy, Jazzy, Funky, Frenchy." This remarkable CD, U-Nam’s first for Virtuoso Records/Soulvibe Recordings, offers fresh versions of classic and lesser-known gems from the ‘80’s. But even more remarkable are U-Nam’s brand-new songs inspired by his favorite songs from the decade.
“I’m focusing more on my guitar playing with this CD,” says U-Nam, a Parisian whose debut from 2005, the well-received “The Past Builds The Future” offered instrumentals and a number of soulful vocal tunes. This time around, U-Nam focuses on instrumentals exclusively mixed with well-timed vocalese and background vocals. In addition to the guitar, U-Nam played bass, keyboard and percussions on the CD as well as producing, arranging and mixing the music. “I remember listening to George Benson, Al Jarreau, Earth, Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, Maze, etc.. all that great music when I was a kid. My goal was to write songs that captured that mood in addition to the covers.”
That explains the CD’s title, in addition to the fact that he’s a huge fan of the “Back To The Future” time-travel movies from the ‘80’s. “Instead of ‘Back To The 80’s,’ though,” says U-Nam, “I thought ‘Back From The 80’s’ better described what I set out to do: honor my influences and musical heroes but make music that is contemporary and hip to today’s scene.”
The CD gets a boost from the musical stylings of U-Nam’s musical partner, Frank Sitbon, who co-wrote some tunes, played keyboards and sang background vocals. To round out the project, U-Nam recruited an incredible mix of veteran musicians known both for their solo careers and studio playing: Jeff Lorber; Michael White (George Benson, Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly ); Alex Al (Stevie Wonder); Maysa Leak (Incognito); Steve “The Scotsman” Harvey (The Temptations, Ledisi); Melvin Davis (Chaka Khan, Lee Ritenour); and Paulinho da Costa (Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones ,Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Chris Botti, Al Jarreau and countless others). But U-Nam wasn’t done, as he also recruited some of the best musicians France has to offer, including the Paris Horns and the Merkevah Orchestra, a string section conducted by Raymond Gimenes.
The first single from “Back From The 80’s” is one of the best-loved songs from that period – the Crusaders’ “Street Life” “Some covers were better suited to the album since I wanted to shine the melody on guitar,” U-Nam says. “I’ve been a fan of ‘Street Life’ for many years and the keyboard solo by Joe Sample.” For this new version U-Nam brought in Grammy-nominated keys man Jeff Lorber, who also performed on U-Nam’s first CD, for a spirited solo. “Jeff Lorber is the like the new Joe Sample to me,” U-Nam says. “I couldn’t hear anyone else but him doing the Rhodes solo on that track. He did an amazing job, and it was obvious he was having a lot of fun!”
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