Adam Hawley - Double Vision (KALIMBA MUSIC 2018)

When your debut album scores three Billboard No. 1 singles, including the longest running No. 1 single of the year, and helps you win two Debut Artist of the Year titles, your priority becomes avoiding a sophomore slump. That was guitarist Adam Hawley's mindset as he entered the recording studio to construct "Double Vision," his Kalimba Records disc that drops on Friday. 

"My number one goal was to have my second album not only live up to the first, but hopefully surpass it. I was overwhelmed with the support and feedback I received and definitely wanted to repay the listeners with a fitting second offering rich with strong grooves," said Hawley, about the new ten-track set he wrote and produced highlighted by collaborations with Grammy winner Jeff Lorber and contemporary jazz chart-toppers Dave Koz, Darren Rahn, Marcus Anderson, Julian Vaughan and Greg Manning. 

"Double Vision" arrives nearly two years to the day "Just The Beginning" dropped in 2016. Topping the Billboard chart with "35th Street" (featuring Eric Darius), "Joy Ride" and "I Don't Mind," (featuring Euge Groove) with the first title camping out in the peak position longer than any other single did that year, lead to Hawley being named Debut Artist of the Year by JazzTrax and Smooth Jazz News. The first-call sideman and session player leapt nimbly into the solo spotlight and instantly became an in-demand performer at jazz festivals, clubs and music cruises. 

Hawley's upward trajectory continued earlier this month when "Double Vision's" first single, "Can You Feel It?," became his highest debuting Billboard single to date and this week charged into the Top 10. The midtempo urban adult joint registers maximum impact via Hawley's expressive guitar riffs and Anderson's plush sax accoutrements. The song is one of nine instrumentals Hawley penned for the collection that pours equal measures of sparkling pop, smooth R&B grooves and cosmopolitan jazz, stirred neatly by slick fretwork.

"For ‘Double Vision,' I very much had groove on the mind. One of my main focuses in the writing process is making sure the music feels good. And for most of this record, the combination of the incredible rhythm section created by Nate Kearney on bass and Eric Valentine on drums helps achieve just that. I am constantly writing, putting ideas in my voice memo app and composing in the studio to the point where I had 30 possible songs for this record. The tracks I selected for ‘Double Vision' represent putting my best foot forward," said Los Angeles-area based Hawley, who will celebrate the album release with a concert Friday night at SoCal jazz hotspot Spaghettini. 

The album's lone cover is a reimagined take on Adele's "Hello," which Hawley ingenuously transforms into a sultry acoustic number with exotic Latin samba rhythms. His wife, Kat Hawley, delivers inviting vocals with warmth and aplomb. 

The guitar ace originally from Portland, Oregon has toured and/or recorded with a wide variety of hit-makers and headliners such as Koz, Jennifer Lopez, The Backstreet Boys, Brian Culbertson, Joss Stone, Natalie Cole, Lalah Hathaway, Kirk Whalum, Gerald Albright and many others. Hawley also operates a studio that provides production, tracking, mixing, copy and transcription services for clients such as Summer Horns (Koz, Albright, Rick Braun and Richard Elliot), Lorber, Euge Groove, Jonathan Fritzen, Lin Rountree and Phil Denny. He earned a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Southern California and shares his knowledge by teaching at the Musician's Institute, Chaffey College and Saddleback College. 

"Just Dance" featuring Dave Koz

"Party People" featuring Jeff Lorber

"Can You Feel It?" featuring Marcus Anderson

"Traveling Mood" featuring Julian Vaughan

"Detroit"

"Hello" featuring Kat Hawley

"Shuffle" featuring Darren Rahn

"Just A Friend Of Mine" 

"Shake"

"1AM"