BEGIN:VCALENDAR METHOD:PUBLISH CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//EVDB//www.eventful.com//EN VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:LATE NIGHT GROOVE SERIES: GORDON CHAMBERS CELEBRATES HIS BIRTHDAY AT THE BLUE NOTE in New York City at Blue Note - Eventful BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20081011T003000 DTSTAMP:20081014T233429Z SUMMARY:LATE NIGHT GROOVE SERIES: GORDON CHAMBERS CELEBRATES HIS BIRTH DAY AT THE BLUE NOTE DESCRIPTION: FEATURING: Gordon Chambers\, vocals & compositions Other Musicians\, TBA LOVE STORIES\, the eagerly-awaited sophomore album by award-winning songwriter\, producer and artist Gordon Chambers is rem iniscent of the joyful music heard in the '70s by artists like Stevie Wonder and Earth\, Wind and Fire. Chambers declares\, "A lot of that m usic was happy-sounding and fun\, orchestral but with a beat. As this album evolved\, I found we were recording more material with a tempo. That wasn't something I planned\, but I'd like to think that LOVE STOR IES is in that tradition of the classic soul music of the '70s with a fresh\, cutting-edge feel." Like many of the great works of that era\, the original compositions on Chambers' follow-up to his critically-ac claimed self-titled 2005 debut consist of full-on stories in song or m usical vignettes. "Every song on the album is a love story\," says the accomplished music man\, whose catalog of credits includes hits with Whitney Houston\, Aretha Franklin\, Anita Baker\, Yolanda Adams\, Patt i Labelle and The Isley Brothers (2006's R & B chartopper\, "Just Came Here To Chill"). "Some are personal but mostly\, they're not. I'd lik e to think that\, as a listener\, wherever you are in your journey of love\, there's something here for you." With a focus on upbeat songs t hat allow Chambers to emphasize the energy and dynamism audiences have come to expect from his live shows\, LOVE STORIES exudes a certain jo y and sense of celebration: "Get To Know\," co-written and produced by Barry Eastmond (with whom Chambers collaborated on the Grammy-winning "I Apologize" for Anita Baker) is a 'stepper's delight'\; "Stay Toget her\," a rendition of a song recorded in recent years by The Temptatio ns\; and the pop-flavored "Unfair" (co-produced with top Swedish hitma ker Arnthor Birgisson)\, are prime examples. Not that the album is ber eft of the kind of great love ballads for which Chambers has built a r eputation as an established songwriter: try "By My Side\," the inspira tional "Still Blessing Me" (featuring Melonie Daniels) or the haunting "If It Wasn't For Your Love\," which Chambers explains\, "was origina lly written about my parents. Heather Headley recorded it on her first album and I continually get requests for sheet music for it. People w ant to use it for different themes - weddings and anniversaries and so on. One of the lyric lines says\, 'Finally\, I see how it is to live a dream.' My parents have always supported me with a real foundation i n life so the song was written from a place of my gratitude to them. I t's very personal and expresses the heart of who I am." Writing lyrics that touch and inspire has been Gordon Chambers' stock in trade since he began his journey as a multi-faceted artist after some years as th e entertainment editor for world-renowned ESSENCE magazine. An intervi ew with Queen Latifah in 1993 resulted in Chambers' first songwriting assignment ("Winki's Theme" on Latifah's Black Reign album)\, but he h ad in fact been preparing to step into the world of music from an earl y age. "My parents always encouraged me as a child and I was able to t ake music lessons whenever I wanted and needed. They really gave me an environment which could explore my creativity and I'm so grateful tha t they supported me\," he recalls\, noting that he started out playing several instruments including trumpet and piano. In college\, he befr iended fellow students like star session singer Cindy Mizelle and Gord on's own vocal skills first came to the fore in the jazz genre. "I lik ed jazz because it had no rules and you didn't have to have a 'big' vo ice. I could have my own sound so experimenting with jazz and singing off the cuff worked just fine!" The turning point in Chambers' decisio n to step into the foreground as an artist came at a Houston session: "I was working with Whitney on the song\, "I Wish" and I had to sing s ome of it as a guide for her. She turned to me and said\, 'You want to do what I do\, don't you? So...go for it!'" Those words of encouragem ent from Houston\, along with constant support for live performances h e'd been doing in and around New York for the past few years\, was the catalyst for Chambers to get to work on his debut album\, released in 2005. Working closely with producers Troy Taylor\, Barry Eastmond and Brian Bacchus\, and with special guests including singer-songwriter G lenn Lewis and saxophonist Mike Phillips\, Chambers fashioned a tour-d e-force record that served as a dazzling showcase for his soulful voca l artistry. From his own versions of songs he's written but were recor ded by others - such as "I Apologize" and "My Valentine" (recorded by hitmaking vocalist Carl Thomas who is featured on the track with renow ned trumpeter Roy Hargrove) - to strong originals like "Touch You Ther e\," "Still In Love\," "That's When You Fall In Love" and the standout ballad\, "I'll Miss You Most\," the album immediately began picking u p rave reviews\, particularly with discerning music lovers both in the U.S.\, Europe and beyond. The enthusiastic international response to his debut album resulted in performances in London\, Paris and Canada and before 2006 was over\, Chambers had landed a Grammy nomination for the song "Family Reunion" (featuring Yolanda Adams\, Chaka Khan\, Car l Thomas and Gerald Levert)\, as well as working on songs with both Ad ams and Patti Labelle. Inspired by the reaction to his first album\, C hambers began working on LOVE STORIES in 2006. "Being out on the road and performing\, it was a wonderful surprise to know that there really is a healthy\, adult\, R & B-supporting community out there for indep endent artists such as myself\," he says. "The presence of internet an d e-commerce websites\, soul music conferences and promoters has been a tremendous help. They received my music so well. Now\, with the conf idence I've gotten vocally from performing live and knowing there is a n audience out there for good soul music\, I'm ready to get out there again and share LOVE STORIES." LOCATION:Blue Note @ New York, United States SEQUENCE:1224027269 UID:E0-001-014060052-9 URL:http://eventful.com/E0-001-014060052-9 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR