Keyboardist Patrick Bradley is set to start the New Year with a hope-filled exhalation “Exhale,” his fifth contemporary jazz album produced by hitmaker Darren Rahn and GRAMMY winner Jeff Lorber, drops January 15.
Like most things in 2020, the concept of contemporary jazz keyboardist Patrick Bradley’s fifth album slated for release on January 15 took a dramatic turn when the pandemic hit and racial strife erupted. Although ideas for the eleven-song set were already sketched out, when he and producer Darren Rahn wrote the uplifting title track.
“Exhale,” which drops as a single on January 4 on the Patrick’s Song Factory label, the composition seemed to encapsulate exactly what Bradley was feeling and believes that we are all in need of: expel the fear, worry and division gripping the nation and inhale unifying hope and peace. “It’s kind of a musical release from all the tension and difficulty of 2020.
I thought the album title was going to be ‘Providence’ until we wrote ‘Exhale.’ That became the clear title track of the album. It also played into where I was at mentally with 2020, which has been a pretty rough year for everybody. Knowing I was going to release (the album) in January, it seemed perfect to call it ‘Exhale.’ That’s the motif of the album and all the songs are kind of in that vein. I want to inspire, help and bring hope,” said Bradley, whose last album, “Intangible,” scored two Billboard top 10 singles – “Tailwind” (No. 5) and “Dear Friend” (No. 8) – and the title track was a top 20 single.
Bradley recorded “Exhale” during quarantine without ever being in the studio with Rahn, who produced nine tracks for the project, or GRAMMY winner Jeff Lorber, who produced a pair of tunes. After recording three albums produced entirely by Lorber, Bradley felt the need for change as he enters the next phase in his recording career. Both Lorber and a friend, sax sensation Dave Koz, recommended Rahn.
“It’s always different when you enter a new situation not knowing if it’s going to work, but with Darren, things fit together perfectly both as a producer and a songwriting partner. I brought the bones and DNA of the songs into the project, but Darren’s creative input really helped get the songs to where they are now,” said Bradley.