Free child safety seat check Saturday
November 6, 2014
Concerts
November 11, 2014
Jeffrey Osborne has two career-making hits to his credit: “Love Ballad,” which he penned and performed during his L.T.D. days, and “On the Wings of Love,” which catapulted him to the top of the charts in 1982.
Subsequent hits – his own and those he wrote for others, such as “All At Once” for Whitney Houston – kept the R&B and American funk musician/lyricist in demand.
But it’s his latest release, “A Time for Love,” that pays homage to his musical roots – jazz.
The 12-track standard reunited Osborne and award-winning producer George Duke, who produced the baritone’s first three releases.
“This is my first jazz standard record,” Osborne said in a phone interview. “It’s the album I always wanted to do but the label was always craving original material.”
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Osborne’s dad is Clarence “Legs” Osborne, a trumpeter who played with jazz greats Lionel Hampton, Count Basie and Duke Ellington.
“This goes back to my roots. Back to the music I was surrounded by as a child,” Osborne said. “I actually feel very comfortable singing these songs.”
Osborne’s baritone shines on Duke’s jazzy R&B mix of James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight,” but it’s the longtime classics – “Smile,” “Nature Boy,” “My One and Only Love” and “What a Wonderful World” – that raise the bar. And “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” which teams Osborne with Chaka Khan, has all the makings of a holiday legend.
“A Time for Love” would be Duke’s final project. He died shortly after the CD was released.
“We were able to do a few shows together before we lost him,” Osborne said of his friend and mentor. “It was incredible to share the stage with him.”
Osborne is quick to pay homage to the mastermind behind music, often reminding fans of the huge role Duke played in elevating the singer’s solo career.
“He meant so much to my career,” he said.
And Osborne acknowledges his musical gifts have rewarded him with a good life.
These days, he’s slowed his touring pace, leaving more time to spend with family and his various charitable endeavors, including an annual golf tournament and softball game that attracts a virtual “who’s who” from the sports and music industries.
“Magic Johnson hosted the tournament for me,” he said. In addition to New England Patriots’ alums, the most recent event drew Smokey Robinson, members of the O’Jays, New Edition, Chris Tucker and Sinbad.
“It’s pretty amazing how successful it has become,” Osborne mused. Monies raised by the events were dispensed to six different community charities.
Fans love the up-tempo songs that dominated Billboard’s charts throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s. Hits like “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back in Love Again,” “Stay with Me Tonight” and “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song),” but it’s the ballads that bring them to their feet.
“It’s wonderful,” he said of the attention “On the Wings of Love” still gets. “It’s great to have people come up to me and say they got married to one of my songs.
“We all want to leave a mark where people have a lasting impression of what you do. It’s a great complement when people tell me how much the song meant to them.”
Fans can hear Osborne sing all of his hits, plus one or two songs from his latest project, Nov. 29 at the Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton.
Singer and lyricist Jeffrey Osborne first landed on the musical scene as a drummer and vocalist with L.T.D. In 1982, he landed at the top of the R&B charts with his breakout self-titled album, which was produced by the late George Duke. Osborne reteamed with Duke on his latest effort, “A Time for Love,” a collection of standard jazz covers.
