Kingsley Durant is an accomplished musician as music is in his blood literally by way of his musical upbringing. Kingsley grew up playing piano, french horn and guitar and would quickly fall in love with the instrument known as the guitar. Now considered to be a guitar virtuoso, Kingsley Durant has released his exciting, new album titled ‘Convertible’.
Kingsley explains how this new record came about. ““I had a severe itch to play electric guitar, which I hadn’t done much since the release of my 2020 album and within a month I had fully-fleshed-out demos of eight new tracks, which quickly evolved into my new album, ‘Convertible’.” As they say, the rest was history and ‘Convertible’ was ready for a test drive!
During the initial recordings, Kingsley played most of the instrumental parts for the demos. For the final cuts on ‘Convertible’, Kingsley Durant brought in highly-regarded musicians including keyboardist Steve Hunt (Allan Holdsworth, Stanley Clarke, Randy Roos), bassist Roscoe Beck (Robben Ford, Leonard Cohen, Dixie Chicks), drummer & percussionist Tom Brechtlein (Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola), percussionist Ricardo Monzón (Aretha Franklin, Deborah Henson-Conant, Didi Stewart), and Grammy Award-winning guitarist Eric Johnson, who contributes to the track “Funky Princess.” Kingsley had nothing but praise for his fellow musicians on ‘Convertible’. “I couldn’t be happier with the musicians who worked on this project. Each of them connected with the music and I think their performances reflect that. I hope the listeners find it as enjoyable as we all did in the making of it.”
Now it’s time to jump into ‘Convertible’ and take it for a spin! The album kicks off with the title track, “Convertible”, that is such a fun, easy-breezy ride. You get a lively mix and smooth style as you cruise along with the top down on “Convertible”. “Convertible” offers up a smooth style and moves along at just the right speed. Get ready for funky, fresh “Cobblestones” rolling your way next where jazzy notes collide with a perfect tempo. Track three, “Vivi’s Bounce”, provides an appealing tone that is just a good-news vibe all the way. Put some “Vivi’s Bounce” into your step as you take in this number that is full of flavor. Kingsley takes it to more of a lighter side on “Akiko” where the listener receives a slowed-down tempo and relaxed beat. “Akiko” displays a calming and peaceful sound mixed in with excellent instrumentation and musical direction. “Funky Princess” is up next and what you get are poppy ‘n’ peppy notes infused with cool funk. “Funky Princess” serves up an inviting sound and melody that listeners will instantly gravitate toward. Track six, “Alice”, supplies a captivating solo and overall performance by Kingsley Durant & company. The following song, “Marlowe’s Mood”, immediately pulls you in due to the appealing sound. Enjoy the mellow mode of “Marlowe’s Mood” and glide along in style. Prepare to put some funky stank on it on “Stanky” as you take in this terrific jam! “Stanky” delivers a nice flow where Kingsley and his fellow musicians are playing like champs! A fantastic finale concludes the 9-song set with “Sister Suz” where Kingsley Durant is going out with pure style & class. All players are bringing their A-game on “Sister Suz” making for one incredible performance in the end.
Durant dubs himself as “a rock and roll player messing with jazz” and his musical influences run a wide spectrum that include the likes of Jeff Beck and Steve Howe just to name a couple. Kingsley Durant’s style is infectious and so you will want to jump into ‘Convertible’ and take this for a spin or two. I was highly impressed with Kingsley Durant’s efforts on this new release as ‘Convertible’ is definitely heading in the right direction. You can check out the official music video for “Convertible” right here:
