High-class talent Tyler Stone teams up with acclaimed jazz trumpet player Nick Phillips on new track Movin’ On. Inspired by Herb Alpert’s late-’70s classic Rise, Movin’ On is a vampish, seductive and smoky downtempo track that seamlessly blends elements of disco, funk and jazz to devastating effect.
Out now, Tyler’s new track marks a historic moment for legendary Chicago label Large Music. With Movin’ On, Tyler becomes the first female producer to release on the imprint in the label’s almost 30-year history. Launched in 1993, the label’s output includes tracks from Mark Farina, Kerri Chandler, Roy Davis Jr and Mateo & Matos. Describing Tyler Stone as “a pioneer in the original San Francisco house scene”, label founder Jeff Craven says he’s “honored” to welcome her and Nick to the label. Tyler remarks: “It’s great to be part of moving the needle forward.”
Reflecting on the track, Tyler says: “I was so excited to create this for Nick to play on. He has a real knack for capturing emotion beautifully and I knew he would bring all the perfect jazz elements to my disco vibes.”
Late-Night Romance
Indeed he does. As a GRAMMY-recognized jazz producer, Nick Phillips has worked with some of the genre’s greatest icons over the years. Jazz critics compared the warm-toned trumpet playing on Phillips’ two Billboard-charting albums to that of jazz legends Miles Davis and Chet Baker. His sultry trumpet lines bring real late-night romance to Movin’ On, meandering above a slinky loungey groove with languid and seductive chords. Achingly beautiful, the result evokes images of people getting down inside a steamy basement jazz club hidden below the streets as rain falls outside.
Long-time friends Tyler and Nick aspired to write music together for some time. Previously, Nick guested at a few live gigs in San Francisco with Tyler’s former band Sutro, after featuring on their Surrender track. The pair were finally able to put a collaboration in motion with Movin’ On. Inspired by Tyler’s slick groove and her vision for the track, Nick added a B-section, a trumpet melody and an improvised solo.
“Aside from my trumpet playing and the guitar parts beautifully played by Dave Shul and Patrick Hinds, everything else — the keyboard playing, programming, production and mixing — is all Tyler’s amazing artistry,” states Nick. “I’ve loved Tyler’s music and production prowess for years.”
Bedrock
A gifted producer, remixer, DJ and vocalist, Canadian Tyler Stone can rightly claim to be one of the first breakout female house music producers in the US. With a discography that includes countless hits and Billboard chart-toppers on labels like Nervous, Eightball and Henry Street, her distinctive style is rooted in deep house, disco and downtempo. But dig deeper and you’ll discover jazz at the bedrock of her career.
“I became intrigued by jazz harmonies when I sang second soprano in my high school jazz choir,” recalls Tyler, who went on to study jazz at the Cornish College of the Arts. “But I really fell in love with jazz progressions and chord voicings through listening to disco. Nile Rodgers was the king of this and I soaked up a lot through his productions. It was exciting for me to study the music and gain an understanding of how the harmonies I was hearing and loving were created. I use my jazz theory when making harmonic choices to this day.”
Yin-Yang Balance
Describing himself as an introvert and Tyler as an extrovert, Nick claims there’s “a certain harmonious yin-yang balance” to their friendship. “I’ve made my career in jazz but I’m also a child of the ’70s, so disco and funk dance music is also a profound musical influence on me,” he explains. “Both conversely and complementary, Tyler has made her career in dance and electronic music but has a jazz foundation from her college education at her core.”
Nick adds that he “couldn’t be happier” with how Movin’ On has turned out. “It’s a wonderful intersection of Tyler’s and my musical personalities that proves greater than the sum of its parts; a mutual love of dance music and jazz coming together authentically, organically and seamlessly.”
Mo’Cream Flips the Script
On the remix is Italian Mo’Cream, a pillar of the global underground who has worked with legends like Cajmere and Kerri Chandler. He flips the script and reconstructs the original as a timeless deep house cut. The rubbery drums and silky bass soon sink you into the groove while neat jazz keys and those still-sultry trumpet motifs bleed in and out. It’s a rich and steamy sound that oozes cool and hints at the ’90s style of seminal acts like Murk.
Also read: US Producer Tyler Stone is Having a Disco Revival
