When Allen Carman decided to focus more on playing bass and recording original jazz tunes after decades working full time as an attorney, he wasn’t completely sure what kind of project he would wind up creating.

But he can hardly believe how well things have turned out: completing his second album with musicians who have worked with Chaka Khan, David Sanborn, Nile Rodgers and Al DiMeola. And their album is scheduled to drop after they’ve already issued several successful singles, a twist on the typical release strategy of album THEN singles which has already paid dividends for The Allen Carman Project.

“This group of musicians that we have for me is the best lineup I’ve ever played with,” says Carman, pointing, in particular, to bandmates/co-songwriters/producers Gumbi Ortiz on percussion and keyboardist/vibraphonist Philippe Saisse. “When we started, I thought ‘Am I worthy of being with these guys?’…But it just clicks. These guys have accepted me. And I’m thrilled to be in their presence.”

Turns out, Ortiz — a longtime percussionist with Al DiMeola — is the glue that binds the whole project together. A longtime resident of Florida’s Tampa Bay area, he knew Carman from their days playing in local clubs many years ago and knew Saisse from a stint touring together with DiMeola in a reconstituted electric band many years later.

“Gumbi had been with Al since 1982 off and on and I was with Al from 1977 to 1982, originally,” says Saisse, who was featured on DiMeola’s landmark 1980 jazz fusion double album Splendido Hotel, but didn’t perform with Ortiz until he reunited with DiMeola for a tour in 2015. “I love Gumbi…We had many fascinating conversations on the (tour) bus. We really formed a bond on that tour and then I started calling him to do all my productions.”

Ortiz also reconnected with Carman in 2015 after the two played a show in Florida together and realized the bass player had original songs which might benefit from Saisse’s production and compositional touch.

“I get a lot of credit for the shit that Philippe does,” says a laughing Ortiz, whose gregarious spirit and habit of good-natured ribbing belies a serious talent for arranging, production and organizing. “I give (Philippe) three notes, he comes up with an amazing orchestration and then I can sit back and say, ‘Yeah, I co-wrote that!’ It’s like when your mother cooks all day and then you come up and put a little salt in there.”

Saisse has an international reputation as a keyboardist, composer and producer who has worked with everyone from Al Jarreau and Steve Winwood to Candy Dulfer, Dave Koz, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones. He says Ortiz’s percussion adds extra flavor to a sound they’re crafting for the Project that’s intended to sound distinctive while also fitting in on contemporary jazz radio playlists.

“There’s definitely a lot more percussion featured…with Gumbi, he’s so powerful, we’ve got him front and center,” Saisse says. “The tracks are little bit more live, with live drums and percussion, and the bass is more prominent because we want to make sure that it’s, you know, the Allen Carman Project. It’s got to be urban with a little bit of Latin flavor.”

You can hear the mix of sonic textures Saisse describes in LoFi, a midtempo groove powered by a sly, muted electronic drum backbeat, intertwined with a percolating conga part from Ortiz and moody melody on vibraphone and horns. Or the funk of All For One, which opens with a syncopated bass line, soulful cowbell and drums groove and tasty sax/horn lines straight from Sanborn-land.

Carman gets to show off his chops in Soft Life, an easygoing groove opening with inspired bass riffs segueing into a tune sleek as a midnight car ride.

“One of my complaints about smooth jazz radio is that a lot of it sounds the same,” says Carman. “When I first heard Philippe’s songs and his additions to my songs, I was so excited because he’s got that knowledge of cool chord changes and ways to put things together that just sounds so different than the typical, semi-serious smooth jazz tunes that you hear.”

Helping the vibe, was Carman and Ortiz’s decision to travel west and record some tracks at Saisse’s home studio in Los Angeles, uniting collaborators living on opposite sides of the country in the studio for the first time.

“I wanted to be in the same room as Allen when he’s playing bass,” Saisse says. “It was the first time the three of us were in the room laying down tracks and it was fun. It sounds more live, more fun and less like it was built in a laboratory, you know?”

“It was a lot of creativity that went on there because were together,” Ortiz adds. “I think Philippe wanted to control more of the sound and, he’s a genius…there’s no two ways around that. I’m just glad he adopted me as his little brother.”

All three singles were released ahead of the full album – an approach Saisse says allows The Project lots of flexibility and room to move forward however they choose. “We don’t have people breathing down our neck to tell us what to do,” he adds. “We can just put out a track whenever we want. And that track will, almost overnight, be available throughout the world on all these different platforms. Without having a major (record) label, you can build a fanbase all over the world.”

Carman now has one big fantasy left; taking the new album on the road with a live band.

“I’d love to get on the road and play some jazz festivals,” he says. “I’m kind of semi-retired from being a lawyer…And this is just, for me, super exciting, because of the guys I play with. They’re all better than me, but I’m just happy to be part of the ensemble.”

The Allen Carman Project are: Allen Carman, Philippe Saisse, Gumbi Ortiz, Luis Aliceia and Kenny Anderson.

– Eric Deggans NPR