E1 Music announces the release of a new album from vibraphonist Joe Locke. For The Love of You will be released on January 26th, 2010 and features vocals from Kenny Washington. Joining Locke and Washington is an all-star rhythm section: pianist Geoffrey Keezer, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Clarence Penn. Locke, a top radio charting jazz artist, is highly regarded as an instrumentalist, composer and band leader.

Elegance, lyricism and soul are the sublime qualities at play in this magical new release. For the first time in many years, the vibesman includes vocals as a primary part of the mix.

Forging a style that seems to be made of equal parts Nat King Cole and Donny Hathaway, Kenny Washington weaves his unique spell around a diverse repertoire. The seven vocal tunes include pieces taken from the contemporary pop / soul lexicon as well as the Great American Songbook. There is also a stunning Locke original, “Verrazano Moon, “ which is given a deeply poignant reading by Washington and the band. Three instrumentals round out the collection--the swinging “I Miss New York (When I Been Gone Too Long), “ the contemporary “Bright Side Up" (both Locke originals) and an elegant reading of Ennio Morricone's “Cinema Paradiso."

When Locke's group made its debut last year at New York's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, word quickly got out that this was a “can't miss" gig, and the lines at Jazz at Lincoln Center were proof positive of the fact.

Now, with the release of “For The Love of You, “ jazz fans everywhere can hear what all the talk was about.

The critical community continually cites Locke for his artistic work. He has been given the “Mallet Player of the Year" Award by the Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) on three occasions, and he has received two Golden Ear “Concert of the Year" Awards for his performances at the Ballard and Port Townsend Jazz Festivals. He has been voted the No 1 “Rising Star" vibraphonist in DownBeat Magazine's Critic's Poll several times and has been acknowledged as “best vibraphonist" in Brazil's International Jazz Poll.

In addition to his strengths as an instrumentalist, recent recordings and live performances by his Force of Four quartet, The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group and his 4 Walls of Freedom project offer further evidence of his ever-growing stature as a band leader, composer and conceptualist.

Joe Locke and his band will launch For The Love of You with a week-long engagement at New York's world-famous Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, January 26th through January 31st, 2010.