Results for "tony adamo"

Musician

Tony Adamo

Born: June 17, 1965

Reviewed by Kirpal Gordon (reprinted from Jazz Times), The killin’ist thing about Tony Adamo & the New York Crew is that everybody in the band, especially the dope rhyme sayer, has got big ears all the way back to New Orleans and ancient-forward into the ever-evolving Multi-New Thing. It’s big ears working together that’s keeping this CD in Jazzweek's Chart Top 200 List since its release, a totally unheard of phenomenon for jazz-spoken word collaborations. Although singing the talents and wonders of the giants who make this music immortal is nothing new, Adamo and the New York Crew pour out on these eleven tracks joyous lagniappes of praise, the song-cup running over with each additional solo. It’s one thing to express an artful appreciation of the Jazz Messengers, for example, in a song, but it’s a whole other monster of tribute when the band rocks Blakey’s sound so righteously.

Album

It's Gotta B U!

By Tony Adamo

Label: SAINT JAZ RECORDS
Released: 2026
Track listing: It' Gotta B U!

Song of the Day

IT's Gotta B U!

August 17, 2026

Album: It's Gotta B U!
By Tony Adamo
Label: SAINT JAZ RECORDS
Released: 2026
Duration: 3:09

Video

What U Won't Do 4 Love

Featuring the music of Tony Adamo
Duration: 3:28
August 13, 2026

"What U Won't Do 4 Love" by Tony Adamo is a refreshing, soulful masterclass in modern jazz-funk fusion. Released in mid-2026 on Saint Jaz Records, the track serves as a groovy, geography-spanning love letter that bridges classic urban soundscapes with Adamo's signature hipster flair. Instead of leaning purely into his iconic, rapid-fire spoken-word "sing- speak," Adamo opts for a deeply melodic, soulful vocal delivery that mirrors the warmth of 1970s R&B.

The lyrics depart from Adamo's usual inside-jazz-history references to deliver a rhythmic, multi-city travelogue centered on devotion. Adamo charts a musical map across America's greatest sonic hubs—shouting out the "Motor City" (Detroit), Philly, the "Big Apple" (New York), "Shy Town" (Chicago), Miami, Atlanta, Raleigh, and Oakland—before steering the track right back home to a "city by the Bay" (San Francisco). The songwriting cleverly uses travel and navigation imagery ("love map," "compass," "lighthouse") to frame a story about a wandering mind finally finding anchor in true love.

Vocal Performance: 4.5/5 – Deeply earnest, smooth, and an excellent display of Adamo's pure singing range. Instrumentation: 5/5 – A premium, locked-in rhythm section that keeps your feet moving from start to finish. Atmosphere: 4.8/5 – Funky, nostalgic, yet thoroughly modern and accessible to both jazz purists and mainstream R&B fans.

~Ben Price, Underground Jazz/The UK

News: Recording

Tony Adamo's New Single 'It's Gotta B U!' Previews Upcoming Album 'Sing Speak Hipspoken Word'

July 7, 2026

Tony Adamo loves jazz, particularly the organ-driven, straight-ahead variety. A unique artist whose “sing speak" delivery moves effortlessly between spoken word and song, Adamo calls his genre HipSpoken Word. Blending jazz history, beat-style poetry, and deep funk grooves, he has created a distinctive artistic voice influenced by musical and literary innovators such as Jack Kerouac, Gil ...

Album

Dig What I say

By Tony Adamo

Label: Saint Jaz Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: DIG WHAT I SAY

Video

Billie and Trane

Featuring the music of Tony Adamo
Duration: 4:05
September 29, 2025

Tony Adamo's single, 'Billie and Trane', is described as a jazz version of Gil Scott-Heron's original classic 'Lady Day and John Coltrane', with a "pulsing electro-jazz funk groove." Music written by Adamo.

Tony Adamo is a "hip-speak" spoken word vocal artist from the San Francisco area, known for incorporating his own "jazz history-class original lyrics" into his music. He is known as the original Hip spoken word storyteller in jazz music today. Adamo uses the framework of Gil Scott-Heron's song to add his own "jazz history-class original lyrics" to pay tribute to influential artists like Holiday and Coltrane. Adamo's work frequently references and honors jazz greats, showing his deep knowledge and respect for the genre. 'Billie and Trane', the legends the song is named for, are two of the most revered and influential figures in the history of jazz. Adamo's vocal power is most evident on this new single. A must listen. --Kentan Herd, My Life In Jazz

Video

Dig What I Say

Featuring the music of Tony Adamo
Duration: 3:32
April 2, 2025

Deep Latin-funk percussion, wailing tenor, and a peppering B-3 launch the single Dig What I Say before Tony Adamo enters with what he calls is “the new jazz vibe.” Adamo, a true rhapsode (no pun intended), spews his classic hipster sing-speak over the driving bed and propels us into a spectacular envisioned jazz space. Dropping names and brilliantly characterizing jazz greats now and past – Miles, “the boxer,” for example, Adamo knows and values all these greats. One can hear that in the timbre of his voice and in his uniquely inventive speak-stylings.

Adamo’s preaching, best described as sing-speak (as opposed to pure rap) has great substance. It’s historical heroin, as there’s mention and pungent reflection as the names are popped without corn. He’s a jazz matador swirling his verbal cape as the groove-beast bursts by. Tenor man, Gary Steinberg is a perfect partner for Adamo and this environment. Laying down solid soul, he’s got a virile edge and an edgy sound that’s deep cut with funk. The rhythm bed with Tim Campbell’s B-3 and programmed drums is muscular and holds nothing back, but definitely holds court.

Jazz has a long history of scatting and its counterpart, vocalise, where words are applied to well-known solos. Ella Fitgerald, Mel Torme, Eddie Jefferson, Jon Hendricks, and Giacomo Gates are some in that pantheon. However, Adamo’s sing-speak technique is unique verbiage as he’s a griot, a ferocious jazz story-spinner both simultaneously hot and very cool, as you will hear.

Dig What I Say – and for that matter, all of Adamo’s efforts in his voluminous bag of goodies are an enjoyable and a very unique experience. You dig?

~Nick Mondello

Article: Year in Review

Popular Jazz Songs: 2024

by Michael Ricci
January 2, 2025

All About Jazz tracks how often a featured song is heard, and the following represent the most popular in 2024. If you missed them the first time around, give them a listen now, and enjoy! Click the album cover to listen to the song. Dive Into The Deep Blue From: ...

Album

Soul Glide

By Tony Adamo

Label: Staint Jaz Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Soul Glide.