Be A Light, in collaboration with Motown Gospel, proudly announces the September 2, 2022 release of The Evening: Live at APPARATUS, a new live album from 4x GRAMMY nominated duo The Baylor Project. This immersive, soul-stirring set was recorded in front of an engaged live audience at APPARATUS — an interdisciplinary design studio in New York City. For three magical nights, the indomitable couple and their exceptional band graced the stage at MUMS, an ephemeral jazz club created within APPARATUS’ gallery. The Evening: Live at APPARATUS displays the transformative power of performance, in a presentation of both style and substance.

The Baylor Project’s outstanding live performances have brought audiences to their feet worldwide. Whether performing at a world-class festival for thousands of concert-goers, or for a small attentive audience in a tucked-away club, these married musical partners have been known to put on a show that is both uplifting and transcendent. As the children of pastors, Marcus and Jean saw the sublime, restorative power of music first-hand. This rich life experience comes through in their magnificent live shows, where audience members often leave feeling like family.

Their commanding performance captured the attention of Gabriel Hendifar, the Artistic Director of APPARATUS, whose design practice explores the relationship between lighting, furniture, and objects in their environment. Hendifar’s latest collection, titled Act Four, took inspiration from cultural touchpoints of the 1960s and jazz music of the era. He knew he wanted to design a jazz club to celebrate the collection launch during New York Design Week, but he needed the final piece: the musical muse to bring the entire concept together. When Hendifar’s team stumbled upon a video of The Baylor Project’s vibrant “We Swing” he knew he had met his match.

He named the jazz club MUMS, after the thousands of peach-colored chrysanthemums that tastefully adorned the dimly-lit space. Light fixtures that managed to be both retro and contemporary glowed beyond the bandstand, as the light chatter of an excited, well-healed audience filled the room. When Jean Baylor, dressed in a striking mod-era golden sheath dress came to the stage with her smartly dressed counterpart Marcus, followed by their stylish band, it became abundantly clear that this would be a night to remember.

The room immediately warmed to the group which included pianist Terry Brewer, saxophonist Keith Loftis, trumpeter Darren Barrett, trombonist Mark Williams, and bassist Yasushi Nakamura. Marcus immediately set the mood on The Evening: Live at Apparatus with his inviting call to worship on “Our Love Is Here To Stay,” before Brewer shines on a solo piano feature, titled “Lord Keep Me Day By Day” which launches into their fan-favorite reimagination of the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. The beautiful arrangement showcases Keith Loftis on a fiery soprano saxophone solo.

Marcus is featured on the drum solo interlude “Call of the Drum”, which, over nearly four minutes, chronicles his vast musical journey from playing in his father’s church in St. Louis to his experiences playing with jazz icons Yellowjackets and Kenny Garrett. This moves into “Tell Me a Story”, a lyrical remake of Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story”. On “Tenderly” Jean takes her time with the warm embrace of this old standard, before stepping into “We Swing (The Cypher)”. Having first appeared on Generations and named one of the Top Tracks of 2021 by NPR Music, Jean sings the parts previously sung by Jazzmeia Horn and Dianne Reeves on this exciting rendition as she whips the crowd into a frenzy. The energy transfers to the slower pace of “Love Makes Me Sing”, as the delighted audience sings along.

The pace changes on the contemplative and powerful “2020”, which is a bluesy prayer sung in the spirit of the Negro Spiritual. A somber reflection on modern racial oppression, the energy in the room is palpable throughout this striking highlight. The set concludes with the affirming sendoff “Only Believe”. “Laugh and Move On” is the tasty bonus track, and features some notable three-part harmony with the horn section.

The setlist performed at APPARATUS pulls from The Baylor Project’s previous releases including their 2017 debut The Journey, which debuted in the top ten on the Billboard Jazz Chart and went on to garner two GRAMMY nominations (for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance for their song “Laugh And Move On”). Generations, which was released last June, gained them a fourth GRAMMY nod (in 2020, their pandemic-era anthem “Sit On Down” was nominated) and won the NAACP Image Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album topping the Jazzweek Radio chart. Both albums have received worldwide commercial and critical acclaim. Jean and Marcus are thrilled to add a live album to their growing discography.

“We create moments that feel like mirages,” says Hendifar, describing the experiences he creates to celebrate the launch of a new collection. “They are here for a moment in time, and then they’re gone. We invite you to step into a dream and part of the magic is that it’s only going to happen once – the dream disappears.” Fortunately, The Evening: Live at APPARATUS preserves a taste of that magical weekend and invites us all to revel in it.

Tracklisting:

1. Our Love Is Here To Stay
2. Lord Keep Me Day By Day
3. Great is Thy Faithfulness
4. Call of the Drum
5. Tell Me A Story
6. Tenderly
7. We Swing (‘The Cypher’)
8. Love Makes Me Sing
9. 2020
10. Happy To Be With You
11. Only Believe

The Baylor Project Tour Dates:

• August 22: Blue Note Jazz Club – New York, NY
• September 1: City Winery – Chicago, IL
• September 3: DC JazzFest – Washington, D.C.
• September 30: Cape May Jazz Festival – North Cape May, NJ

4x GRAMMY®-nominated duo The Baylor Project is thrilled to announce that their debut album The Journey, originally released in 2017, will be available on all streaming platforms February 11, 2022. The re-releasing of the 5-year old album comes amid Black History Month and days before Valentine’s Day as a nod to the couple’s celebration of love, community, family and faith throughout their musical and romantic journeys.

After signing an exclusive digital distribution agreement between their own label, Be A Light, and the globally-acclaimed Motown Gospel at the end of 2021, the pair will introduce their debut record to all streaming services for the first time. The Journey amassed critical reviews at the time of its release, as well as two GRAMMY®-nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance.

No strangers to the power of streaming, the couple became a viral sensation amid the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown upon the release of their hit single “Sit On Down.” The tune, which was conceptualized and produced from the couple’s living room, led to another nomination in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category at the following, 63rd GRAMMY® Awards. The Baylors’ second album, Generations, is nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Album at the upcoming 64th Grammy Awards. For this year’s 53rd NAACP Image Awards, Generations is nominated in the Outstanding Jazz Vocal Album category.

“We are extremely excited and grateful to celebrate our 5th year anniversary of The Baylor Project’s debut album The Journey,” Jean and Marcus Baylor shared in a statement. “This milestone means so much to us because it has been just that – a journey. Five years, two albums and 4 GRAMMY® nominations later, we are thrilled to present The Journey along with our label Be A Light and our Motown Gospel/Capitol CMG/Universal Music family to the world on all streaming platforms.”

The Baylor Project features vocalist Jean Baylor and drummer Marcus Baylor, married musical partners with backgrounds deeply rooted in the church. Before forming The Baylor Project in 2013, Jean Baylor burst onto the scene in the mid-1990’s as part of the groundbreaking R&B duo Zhané. Marcus Baylor first rose to prominence in the early 2000’s as the drummer for the world-renowned, GRAMMY®-Award-winning fusion group Yellowjackets. Their debut album, The Journey, spawned two GRAMMY® nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance. Steeped in the heart and soul of jazz, The Journey showcases the grace and glory, versatility and virtuosity of a truly extraordinary musical union at the dawn of their impressive musical adventure.

https://open.spotify.com/album/5dQ0QW4VDauiVLmFPwCJUk?si=XvsbxPPcRH-kKZAnAF2osQ

Globally acclaimed record label Motown Gospel (a division of Capitol CMG/Capitol and Universal Music Group) announces the signing of four-time GRAMMY nominated duo The Baylor Project to an exclusive distribution agreement, in partnership with their artist-owned label, Be A Light. Their celebrated latest project, Generations, becomes available for the first time across all streaming platforms on December 10, 2021.

The Baylor Project features vocalist Jean Baylor and drummer Marcus Baylor, married musical partners with backgrounds deeply rooted in the church. Before forming The Baylor Project in 2013, Jean Baylor burst onto the scene in the mid-1990’s as part of the groundbreaking R&B duo Zhané. Marcus Baylor first rose to prominence in the early 2000’s as the drummer for the world-renowned, GRAMMY-Award-winning fusion group Yellowjackets. Their debut album, The Journey, spawned two GRAMMY nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Traditional R&B Performance. Last year, their pandemic-era single “Sit On Down” was GRAMMY nominated in the latter category for a second time.

“The Baylor Project has proven their ability to seamlessly merge core jazz, R&B, and gospel creatively while building a loyal following among fans of all three styles in the U.S. and abroad,” shares Monica Coates, Co-Executive Director, Motown Gospel. “That they did those things as independent artists, making their home at the top of the jazz charts and earning 4 GRAMMY nominations along the way is truly praiseworthy. Motown Gospel and Capitol CMG are proud to join them in this innovative new partnership.”

The new label relationship rounds out a whirlwind year of accomplishments for the world-renowned duo. The Baylor Project just received its fourth GRAMMY nomination, a nod in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category for its second full-length album, Generations, released earlier this year. The album spent over ten weeks at the top of the JazzWeek radio chart, and received worldwide acclaim. The group’s single “We Swing,” featuring jazz legend Dianne Reeves and rising star Jazzmeia Horn, was also just named among NPR Music’s 100 Best Songs of 2021.

“We are extremely excited to partner with Motown Gospel and Capitol CMG on this exciting new venture! We look forward to utilizing our combined resources in a collaborative effort to further bridge the gap between our audiences in a unique way,” states, The Baylor Project.