Apogee Kayla Waters

• 1 Earth Arrival 02:15
• 2 I Am 04:33
• 3 Sunkissed 03:23
• 4 Heaven Is Here 04:27
• 5 Freedom March 03:21
• 6 The Dream 04:45
• 7 Elevation Bop 04:42
• 8 Spirit Awakening 03:50
• 9 Look to Love 04:41
• 10 Pluto Departure 01:58
• 11 Apogee 04:01
• Total Runtime 41:56

Info for Apogee

Contemporary jazz pianist, composer and writer Kayla Waters, the daughter of famous saxophonist Kim Waters, debuts with her first work Apogee (2017) on Trippin N’ Rhythm Records.

Along side of Kayla, Kim was also executive producer for her album. Apogee is another word for the highest point in the development of something, a climax or culmination. For Kayla this album is the first highlight of her musical career. She has written all songs of the CD.

The album was recorded in six days straight. The album has biographical references. So for example Earth Arrival tells the story how Kayla arrives on earth, the point when everything started. The song grows with a constant flow, a springy rhythm and vibrant keyboard works.

I Am implies Kayla's personality and her love for music. The arrangement is from shiny appearance and polished blank. You can feel the wings of Kim Waters. Sunkissed describes a person whose appearance is attractive because they have recently been in the sun. Figuratively it means pampered by life. Kayla chooses this adjective for her state of life. For being in a happy position to make those things, what she loves most. This piece is astoundingly positioned in contemporary jazz.

Heaven Is Here underlines this with another musical expression. The song gets an unexpected twist when Kayla presents a vocal impact transferring the tune from an even and smooth keel to excitingly troubled water. Freedom March is conceived as a protest song. However, in the absence of a strong text, the meaning is lost in an admittedly successful instrumental showpiece.

The Dream is a tribute to Martin Luther King's socio-political appeal in August 1963. A surprisingly political reference that is seldom in the smooth jazz genre. When Sister Peace and Mr. Freedom are in search of their dream than you know in which direction. Elevation Bop is the anthem for the world to raise and move forward. Kayla and Kim create a unique theme by uniting smooth and contemporary jazz in transcending genre and expectations.

Kayla refers Spirit Awakening on herself as young woman with her talent, her possibility of sustainable development and potential. She feels the song like a blossoming of a flower. In this sense the melody unfolds in its multiplicity. With the ballad Look to Love Kayla defines her very own emotional and vocal approach on this subject.

A frozen region north of Pluto’s icy mountains, is informally named “Tombaugh Regio” (Tombaugh Region) after Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930. Pluto Departure is Kayla's idea, if even this planet is so far away, love is possible over there. The unreality of this region is reflected in her song.

The final Apogee embraces all elements, which are popular in today's smooth jazz. A catchy piano theme, strings, synth bass, horns and a stomping beat.

Kayla Waters is a hot ticket in smooth jazz. She shows individual character in her compositions leaving a lasting impression. Avoiding sonorous platitudes with intelligent arrangements and dazzling themes is a promising concept.

"Waters has other tracks here that are simply impossible to ignore. Stay with her on this debut and grow musically. If nothing else, you’ll approve of this project’s unique quality and direction and enjoy how it still fulfills your musical expectations at the same time. — A++ effort indeed." (Ronald Jackson, thesmoothjazzride.com)

Kayla Waters, piano

Kayla Waters
Hot new artist, Kayla Waters is an elite pianist, composer, songwriter, and performer. Anticipating the upcoming release of her debut piano record, “APOGEE”, success in the music industry is indubitably on the way for this new artist. Kayla has eloquently found herself welcoming and utilizing a plethora of opportunities to tour the world and play with several musical legends and major recording artists. The distinctive list includes musical giants such as Stevie Wonder, Patrice Rushen, Avery*Sunshine, and Maysa Leak, to name a few. This past April, Kayla’s gifts garnered her national recognition on the BET television network’s highly acclaimed “Black Girls Rock” awards show. Kayla expertly played keyboards for the legendary Gladys Knight, Marsha Ambrosius, Corinne Bailey Rae, and Imani Uzuri. She was also a featured performing artist at the first annual Fender Rhodes Fest in Los Angeles, California last summer along with a host of stellar music contemporaries.

Kayla Waters, a classically trained child who grew up in a jazz household, is no stranger to the music world. Her parents observed the musical proclivities in their child from as early as 10-months old, when baby Kayla regularly found her way into the family living room and began “playing” the family’s Brentwood acoustic piano. Her parents enrolled her in piano lessons at the age of six. Since that pivotal moment, she instantly fell in love and began to master her musical gifts with excellence.

As the daughter of Kim Waters, international smooth jazz icon, Kayla closely observed the inner workings and processes of the music industry. While watching his career unfold, she soon became inspired to pursue a career as a solo piano artist. In addition to being featured on several of her father’s albums, she has performed with him at renowned concerts and jazz festivals worldwide. Collectively, these experiences nurtured her inner artistry, and served as critical preparation for Kayla’s evolution as an emerging composer and songwriter.

When she is not performing, Kayla is busy serving as the Director of Music and Worship at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. She’s also the Music Director of the Howard University Early Learning Program, where she obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance (Summa Cum Laude). As a budding recording artist and producer, Kayla is also a member of the Grammy Recording Academy.

Kayla acknowledges that God is at the forefront of everything she does. It is He who orders her steps and for this she is eternally grateful.

This album contains no booklet.