| Jazz, Smooth Jazz |
Celebrated for the refinement and sincerity of his musical journey. From Love’s Melody (1998) and One Special Moment (1999) to Shakedown (2020) and The Special Touch (2022), his discography reads like a love letter to soul, smooth jazz, and the emotional depth of melody. With Time 2 Groove, Waters returns in full force. “The one thing in this world people can’t discriminate against, debate about, or fight over is music,” says the saxophonist. And if you need proof of his wide appeal and enduring respect in the music world, just look at the legends he’s shared the stage with: Al Green, Isaac Hayes, Patti LaBelle, Phyllis Hyman, Teddy Riley, Guy, and Gerald Albright, to name a few.
Experience counts when it comes to artistic reinvention; especially at this level. While his signature sound is instantly recognizable, Time 2 Groove marks a bold evolution. Each track unfolds like a mini widescreen film, an emotional vignette, and often a portal into a chapter of music history. Take the opening track, The Pacemaker, which nods to the lush soundscapes of the ’80s with its vintage keyboard textures—a sonic throwback with a modern pulse.
Waters roots himself in the great tradition. “My roots go back to the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard,” he says, citing Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, Stanley Turrentine, and his dear friend Grover Washington Jr. “To me, the saxophone should be romantic and beautiful. I’ll always choose a gorgeous tone and a lovely melody.”
And those aren’t just marketable words—they’re lived truths. Kim Waters could release a straight-ahead jazz record tomorrow and play it with the same integrity, the same heart. On Time 2 Groove, he sounds unbound, as though no framework could contain his creativity. It’s perhaps his most personal work yet: smooth jazz at its core, but with arrangements that draw from a wide palette of influences; jazz-fusion, soul, even cinematic pop.
Two standout tracks from the album are deeply personal tributes to three extraordinary women in Waters’ life. The first, A Pure Heart (For My Mother), is a moving homage to his greatest confidante, his mother Brenda. The ballad is as tender as it is heartbreaking, with Waters voicing wordless, deeply felt emotions through his saxophone. “My mom is the best in the world, with the biggest heart,” he recalls. “Before her dementia, we talked every day. When I lived nearby, I’d drop by after taking the kids to school. She’d make me breakfast, and we’d just talk. My daughters learned so much from her. You can see it in their kindness, in their generosity. She was a beautiful example of what a mother and a woman should be.”
“I’ve stayed grounded in life by not caring what people say or trying to follow whatever group was trendy at the time,” Waters says. He names gardening as one of his therapeutic outlets. “I’ve always chosen to be myself and to have faith in who I am. My philosophy is: ‘It is what it is.’ Everything happens for a reason—you go with the flow and make the most of it.”
This is the album of a free man, a free artist; someone who knows how to reconnect with himself and draw inspiration from well beyond stylistic boundaries. The title track, Time 2 Groove, verges on jazz-fusion, signaling that Waters is still evolving, still exploring. His staying power isn’t luck; it’s the result of intention, mastery, and soul. His music, in a way, reads like literature: each phrase composed with care, each arrangement filled with insight. Kim Waters doesn’t just play music—he tells stories, and Time 2 Groove is one of his most eloquent yet.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, April 7th 2025
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Titles :
- The Pacemaker.
- Sax You Up.
- A Pure Heart (Song for My Mother)
- I Once Had Your Love.
- Time 2 Groove.
- Their Smile.
- Palm City.
- Little Things.
- Throwdown
- Just a Thought