Jeff Friend is a drummer …

A keyboardist …

A guitar player …

A vocalist...

A writer …

And an award winning producer/engineer.

 

That's a lot of hats to wear, but Forward Music artist Jeff Friend wears them well on his new EP release "It's Not What You Think". A blend of smooth grooves and catchy melodies, It's Not What You Think is a refreshing walk through the smooth jazz genre. This first solo project has been a long time coming for Friend. “I’ve been wanting to do this for years,” he muses. “I just never took the time.”

 

Although this is Jeff’s first solo effort, he is certainly no stranger to the music business. Working behind the scenes in urban Dayton Ohio, Friend has been writing and producing for well over two decades. In the mid eighties, Jeff wrote the top 20 Billboard dance hit “Putting the Night On Hold” for Dice Records artist Lauren Grey, followed with “Irresistible Love”, and then “Destiny”, a duet for Leah Landis & Lauren Grey.

 

Jeff continued honing his writing and production skills in the advertising market, writing and producing music for a number of Telly award winning national, regional, and local commercials. His compositions have spanned every style and genre of music imaginable, and he has even worked with such notables as trumpet great Doc Severensen, and guitar legend B.B. King.

 

“My hope, is that just one of these songs touches somebody somewhere,” Friend concludes. “If that should happen, then the whole project was worthwhile.

 

By Martin Mitchell