Terrace Martin and Alex Isley’s new joint project, I Left My Heart In Ladera, is now a top 10 record on Billboard.
The collaborative EP debuts at No. 2 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart this week, led by Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me.
It is Martin’s 11th appearance on this chart, while it is Isley’s first Billboard entry.
Martin debuted on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart three other times this year, with his previous best, Enigmatic Society, a project as Dinner Party, ranking at No. 4.
Also on the Jazz Albums chart, I Left My Heart In Ladera debuts at No. 22. It marks Isley’s first showing, while Martin has now charted eight times, including two this year.
I Left My Heart In Ladera was released on Oct. 20 via Sounds of Crenshaw/BMG. The project was led with “Paradise,” a cover of Sade’s 1988 classic. It’s No. 36 on R&B radio this week.
Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Robert Glasper and pianist Paul Cornish are featured on I Left My Heart In Ladera.
Emerging singer Arin Ray, who recently dropped his Phase III EP, also lends his vocals on “Only in The Moment.”
“We started making this music shortly before the pandemic, but I still remember the feeling,” Isley wrote in a post. “This music gave me a different kind of creative freedom. I resharpened all the tools I learned in jazz, and found a deeper connection to my R&B and soul roots.”
Isley continues, “@terracemartin, thank you always for your unwavering support for who I am as an artist, and for your willingness to share and guide spaces to excel at what we were created for. You are a legend to the west coat, and the world.”
Martin had similar sentiments about working with Isley. “We didn’t hold back anything musically on this album,” he wrote in a post. “@LoveAlexIsley is the first artist in years to actually challenge me and pushed me to be better.”
I Left My Heart In Ladera is the follow-up to a series of projects by Martin, including Nova (with James Fauntleroy), Fine Tune and Curly.
He also teamed up with Gallant for the recent “311!” featuring Robert Glasper and Keyon Harrold. The song is the official lead single for sneek, a joint project featuring Gallant, set to arrive on Martin’s O’Conner imprint in partnership with Lowly and Create Music Group.
Isley’s hasn’t released a collection of music since last year’s Marigold with producer Jack Dine. The album was among Rated R&B’s 30 Best R&B Albums of 2022 list.
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