Discography
Welcome to our Discography Page! Here, you'll find a curated collection of all our albums and singles, showcasing the evolution of our music journey. Explore the sounds that define our artistry and connect with the stories behind each release.
The Title Track to the upcoming album by Erly Thornton features a sax friendship that has spanned decades between Erly and Jeff Kashiwa.
"I met when I opened for the Ripps in Orlando in the mid 2000's. I was performing my last song of the set, "Fantasy" by EWF, and I was over time! I found out from my friend, and MC for the evening, Yvonne Loggins Coleman, that the Ripps were about to ask for the curtain to be dropped. Jeff stopped them. He asked them to let me play.
The next day he invited me to Tampa to perform with him at his CD release party along with Mike McArthur and Eric Darius.​ That was the first of several great times on stage and I started calling him the "Biggest heart in Jazz" from that night forward."
This project tells the colorful story of Erly and his family moving to Europe. It begins with an airy Interlude featuring Erly on Soprano sax interspersed with the sounds of planes, trains, and automobiles called "Le Voyage Transatlatique". The next track is "On My Way" signifying the start of the journey. "Morning Sun" brings you thoughts of a new beginning.
The Title Track "In Transit" enjoyed Billboard Jazz Top 30 placement the summer of its release. And "Amsterdam" introduces you to traveling on the long slim boats that traverse the canals of the old city. All in all you will find this album both eclecting, sophisticated and soulful.
Erly Thornton's debut album from the early 2000's. Produced by Veit Renn, of the Backstreet Boys, it is infused with R&B elements that make it a cross between it and Jazz.
​
From Scott O'Brian, Smooth Jazz News:
“Wow! What a great debut solo album from Orlando-based sax man Erly Thornton! Truly an impressive collection of urban flavored Smooth Jazz, and I’m hearing hit after hit. All the right elements are working for it, from tasty originals to well-chosen covers (EW&F’s “Fantasy,” Rose Royce’s “Wishing on a Star” and Robin Thicke’s “Lost without You”) all brilliantly performed and impeccably produced. This is top drawer, first class stuff, and you’ll be as impressed as I am when you start hearing tunes from this disc on SmoothJazz.com and tons of other stations. Erly
says it’s “the culmination of my life’s work as a musician… I truly believe that the work… stands on par with the best
the industry has to offer.”
This track was written in dedication of the Maplewood High School Band. Erly was the Drum Major of the marching band and if you know Erly personally, you know that although he was the shortest DM in the city, he made up for it with his high stepping marching style.
This song features a Tuba inspired bass line. Coupled with the pervasive brass horn lines in the song, it takes you back to the high school football game, where just as much batle took place between the bands as the football team. To remove all doubt, Erly along with his Producer, Derrick Harvin, added a "Drum Line" section at the end incorporating Tubas and a Saxophone chorus line.
We were and always will be "Panthers"
Right after his debut project was released, Erly again collaborated with Veit Renn to produce a Holiday song. This is a long standing practice of Jazz musicians for a century starting with Louis Armstrong and continuing today.
Veit strategically paired Erly with R&B singer Eugene Wilde, famous for several songs like "Don't Say Know Tonight" and "Gotta Get You Home with me Tonight". His smooth style was a great match to Erly's saxophone where they made a high-energy version of "This Christmas - Hang All The Mistletoe" by Donny Hathaway, that brings the best of both worlds to the audience. Both artists take lead on the song, trading verses and choruses and culminates in a sophisticated vamp that will surprise you. Keep this song on your holiday playlist.