Greg Dayton releases a masterstroke
Sailing for the Sun is the second solo album by singer/songwriter Greg Dayton, produced and mixed by Adrian Harpham, and mastered by Greg Calbi in New York City. The new album will be released Feburary on Ropeadope/Modern Icon Recordings.
He began work on the Sailing for the Sun in January of 2018, taking his time to create a full album in the old school sense of the word, conceived with vinyl in mind where each song counts and the song order has meaning. The versatile guitarist was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame shortly after the release of his debut solo album, Lonesome Road in 2016.
While Dayton’s music has strong blues influences, his songs draw upon a much wider range of styles in the spirit of the great songwriters of classic rock, folk, and soul. The 12 songs on Sailing for the Sun are full of contagious grooves with intricately detailed arrangements from hard hitting and funky to acoustic and intimate, all united by Dayton’s honest voice, hook-filled lyricism, soulful guitar layering and a powerful rhythm section led by Adrian Harpham’s creative drumming. Covering a broad musical landscape, the songs dive into themes of confronting and accepting change through loves lost and found and finding a way forward.
The new album features Dayton’s present band which has been his regular lineup since 2016. It includes producer Adrian Harpham on the drums (known for his work with New Orleans greats such as Henry Butler, and Leo Nocentelli of the Meters), Anthony Robustelli on the keys (Bo Diddley, Gloria Gaynor, and more), Dave Inniss on bass (Jazzhole), backing vocalists Clayton Bryant (Luther Vandross, Valerie Simpson, Elton John, Roger Daltrey...), Towera Smith (Silverchair), and Nia Drummond, with special guests young vocalist Anson Jones (5-time Downbeat SMA winner) on two tracks, and the elite horn section from the Levon Helm Band and Little Feat’s 50th-anniversary tour led by Steve Bernstein (trumpet) with Erik Lawrence (bari/ tenor sax), and Doug Weiselman (tenor sax) on 7 of the songs.
Greg will celebrate the release of Sailing for the Sun with his full band at the Triad Theater in New York City, March 8th at 9pm.
Singer, Songwriter, guitarist Greg Dayton