Ryan La Valette - Fresh (2025)

Recently making the bold cross-continental move from his native New Zealand to Raleigh, NC, Ryan La Valette is pumped up and ready to continue his conquest of the U.S. contemporary jazz airwaves – and has a great run of success to celebrate as he gears up for the Fall 2024 drop of his highly anticipated next single “Daydreaming,” followed by the early 2025 release of his second, perfectly titled Trippin N Rhythm album Fresh.

The wildly versatile composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist achieved the near miraculous with his 2022 album New Beginnings, scoring four consecutive Billboard #1 singles – a feat previously only accomplished on a debut recording by pop superstars Mariah Carey, George Michael and Paula Abdul. While setting an all-time record for a smooth jazz artist, Ryan’s feat is all the more incredible because the songs feature different lead instruments that reflect his expansive artistry. While “Let It Flow” and “Lover’s Melody” are driven by his dynamic electric guitar, “Highway 10” has a piccolo bass and saxophone melody, and “Closer To You” ft labelmate Chris “Big Dog” Davis is a silky sax ballad.

In addition to the success of his own singles, Ryan also hit #1 as the composer of and performer on labelmate and guitarist Lemek’s “Groove Central” and as writer, producer and player on “Hypnotized” by The TNR Collective, a gathering of Trippin N Rhythm labelmates featuring Lemek, keyboardist Nicholas Cole and vocalist Catie Waters. All told, singles that Ryan has released, been featured on or produced have spent a total of 16 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Airplay chart.

Because Ryan still lived in New Zealand when he recorded New Beginnings and had never before released a recording in the U.S., he sought out numerous all-star contributions to help take his sound to the next level and create exciting inroads at radio. In addition to co-producing with established keyboard artists Cole and Greg Manning, several songs included prominent features for Cole, Davis and trumpeter Lin Rountree. For Fresh, he requested that Trippin N Rhythm grant him complete ownership over the production, to further flex his ample studio chops and more seamlessly execute his own sonic vision for the project.

In addition to doing all the writing and producing, Ryan leads different tracks with all three of his primary instruments – piccolo bass, guitar and sax. Cole and Davis return to play subtle roles on Fresh, with Cole playing piano on the dreamy, soulful piccolo bass ballad “Release Me” and Davis adding synth generated strings on the lush, traditional jazz flavored vocal gem “I Love You” featuring Selina Albright, whom Ryan first met when they both played at the Algarve Jazz Festival in Portugal. Since Ryan, who also penned its beautiful lyrics, was looking to add a distinct gospel touch, the track also features veteran church performers Blair Bryant on upright bass and Simeon Moore on drums. Another prominent feature is saxophone great Dave Koz bringing his lilting soprano magic to a sensual breezy “You’ve Got a Friend,” a breezy, folksy pop-oriented original featuring Ryan’s dreamy vocals on the hook.

“Though I’ve always considered myself primarily a guitar player, my ultimate goal is to make people happy by sharing my musical gifts, so I’m always excited to show what I can do on the bass and sax as well,” Ryan says. “For a debut label album, I thought at first having different lead instruments was a bit of a risk, but now I think maybe giving listeners a different vibe every time out keeps things fresh and has contributed to my success to this point.

“It would seem safe for fans of those tunes to think I titled the new album Fresh because I’m still alternating leads between those three distinct voices, but that’s not the case,” he adds. “It was more based on a blend of genres. “With an aim towards reaching other twentysomethings and other younger listeners and take smooth jazz to a place it hasn’t been before, I really wanted to hybridize it with the sounds and arrangements I’m hearing in the modern music I love today by artists like Bruno Mars and Usher, combined with the classic R&B of Michael Jackson and urban soul/jazz vibes of Brian McKnight and Eric Benet. American music is huge in New Zealand, and I grew up with parents who listened to Motown and classic rock, so there’s always some of that in there as well.”