After A Decade of Penning Hits For Others, Grammy Award Winning Songwriter Gordon Chambers Releases His Debut Album - Chambers invited to perform with Patti LaBelle at the Westbury Music Fair on Friday, March 25 Prepares for UK performance series

For more than ten years, Gordon Chambers has been the voice behind some of music's biggest stars. The Grammy and eight-time ASCAP award wining songwriter has penned songs for Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Beyonce ("After All Is Said and Done"), Anita Baker (the Grammy-winning "I Apologize"), Brownstone (the Grammy-nominated "If You Love Me"), and many other bold-faced names. His words and music have launched careers (he worked on the debuts of both Usher, Angie Stone, Faith Evans and Carl Thomas. This year, though, Chambers takes his turn in the spotlight, putting his acclaimed skills to work for himself. In February, through his own label, Chamber Music, Chambers released Introducing Gordon Chambers.

Chambers calls the new disc "unabashedly emotional" and an exploration of the inner emotional life of men. Introducing Gordon Chambers features special guests Carl Thomas, Glenn Lewis, Roy Hargrove and Mike Phillips, and was produced by Chambers alongside a string of notables -- Troy Taylor (Tyrese, B2K), Barry Eastmond (Anita Baker), Prince Charles Alexander (P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige) and Brian Bacchus (Norah Jones). David Nathan, the Bristish Ambassador of Soul and the author of Soulful Divas, says "Plain and simple, if you like your soul music delivered with love, sincerity and passion, don't look any further: get yourself a copy of Gordon Chambers' wonderful debut set and be reminded that the great tradition of soul men like Wonder, Hathaway and others lives on!" Chris Rizick shares similar sentiments "An excellent debut that successfully straddles urban adult contemporary and smooth jazz while resurrecting some of the pleasant grooves of mid-80's nuevo soul. A songwriter's album with not a bad track in the bunch."

Chambers is hardly a stranger to the studio process. He's written two songs for gospel star Yolanda Adams' upcoming release and is going into the studio with The Isley Brothers' Ron Isley. Chambers is also excited about an upcoming collaboration with Bishop T.D. Jakes and the Potter's House Mass Choir. Plus, Chambers is currently working with soul legend Aretha Franklin on her upcoming album, having written four songs, including a duet for Franklin and country/pop sensation Faith Hill. Still, when it came to his own album the process was challenging. "Emotionally, I was dealing with the process of coming out of hiding -- hiding my own voice -- stepping into the foreground," Chambers explains. "And my producers were brutal. They all said, 'Look, you don't want people to think this is a vanity project. If you're going to do this you have to do it well.'"

In spite of the pressures, the process of bringing Introducing Gordon Chambers to life had its up side for the singer-songwriter. Because he decided early on to record under his own label, Chambers had a wide range of artistic freedom in the studio. He brought in musicians he admired and explored diverse genres of music. Naturally, Chambers wrote all of the album's tracks, taking quite a few songs out his extensive archives. "I'll Miss You Most," for instance, is a song he'd written years ago, turning down offers because he felt it was autobiographical and meant for him to sing one day. In addition to writing six new songs for his project, Chambers also recorded the song that won R&B chanteuse Anita Baker her eighth Grammy "I Apologize." There's also a rerecording of "My Valentine," a tune he penned for another R&B artist, Carl Thomas, a longtime friend who's featured on the song.

Though this is his first album, Chambers the vocalist is no stranger to performing. In addition to showcases at popular New York City clubs like B.B. King's, Joe's Pub and S.O.B.s, he's recorded guest spots with groups like nineties R&B sensation Brownstone. Recently, he's given a string of live performances, delivering his brand of grown-up R&B -- think Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder -- tinged with jazz to thrilled audiences around the country. On March 19, Chambers performed with Ani DiFranco, the Black Rock Coalition Orchestra and rock/soul legend Nona Hendryx at the Gift of Life concert -- designed to raise awareness about kidney issues in the black community -- at Harlem's famed Apollo theatre. Coming up on Friday, March 25, Chambers will join superstar Patti Labelle at the Westbury Music Fair in Long Island, New York for a special performance during Labelle's set. Chambers is also preparing for a UK concert series that will take him to London and Manchester in April.

"Adult music is absolutely coming back into popularity and people are appreciating an album like mine," says Chambers of the response to his long-awaited debut. "The reception has been excellent, and the outpouring of support from Europe and Japan has been really exciting." Introducing Gordon Chambers is available at www.gordonchambers.com.



Date Event/Venue Location

Friday, March 25 Westbury Music Fair Long Island, New York

Friday, April 1 The Longfield Suite Manchester, England

Wednesday, April 6 Jazz Café London, England

Saturday, May 20 Delta Sigma Theta New York City
May Week Celebration

Sunday, June 5 The Songwriting Series Brooklyn, New York