Tomi Malm hails from Finland and has been a respected figure for the past twenty-plus years on the North-European music scene. Malm works as a composer, arranger, orchestrator and producer on a multitude of successful records, TV themes and multimedia scores. In 2009, Malm rose to international attention with the now-classic release of Fly Away: The Songs Of David Foster, also on the Contante & Sonante label. Malm arranged and produced a number of David Foster’s classics on Fly Away. Malm showed such creativity and freshness on these recordings that he gained high praise and blessings from “The Hitman” David Foster himself. That project took the West Coast/quality pop music scene by storm, and in the past few years it has become a landmark for musicians and fans of the genre on every corner of the planet.
Today, Tomi Malm returns with Walkin’ On Air, his debut solo album, another stunning ride on pop music’s most elegant grooves. On this collection of winning tracks, the Finnish wizard wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs. The track list presents a variety of styles, from jazz-infused pop gems to refined ballads, smooth funky jams and pristine fusion instrumentals.
Featuring an extraordinary cast of world-class vocalists, including Jason Scheff, Clif Magness, Jeff Pescetto, Warren Wiebe, ZoSia, Frank Adahl, Julian Thomas, Jerry Lopez, Shem von Schroeck and Ashton Moran, Malm’s inventive arrangements and top-notch production are brought to life thanks to the usual ace session roster that includes legends such as Vinnie Colaiuta (Sting, Zappa, Herbie Hancock), John “JR” Robinson (Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones) and Simon Phillips (Toto, The Corrs, Peter Gabriel) on drums, Dan Warner (Madonna, Timbaland, Barry Gibb) and James Harrah (Aaron Neville, Herbie Hancock, Chris Botti) on guitars, Neil Stubenhaus (Roberta Flack, Joe Cocker, Michael McDonald) and Alex Al (Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, George Duke) on bass, Robbie Buchanan (Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Chaka Khan) on keyboards plus Luis Conte (James Taylor, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton) on percussion. The horn department is also stellar, with aces like Eric Marienthal (Chick Corea, Barbra Streisand, Elton John) and Brandon Fields (Tower of Power, The Rippingtons, George Benson) on sax, and a guest appearance from the smoking Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns.
It’s here! Fasten your seatbelt while you get lost in Tomi Malm’s spectacular world of music!
Track listing:
1. Kuwakaribisha
2. Favor — FEAT FRANK ADAHL
3. When You’re Gone — FEAT JULIAN THOMAS
4. Walkin’ On Air — FEAT JASON SCHEFF
5. Show Me A Sign — FEAT WARREN WIEBE & ZOSIA
6. Perfect Imperfection — FEAT JEFF PESCETTO
7. Still Life (Interlude)
8. Wouldn’t It Be Kinder — FEAT SHEM VON SCHROECK
9. Let’s Get To It — FEAT JERRY LOPEZ
10. A Reason To Smile — FEAT JULIAN THOMAS
11. You Belong To Me — FEAT CLIF MAGNESS
12. Today — FEAT ASHTON MORAN