Kalimba Music (www.kalimba-music.com), recently re-launched by Earth, Wind & Fire's legendary founder Maurice White, stays on a roll, grooving into the mid-summer with their new artist, composer/keyboardist Greg Manning (www.greg-manning.com), hitting the Billboard Smooth Jazz New and Active chart with"Cruisin' Down The Road" (featuring chart-topping saxophonist Vincent Ingala) while EWF's single "Never" - the lead single from the re-mastered collector's edition of the hit album The Promise - makes its debut on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart at #26.
Both are in great company among the genre elite. Manning, who released his Kalimba Music debut album Dance With You on July 8, shares chart space with veteran world fusion band Hiroshima, saxophonist Terje Lie and singer/songwriter Spencer Day, while "Never" is just behind Boney James, Herb Alpert & Lani Hall and The Rippingtons and ahead of BWB, Nils and Najee.
"Cruisin' Down The Road" is also CHARTBOUND, headed for theSmoothJazz.com Top 50 and made a stunning leap from #50 to #37 with a bullet on the SmoothIndieStar.com chart. It also debuted at #27 with a bullet on theGroove Jazz Music chart and debuted at #49 with a bullet on the Radio Wave Internet airplay chart.
Manning's previous hit single "Dance With You" reached #1 on the taste-making chart, The Smooth Jazz Top 20 with Allen Kepler. Another previously released track, "Groove Me" (featuring saxman Elan Trotman) is also included on Dance With You.
Chart activity for EWF's "Never" includes a debut at #26 with a bullet on theMediabase Smooth A/C chart, a leap from #46 to #41 with a bullet on the SmoothJazz.com Top 50 and a move from #19 to #18 with a bullet on the SmoothIndieStar.com chart.
White, who originally established Kalimba Music in 2003 as a vehicle to promote Earth, Wind & Fire as well as up and coming performers, decided to re-launch based on his passion and love for music and worthy artists.
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