Listening to Isaac Norris’s latest radio single “No Shade”, you get the feeling he’s about to break through as a household name in the smooth jazz format.

Beginning in January of 2020, one could sense a shift in momentum upon the release of the appropriately titled single “Rise and Shine”, which made an impact on radio and to date, has an impressive 150,000 streams on Spotify. The follow up, last year’s “Dancing on Air”, which features keyboardist Nathan Mitchell, came out of the gate as one of the most added tracks among the Billboard reporting stations and further solidified Isaac’s position as one to watch.

On “No Shade”, the jovial saxophonist enlists the help of fellow radio regulars The Smooth Jazz Alley (Marco Montoya & Kevin Lewis) for co-writing and production duties. They also play on the track (Marco on keys and synths, Kevin on drums and percussion). The result is a buoyant and groovy slice of c-jazz which is poised to carry Norris to the next level in his steadfast journey.

Born and raised in the heart of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Isaac has played in numerous venues across the United States and with major recording artists such as Marvin Sapp, Urban Jazz Coalition, and Debra Perry. He’s worked with notable producers including Lew Laing, Nathan Mitchell, Nate Harasim, and Jeff Canady and his own projects feature genre stars Lin Rountree and Nils, among others.

When he’s not touring nationally, Isaac and plays with a local big band collective known as Big Band Nouveau and he leads his own band The Isaac Norris Project. He’s a regular at the Grand Rapids Jazz Festival and is a frequent event supporter of the Urban League and the NAACP.

Isaac’s music is focused on fun and collaboration with other gifted musicians, and he captivates his audience with a message of melody and improvisation. It’s music that’s hard to resist. Music that pulls you in with up-tempo and smooth grooves.

“No Shade” is out on October 8th.