The spiritually-minded jazz fusion keyboardist Patrick Bradley doesn’t need a special occasion like marking his tenth anniversary as a recording artist to acknowledge his inspirations both tangible and divine. However, “Dear Friend,” the first single from his fourth album, “Intangible,” does just that, arriving ten years after the release of his first solo set. Written with the album’s producer, Jeff Lorber, “Dear Friend” pays respectful homage to the seminal keyboardists, guitarist and bassists who influence and inform Bradley’s contemporary jazz, rock, fusion and R&B mashups released on the Patrick’s Song Factory label. “My intent was to honor the influence and significant impact that late musicians had on me musically such as keyboardist giants Keith Emerson, Richard Wright, George Duke, Joe Sample and Jon Lord. Guitarist Alan Holdsworth and bass players Chris Squire and Jaco Pastorius have a major influence on my approach to arrangement and melodies. "All of their influences are woven throughout my musical experience, abilities and style,” said Bradley, who wrote and arranged the ten songs that comprise “Intangible” with Lorber. “The tune also celebrates friendship of all kinds - whether it is the intimate friendship between a spouse a trusted best friend, a mentor, your family pet or the friendship expressed through songs of faith.” “Intangible” is the third outing for Bradley and Lorber, the latter of whom is a keyboardist widely recognized as one of the forefathers of jazz fusion, thus an element of mentorship is evident in their ongoing creative friendship. “Jeff and I work very well together. Coming into the studio, I had about 18 songs to work with for this project and we selected ten for ‘Intangible.’ Collaborating with Jeff always draws out new dimensions and makes me dig deeper.” One of the dimensions that Bradley developed under the tutelage of Lorber was to cultivate the ability and the confidence to communicate as a trilingual keyboardist. Bradley’s nimble finger work dispenses harmonies in equal measures of power and grace, poignant and propulsive, riveting and rousing, cerebral and accessible - whether emoted on a piano, organ or synthesizer. His multi-prong keyboard approach makes an individual track seem as if it is helmed by more than one protagonist, each unique instrumental voice offering a different perspective on the melodies. Bradley’s distinctive brand also consists of deep-pocketed grooves constructed by live instrumentation from a core unit of prominent musicians – guitarists Adam Hawley and Michael Thompson, bassist Jimmy Haslip, drummer Gary Novak and Lorber on synth bass, guitar and additional keyboards. A handful of cuts are bolstered by the brawn and bravura of David Mann’s horns. Paul Jackson Jr. cranks out a gale force of electric guitar riffs on “Tail Wind” while Andrew Carney’s trumpet thrives animatedly while exploring “Newport Coast.” There is another essential element to Bradley’s recordings that have been present ever since he issued his debut album, “Come Rain or Shine,” a decade ago. “Music and creativity and whatever talents we each have are a gift from God. Love, faith, hope and even music are all intangible, hence the new album title. Much of our universe is intangible yet we spend the majority of our time seeking the physical and temporal things. I always want to encourage people to look beyond the physical universe and turn our hearts towards God,” said the Southern California native who balances his creative output with a corporate profile by serving as president of the Southern Pacific Region at Whole Foods Market. Bradley’s singles regularly hit the Billboard chart, but he was especially encouraged by the success and growing support he received for his previous album, 2014’s “Can You Hear Me.” “It gave me a new drive to write, play and collaborate with a newfound zeal and energy, revealing where I am at musically at this time. All music has a piece of the artist within their songs. I find with each new project, I feel the need and responsibility to dig deeper and in a sense, be truer to the musician I am and inspire to be.” Intangible – Behind the music Intangible – My desire is to honor God through the gift of music He has given us all. His grace is shed abroad upon all His creation. Grace in a sense is intangible as it cannot be held in your hand yet you can certainly experience it within your heart. So many things can come to mind when pondering the word intangible. A beautiful sunset, the beauty of the evening stars or a far-away galaxy. The very power holding our atoms together is intangible yet holds our entire universe together. Music is intangible yet it creates various emotions and can boldly communicate with us. Music can uplift the human spirit as well as posture us for worship and humble our very existence. I don’t want to over spiritualize the concept but merely want to thank God for the gift of music. I see music and creativity as a gift from God for all of us to enjoy. With that in mind I want to acknowledge my Lord Jesus whom without none of this would be possible. When you gaze at a beautiful sunset or the stars at night you must see Gods beauty and wonder. His intangible and invisible attributes are clearly seen. Dear Friend – Celebrating friendship of all kinds. Whether it is the lovely friendship of a spouse and lover, a trusted best friend, a mentor, your family pet, or the friendship expressed through songs of faith such as “what a friend we have in Jesus” and “gotta have a friend named Jesus”. It’s all of that and probably more. My intent was honoring the influence and impact of late musicians that had a significant influence on me musically. Keyboardist giants such as Keith Emerson, Richard Wright, George Duke, Joe Sample and Jon Lord. Bass player’s Chris Squire and Jaco Pastorius also have a significant influence on my approach to bass arrangement and melodies. All of their influence is woven throughout my musical experience, abilities and style. Although I didn’t know them personally I consider them a “Dear Friend” for their musical impact in the world and on me personally. It was not my intent to emulate their style in this song but share a sense of gratitude towards them through where I am at musically today. Funky Greens –Think of it as a colorful jazzy salad - eat your greens. Funky in a good way….as in colorful salad. The song originally was influenced by a trip to the beautiful and serene island of Kauai. The rainforest, waterfalls and coastlines are spectacularly beautiful. The song certainly took on a different vibe than what was influencing me. Staying with the color green the song evolved and became Funky Greens… like a jazz salad of rainbow chard, kale, and my favorite arugula. “Eat your greens” Tailwind – A word play in hopes of smooth sailing in whatever you’re doing. Tailwind is the cyclist dream with the wind at your back. As a businessman it is the desire to have the wind at your back creating smooth sailing without difficult resistance in the marketplace or worldly events. On Tap - Cheers Winds of Change –The acceleration of change over the last decade has been incredible. We all know change is inevitable and it is best to adapt to it. No doubt there seems to be a polarization happening throughout the world. In fact, I think it is safe to say it is prevalent in America as well. Race, religion, wealth, poverty, status, media and politics all play a part. I love America and pray for us and our leaders no matter what side they are on. I hope you will join me in praying for our country. The freedoms we all enjoy have come at a very high price over our very short history. Find the Way – John… Destiny – When I wrote this song it was constructed around the main lick in the intro. I had my Hammond connected thru midi with my Yamaha Motif. I put the Hammond in overdrive to get a thick distorted sound and voila out came the lick for Destiny. In my mind it had this movie set vibe of the good guy traveling a deserted dusty road towards an epic show down. Newport coast – I love riding along Pacific Coast Highway in Southern California. Newport coast is one of my favorite training grounds in cycling. Out of bounds - The title really captures the idea I was trying to accomplish. I didn’t want to be limited by any constraints or boundaries dictating any portion of this song. The song definitely has a fusion vibe with some progressive rock influence. There is always one song on my albums that reflects a different expression coupled with more musical freedom. Examples: “Off the Record” from Come Rain or Shine, “Empress of Dalmatia” from Under the Sun, “North of Evermore” from Can You Hear Me. I think Out of Bounds captures my musical bent in a present and fun way.