Baltic Jazz Recordings links with MT Jones

Baltic Jazz Recordings is a relatively new player on the scene, but its impact is already being felt, especially with its mission of bringing to life jazz, soul and neo-soul through innovative collaborations. Founded in the summer of 2022 by Grammy and Brit Award-winning producer Steve Levine, the label operates out of the North West of England, a region bubbling with fresh jazz talent.

Baltic Jazz Recordings has been a platform for bridging the classic and contemporary, fusing timeless sounds with modern production techniques. Under the Baltic Jazz Recordings banner, Steve Levine has been collaborating with a range of talented artists and sharing their work via studio release.

First unveiling the project with a jazz cover of The Clash’s classic “Should I Stay Or Should I Go” with Lois Levin in February last year, over the last eighteen months, he’s delivered an incredible catalogue of work across multiple singles, EPs and the record Re:Visioned. The label’s approach presents classic jazz and soul music for a modern audience, offering a new take on the styles while respecting their rich history.

Now, the label has teamed up with Liverpool-based soul artist MT Jones on their latest release, the brand new single titled “Forever and a Day.” MT Jones has been steadily rising since his debut single “I Won’t Ever Say Goodbye” dropped in 2022 and his soulful ballads, combined with his emotional delivery, have caught the attention of fans and key tastemakers in the UK music scene, including Craig Charles on BBC 6 Music and Trevor Nelson on BBC Radio 2.

“Forever and a Day” marks an exciting collaboration between Steve Levine’s exquisitely crafted production and MT Jones’ emotionally charged vocal performance. Gliding into a gentle groove, shuffling drums, soft vocalisations and bright horns set a dreamy atmosphere as MT Jones’ stunning vocals enter to spin soulful leads above.

With silky string flickers drifting throughout, lush instrumentation of guitars and organ tones pepper the arrangement to form a dazzling listening experience that channels a classic soul aesthetic while offering an engaging sound for today. It’s a truly magical moment of charming music that sees Baltic Jazz Recordings and MT Jones serve up an enchanting sound that’s impossible not to love.

Commenting on the single, Steve Levine shares, “The writing process with MT Jones was really enjoyable. We both share a love and a passion for classic soul music, in particular the later period of Motown and Philly soul. The production techniques and orchestration used by those producers and arrangers of that era was really our starting off point. Whilst this track shows our love of vintage soul production, it’s very much a 2024 session recorded using all the modern technology that I have available in my studio. A homage to the great producers I grew up listening to.“

With MT Jones adding, “Forever & A Day is a track about love, past, present and future. It was lovely to collaborate with Steve on this track, he played a drum loop and I put some chords and started singing some ideas on top of it. I enjoyed playing synth on the track too, not something I typically do but was told it was the same synth Stevie Wonder used on ‘Talking Book’ so simply had to have a go and put it on the track. The strings really top it off and add that extra special touch too.”

Listen to Forever And A Day below