Terrace Martin has previewed his upcoming album, Fine Tune, with a saxophone-led, smooth jazz reworking of SZA‘s hit song “Snooze.” The latter was already buffed to a brilliant R&B sheen thanks to production and songwriting contributions from Babyface, the Rascals, and BLK.
Initially intended for Babyface’s own project Girls Night Out, the original version of “Snooze” appears on SZA’s late 2022 album SOS. It reached No. 8 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and No. 29 on the overall Hot 100 tally.
Due on an as-yet-unannounced date in June, Fine Tune will be released as the first project under Martin’s new deal with BMG for his Sounds of Crenshaw jazz imprint. BMG was also the home for the multi-hyphenate Martin’s 2021 solo album, Drones, which was nominated for the best progressive R&B album Grammy.
“You’ll hear some traditional, Wayne Shorter-y things, and then some bangin’ ass hip-hop with horns, because that’s the jazz me and my homeboys fell in love with,” Martin tells SPIN of Fine Tune. “BMG believed in the art, which takes a lot of courage.”
Martin has also been busy with his Robert Glasper- and Kamasi Washington-featuring supergroup Dinner Party, which played Coachella last month in tandem with its own just-released new album, Enigmatic Society. He will join Glasper for a special performance at the Blue Note Jazz Festival in Napa, Ca., on July 29.
