Album release 14 February 2025
Three-Time GRAMMY ® Award-Nominated Drummer/Composer Nate Smith Makes His Producer Debut with Latest Studio Album, Best Life Now, by Renowned Vocalist Sachal Vasandani
Best Life Now Features Nate Smith (Drums) & Dayna Stephens (Saxophone) Along with Special Guest Vocalists Gretchen Parlato & Shayna Steele
“I’ve always respected Sachal’s skill and courage as a singer and his cleverness as a lyricist. It takes great conviction to stand and deliver lyrics sincerely and vulnerably, and Sachal demonstrates that every time he steps to the microphone.” –Nate Smith
Lauded vocalist Sachal Vasandani is set to release his latest studio album, Best Life Now – with drum maestro Nate Smith in the producer’s chair (as well as on drums) – on Valentine’s Day (Friday, February 14, 2025). Marking his production debut with Best Life Now, Nate Smith adds the title of record producer to his renowned career that’s already garnered critical acclaim through his viral drumming videos and collaborations with Vulfpeck’s The Fearless Flyers, Brittany Howard, Emily King, among others. On Best Life Now, Sachal teams up with Nate for a collection of vibey, heartfelt jazz/soul/R&B expositions on modern love. Sachal Vasandani appears alongside Nate and special guest vocalists Gretchen Parlato and Shayna Steele, as well as his band featuring Dayna Stephens (saxophone, EWI), Jon Cowherd (piano/keyboard), Charles Altura (guitar), Brian Cockerham (bass).
Best Life Now draws listeners into their own romantic relationships with a soundtrack reflecting the ups and downs of modern love. Sachal forgoes the chocolates and flowers this Valentine’s Day while unveiling messy and magnificent moments of love. Narratives unfold on sensuality and heartbreak, holding your partner late at night though knowing you are not truly loved, powerlessness, losing love, not giving up, feeling infatuated with a lover, endless dreaming, inner dialogue, and letting go. Sachal presents vulnerabilities in a bath of soulful grooves making it a breeze for fans to relate to his love struggles, which in turn, shows that his experiences are not that different than their own. With funk-master drummer Nate Smith at the production helm, tasty beats and melodic hooks add to Sachal’s transfixing vocals across Best Life Now.
Rooted in jazz and reaching well beyond the genre on Best Life Now, Sachal is a distinguished leading man on the New York City music scene with the swagger to front his 13-member big band at venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center (watch an incredible rendition of “Unforgettable,” LINK) and an artist who isn’t afraid of showing his rough edges. Though he is celebrated for his influences from all-American personalities such as Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra, Sachal sings of his trials and tribulations as a wounded band leader akin to Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen. Best Life Now bleeds out with his lease on love but maintains a consistent positivity, especially with Nate Smith as the driving force of the rhythm section.
“While I was writing for Best Life Now, I was inspired a lot by D’Angelo and The Meters,” says Sachal Vasandani. “After releasing two pandemic records, I wanted to make sure this one was danceable and where people can tap their feet. I’d love for people to listen and get lost in the music musing about their own relationships, whether they realize how messed up they are but they’re still staying in it; or that it’s amazing at times and still break it off. I welcome listeners to get sucked into the wave of sounds and stories.”
Sachal has sung with the best, including Bobby McFerrin, Milton Nascimento, Wynton Marsalis, Bill Charlap, Natalia LaFourcade, Michael Feinstein, and he was a singer/composer on Gerald Clayton’s GRAMMY Award-nominated album, Life Forum. Sachal’s recording catalog includes Still Life (2022) and Midnight Shelter (2021) with pianist Romain Collin; Shadow Train (2018) featuring “Unforgettable”; Slow Motion Miracles (2015) for Sony/OKeh; and three albums on Mack Avenue including Hi-Fly (2011) which reached #1 on the iTunes Jazz Charts.To access Track-By-Track Descriptions for Best Life Now, please click HERE.