Border Crossings is the newest album by New York guitarist and composer Early Times. This is a straight-ahead jazz album spiced with soul and Latin rhythms.
Early has received airplay nationally and internationally. Since 2021, Early has released 4 albums. He has toured with 9-time Blues Music Award nominee E.C. Scott and recorded 2 albums with her. He has recorded with 3-time Grammy winner and blues legend Bobby Rush. Early is also a nationally broadcast radio personality on SiriusXM satellite radio.
For this recording, Times recruited some of the finest and most decorated players around. Steve Gadd (drums) is a Grammy winner and has been inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame. He has received two Honorary Doctor of Music degrees. Zaccai Curtis (piano) won the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for his album Cubop Lives, which also included Luques Curtis (bass). Both musicians feature prominently on Border Crossings. Luques has previously recorded with Eddie Palmieri, Gary Burton, and Orrin Evans. Rounding out the lineup is Craig Handy (saxophone and flute) , who has performed with Herbie Hancock and recorded with George Cables, The Cookers, Steve Miller Band, & John Scofield.
The tunes on Border Crossings, all written by Times, cover the spectrum from hard bop to Latin Jazz. The album opens with “Roadside Quicky” punctuated by a bright, funky rhythm. After Luques provides an alluring intro on the bass, “Succubus” allows all players to stretch out and features some tight ensemble unison parts. “It’s Been So Nice” is a solo guitar showcase for Times. “Scarlet Dancer” moves the group into Latin territory with an explosive solo on the outro by Gadd. The band eases into a laid-back groove on “On the Corner”, allowing Handy to showcase his stellar flute playing. The album closer is “Chicago Sundown” which evokes a dusky, bitter-sweet Windy City mood.
The album was engineered by 3-time Grammy winner Chris Sulit. Jay Messina served as co-engineer and co-produced the album with Early. Jay has engineered and mixed albums by countless artists from Miles Davis to Aerosmith to Eddie Palmieri.
About Early Times
Early spent time touring throughout the U.S as well as performing for a week in Athens, Greece with soul and blues vocalist E.C. Scott. He was the featured guitarist on E.C.’s Hard Act to Follow and Masterpiece albums. “Featured throughout is the scorching guitar work of a Sacramento musician by the name of Early Times.”-San Francisco Chronicle
In 2001, Early’s performing career took a detour when he helped usher in a new wave of broadcasting as he was tapped to help start Sirius Satellite Radio. He hosted a daily show on Sirius Blues from the channel’s opening until its closing. During the 7+ year span, he helped the company expand from 0 subscribers to over 17 million. After some time away from broadcasting, Early was once again brought on to help the blues channel for SiriusXM, known as B.B. King’s Bluesville, where he currently hosts a daily program. With a 6-hour program running Monday through Friday, on a platform that currently boasts over 32 million subscribers, Early remains the most prevalent on-air personality for blues radio in the United States. In addition, he hosts a show 7 days per week playing classic rock on Deep Tracks.
Returning to his recording career, he has had a national hit with “Dogs of Karma” and followed with “She’s About to Lose Her Mind” with a guest spot by Popa Chubby., Several other songs from the album The Corner received national airplay including “On the Corner”, “Charlemagne”, “Come On, Let’s Ride”, and “Return of the Queen”). The next release Electric City scored a hit with “Good Soul Music” featuring a guest appearance by Bobby Rush. In 2024 Early released an instrumental album with the song “Sanctified gaining more airplay. Early was the featured lead guitarist on the Misty Blues track “Silver Lining” which was a national blues radio hit.