Theo Croker

Theo Croker – Star People Nation (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 43:22 minutes | 825 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Masterworks

Brand new studio album featuring ELEW, Eric Harland, Kassa Overall and Jamaican singer Chronixx. Trumpeter, producer, arranger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Theo Croker’s Star People Nation finds him at the helm of production, songwriting, and performance, resulting in an intimate exploration of“the everyday rituals of blackness. A translation of Theo Croker’s personal, spiritual and creative experience, Star People Nation is a self-reflective collection of provocative, powerfully passionate and boundary-busting compositions that speak to our greater, shared human existence. In the end, he creates a haven for creativity, spirituality, seduction and enlightenment throughout the album. “This is really supposed to inspire others to embrace themselves, their experiences and their community,” says Croker. “As world citizens, we can all be a part of Star People Nation.”

(more…)

Theo Croker – BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 48:36 minutes | 571 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Masterworks

“I love the idea of taking it back to the future. The vibe of this song is just when we look at what has happened to us as a people, like literally in the past 40 years, and how history constantly keeps repeating itself … so this is like a cry of the youth, but it’s a different kind of cry – we’ve heard cries of freedom. We’ve cried for freedom so many times, and we’ve sung “we shall overcome” so many times, but we still don’t see things overcoming. So, this is like the youth – when you hear Theo hitting those horns, and you hear that track – it’s a revolution. And this revolution, unlike the other revolution, this one has been televised. And it’s been televised through every social outlet in the world. The idea of oppression, the idea of equal rights, the idea of “when are we gonna really get justice?” The idea of what real human rights is… but at the same time, keep in mind, this is Theo Croker and Wyclef Jean – so we gotta keep it sexy at the same time. We’re gonna make y’all think, but we’re also gonna make y’all move. Just to say we celebrate our ancestors. At the end of the video, I start to speak Creole, and you’ll feel that energy when we start to turn the whole thing into a celebration and into a movement.”

A contemporary oratorio, the 13 tracks that make BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST are inspired by the forgotten hero’s journey towards self-actualization within the universal origins of blackness. It’s a sonic celebration of Afro-origin, and ultimately a reclamation of the culture, for the culture. “Our hero receives a transmission from his ancestors while in meditation that sets him on a mission to raise the planet’s vibrations through music that defies the confines of a ‘genre’ and frees the culture from the imminent threat of commercial gentrification,” says Theo.

Written in the solitude of his childhood home in Leesburg, Florida, during the pandemic much of the album was informed by psilocybin meditations and astral travels. By retreating inward, Theo extracted a universal story with major implications and spiritual resonances. “In the beginning, the universe was birthed out of a black hole,” he says. “Everything came from blackness. Black is every color combined. So, all cultures are full of this rich blackness. It isn’t a racial statement; it’s about understanding and accepting that this is not a new cultural phenomenon or new science, that we can reclaim our origins, traditions, and culture to better the future. I’m making a statement with the title and project, ‘I can be an artist first before I am a black artist’. I can be a musician, creator, and producer without category.”

(more…)

Theo Croker – AfroPhysicist (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 55:20 minutes | 1003 MB | Genre: Soul, Funk, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Okeh – Sony Masterworks

Produced by and Featuring the Legendary Dee Dee Bridgewater. Plus Special Guests Stefon Harris and Roy Hargrove. Enter the AfroPhysicist trumpeter/composer Theo Croker. Coming straight out of Leesburg, Florida by way of Shanghai, China, this bold young soul-jazz newcomer, grandson of New Orleans trumpet legend Doc Cheatham, is fortified by tradition with no lack of contemporary electricity to propel him into the future. His trumpet pops over rock guitars and roaring organs, floats on the ballads and bops along on straight ahead swing. Croker deftly bridges generation gaps on Afro Physicist, his first album for OKeh Records, produced by Dee Dee Bridgewater for her DDB Records imprint.

(more…)

Theo Croker – BY THE WAY (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 21:57 minutes | 266 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Masterworks

Theo Croker is a storyteller who speaks through his trumpet. A GRAMMY Award-nominated artist, composer, producer, thought leader, and influencer, he is a creative who rejects boundaries and lets his voice ring through the music.

After seven years living in Shanghai, Crocker’s seething original sound crash-landed on 2014’s Dee Dee Bridgewater-assisted album “Afro Physicist.” Following the success of 2016’s “Escape Velocity,” he soared into a new stratosphere in 2019 with “Star People Nation.” The album received a nomination in the “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album” category at the 62nd GRAMMY Awards. The New York Times called it “an album that ranges from swirling hip-hop beats to driving swing to ravishing passages of African percussion.”

(more…)

Theo Croker – LOVE QUANTUM (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 34:11 minutes | 388 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Masterworks

GRAMMY® Award-Nominated Trumpeter, Composer, And Producer Theo Croker Now Starts Yet Another Chapter In His Constant Evolution As An Artist, Returning With A New Studio Album LOVE QUANTUM. The Seventh Studio Album From Croker Since His 2007 Debut, LOVE QUANTUM Is The Latest In The Consummate Artist And Creator’s Journey Of Self-Exploration Through Storytelling. Arriving Friday, June 24 Via Star People Nation / Sony Music Masterworks, The Album Finds Croker Making His First-Ever Foray Into The Concept Of Love, Once Again Inviting Listeners On A Genre-Defying Journey Across Time And Space In Discovery Of The Self And Our Shared Human Experience. Croker Says: “LOVE QUANTUM Is A Continuation Of My Last Album ‘BLK2LIFE || A FUTURE PAST’ Which Was About The Hero’s Journey. Now The Hero Has To Learn About Love, And So This Sequel Is A Tribute To The Divine Feminine Light Called “Love.” It’s A Tribute To Love As A Universal Force And All The Different Levels Of Love That Can Exist…Love Of A Friend, Love Of A Partner, Love Of Family And Community, Love Of Nature, Love Of Yourself, And A Love Of Life.” Featuring Contributions By Jill Scott, Chris Dave, Ego Ella May, Gary Bartz, James Tillman, Jamila Woods, Kassa Overall, Teedra Moses And Wyclef Jean, Each Of The Eleven Genre-Defying Tracks On LOVE QUANTUM Approaches The Classic Love Story From A Different Perspective, And The End Result Is Pure Sonic Bliss. ABOUT THEO CROKER – Theo Croker Is A Storyteller Who Speaks Through His Trumpet. A Creative Who Refuses Boundaries Attracted Widespread Critical Acclaim And Garnered His First-Ever GRAMMY® Nomination For “Best Contemporary Instrumental Album”, For Star People Nation Album In 2019.

(more…)

Theo Croker – Escape Velocity (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 00:55:02 minutes | 638 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HighResAudio | Digital Booklet | © Sony / Okeh

Bold Young Trumpeter Showcases Genre-Bending Compositions Amid Exploration of Spiritual Self”
Trumpet player Theo Croker’s new album, Escape Velocity, arrives unchecked and un-filtered. It doesn’t attempt to fit a single specific musical category, but draws upon the first principle of jazz: to merge and interpret history, styles and ideas and create a unique sound. Escape Velocity (DDB Records/OKeh), due May 6th, and featuring his band DVRK FUNK, is Croker’s second album since returning from China where he lived and worked for nearly a decade.

(more…)