Saxophonist, composer, and boundary-pushing creative Bernell Jones II steps into a new era with “Love Sings,” a sensual, elegantly layered fusion of R&B, soul, and alternative jazz. Featuring stirring vocal work from Barry Antoine and a poetic rap verse from NORY, the track marks Jones’s first release since his acclaimed 2024 debut album TYPEWRITER, and offers a compelling first look at his forthcoming full-length project FOR EVERYONE, arriving April 2026.
“Love Sings” affirms Jones’s growing reputation as an artist making jazz modern, accessible, and emotionally resonant without forsaking its complexity. Built on a foundation of warm live instrumentation and contemporary production, the song unfolds like a story told in three voices: Antoine’s silky, yearning delivery; NORY’s incisive lyrical perspective; and Jones’s expressive saxophone, which threads the narrative with tone, texture, and quiet urgency.
At its core, “Love Sings” is not a romance, but a reckoning.
Jones explains, “It’s a one-sided relationship where one person is fully in love and the other is faking it—something that happens more often than we admit. I wanted to bring back the storytelling, metaphor, and honesty I grew up hearing in the music of the ’70s and ’80s.”
That commitment to storytelling is felt in every measure. The track’s harmony dips into melancholy, its melodies bloom and retract like a hesitant confession, and its groove — steady but introspective, mirrors the emotional push and pull of affection slipping out of sync.
Originally from Memphis and now based in New York City, Jones has spent the last decade weaving together digital creativity and jazz musicianship in ways few artists attempt. His viral music-comedy videos and documentary-style YouTube series What It’s Like Being a Musician in NYC have earned him a devoted online following, but “Love Sings” is a reminder that beneath the humour lies a formidable composer deeply fluent in the language of jazz tradition.
Having performed with Ms. Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Philip Harper, Julius Rodriguez, Eric Bellinger, and others, Jones carries the lineage of influences like Roy Hargrove, Michael Jackson, and Earth, Wind & Fire into his own sonic signatures: lush brass, crisp rhythmic detail, and arrangements that feel both retro and future-facing.
Produced, written, and largely built from scratch by Jones himself, from drum programming to bass and piano lines, “Love Sings” benefits from its hybrid creative approach. Its live-band recording injects warmth, spontaneity, and dimension, grounding its modern sheen in organic interplay.
With “Love Sings,” Bernell Jones II continues his mission to shape jazz into something deeply human and widely resonant. It’s a song for anyone who has loved harder than they were loved back, and for everyone who believes jazz can still tell today’s stories, tenderly, truthfully, and timelessly.
