Back in 2004…

when Darren Rahn was working with Wayman Tisdale on the late great bassist’s chart-topping twist on “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now,” the big guy gave the up and coming saxophonist, producer and emerging recording artist a sound bit of advice Rahn has taken to heart on every subsequent recording endeavor: “Stay in your lane.” 

Rahn’s tireless commitment to musical authenticity over the past 18 years has resulted in multiple Grammy nominations and 26 #1 Billboard singles as a solo artist/saxophonist, producer and mix engineer. The multi-talented, Canadian born, Denver based artist’s multi-faceted journey reaches yet another key milestone with the release of Rock The World, a hallmark album that taps perfectly into the Zeitgeist of these anxious times while revealing an ever-evolving artist at the pinnacle of his creative, melodic, spiritual and sonic expressions. 

While many artists in his genre have created inspiring recordings during the pandemic era, none have so intuitively and artfully used instrumental music to reflect not only just how the world has been rocked, but offer a meaningful path forward on how we can rock back, get through the dark, daunting obstacles and move ahead with hope. True to the empowering and provocative album title, Rahn embraces the stark reality of the moment with optimism, forging and illuminating the road ahead by rocking the world with the gifts he, his core band (including bassist Mel Brown, drummer Tarell Martin and twin brother Jason Rahn on trumpet), guitarists Randy Jacobs, Allen Hinds, Adam Hawley and Paul Jackson, Jr., vocalist Biff Gore, his flutist wife Priscilla Rahn and dynamic all-star guests (Brian Bromberg, Dave Koz, Najee, Everette Harp, Brian Culbertson) have been blessed with. 

The saxophonist and multi-keyboardist (whose arsenal includes vintage instruments like Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ and Wurli) launches Rock the World with two songs that meditate intensely on the craziness of all that’s been going on - the high energy title track and upcoming single “Rock the World” and the plaintive yet cathartic “Cry. ” Starting with the explosive, soaring and anthem-like “On Wings of Hope,” he follows with ten soulful, hard hitting, stylistically eclectic tunes whose themes of love, life, faith and hope light the way. 

“In terms of my musical voice, this album certainly exemplifies who I am as an artist more than any other project I’ve ever done. It is thoughtful and mindful of my own life and the world we live in,” says Rahn, whose hit discography includes Soulful (2004), Once in a Lifetime (2005), Talk of the Town (2009), Speechless (2012), Sonic Boom (2016) and Hymns from the Heart, a spiritually themed 2018 set of sax-piano duets. “On this new album, I chose the song titles deliberately to convey the essence of love, life, and faith, and how those tie into what is happening in our world today.”

“Some may see those as separate things,” he adds, “but in my world they all come together as part of a unified whole. Though each track can stand on its own, the flow they create together creates a meaningful narrative and full listening experience. With everything from the music, to the cover photo, to the liner notes, my intent is to reach people with a sense of passion, excitement and hope that touches the soul. Every person has a unique opportunity to impact our world, and my way of rocking the world is through sharing the gift of music that God has given me. A quote from one of my favorite movies says this: ‘I have found that it is the small everyday deed of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay.’ Indeed we are all just ordinary people who have the opportunity to make a huge impact on our world if we choose to use our gifts to build up one another in extraordinary ways. Music is my vehicle to rock the world with hope and love.”

Rahn set the tone and paved the way for Rock the World with its recent lead single “Midnight Sun,” a bright and funky, high energy, brass fired romp that extended the artist’s string of #1 Billboard chart hits and finished at #4 on the Billboard year end chart for 2021. In line with his mission to use music as a vehicle to enlighten the world, it’s both a feel good tune and a deeply spiritual track about light shining through the darkness – not simply during the pandemic era but always. For Rahn, like many other songs he has shared over the years, it “ties into the hope we have in God.” The new album also includes the #1 Billboard hit “Infinite Love,” and the infectious, intensely grooving “Moxified,” a single released in 2019 that peaked at #2 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart. 

While not shy about his inspiration, Rahn also ensures that Rock the World, as a celebration of life and hope, is also chock full of exciting, romantic and playful tunes, from the snappy, buoyant, carefree joy of “Weekend Flow” (featuring Brian Bromberg’s trademark otherworldly bass adventures) and the tenderly soulful light funk ballad “Table for Two” to “Funky D” (a fiery, old school, James Brownesque tribute to his longtime hometown of Denver) and “The Perfect Storm,” a wildly punchy, high octane four tenor jam featuring Rahn, his frequent collaborator Dave Koz, Najee and Everette Harp. Proving Rahn’s credo that sometimes the best songs are the ones that take their time to coalesce into something meaningful, the song began with a hook Rahn and Koz created back in 2008 – and has taken 14 years to become what it was always meant to be. 

To Rahn, the elegant, lushly atmospheric slow jam ballad “Caught Up in You” featuring the beautiful trademark solo piano magic of co-producer Brian Culbertson, is a tune whose ultimate meaning is two-fold. It’s sensually intimate and soul-transcendent at the same time – a deeply heartfelt valentine to the saxophonist’s wife and creative/business partner Priscilla – and a musical outpouring rooted in his faith.  

Making sure to wrap Rock the World on a meaningful and hope-filled high note, Rahn saves two of his most uplifting, promise filled tracks as both coda and continuation. The passionate, horn tinged ballad “Infinite Love” is an impactful expression of his eternal relationship with the Creator, and by extension the full and complete commitment between himself and Priscilla in this lifetime. Though tucked at the end, Rahn sees the whimsical, uplifting and eminently danceable “Everlasting” as a potential future single. “It’s not just about the light at the end of the tunnel, but the reality that God’s love is true love, and it endures forever,” he says. “It’s the ultimate dot dot dot, the promise of love everlasting.”

Growing up on a farm in a small British Columbia town and later in San Diego, Rahn’s formative musical experiences – and the foundation of his later passion for jazz and other genres – came from playing gospel music. After launching his career producing, engineering and mixing for local Denver area artists starting in the late 90s, he became the ultimate urban jazz hyphenate as an artist/producer in the 2000s, following his success with Tisdale (which included the #1 hit remake of “Ain’t No Stoppin Us Now”) with behind the scenes roles as producer, composer, arranger and/or mix engineer for music on five Dave Koz projects (Greatest Hits, Hello Tomorrow, Summer Horns, Gifts Of The Season, and A New Day ). 

His dual careers reached a unique crescendo in 2008-2009, when his own single “Talk of the Town” hit #1 on the Billboard jazz chart and he scored three consecutive #1 productions (14 weeks in all) on the Radio & Records smooth jazz chart, holding the top position with Koz, Eric Darius and Tim Bowman. During this time, Rahn held the top three chart positions for several weeks and had as many as four songs in the Top Ten at the same time. Over the years, as his detail-oriented sonic excellence led to more and more hit recordings, his resume has grown to include everyone from Toby Keith, Jonathan Butler and Najee to Bob James, Rick Braun, Jeffrey Osborne, Phil Perry, Jeff Lorber, Kirk Franklin, Jonathan Fritzen, Julian Vaughn, Blake Aaron, Lebron, Riley Richard and the late Nick Colionne.

“Besides the opportunity to share the Truth of an ultimately hopeful message during these challenging times, one of the things I have enjoyed most about creating Rock the World is incorporating my passion for analog synthesizers, and using them to create textures that help define the sound of each song. I also love the collection of personalities that shape the album, molding my vision around the brilliance of some of my all-time favorite musicians, many of whom are also close friends. Everyone put their heart and soul into this project, using the gift of music to cultivate a creative space full of hope and healing in the midst of everything that’s going on in the world today.”