Amos Lee

One year. That’s all it took for Amos Lee to go from producing his own EP to recording an album for legendary jazz label Blue Note. The self-titled affair is as smooth as it gets these days, striking a perfect balance between fireside folk and bloodletting R&B with such instant standouts as the organ-grinding grooves of “Colors” and “Seen It All Before,” the moonlit melodies of “Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight,” and the gently grazed guitars of “Arms of a Woman.” Sure enough, every album since has earned Lee an even larger audience, peaking with the #1 debut of 2011’s Mission Bell.

Speaking of crossover hits, our Next Steps pairs some crowd pleasers with enough live tracks to hold you over until the next time Lee hits town.

When Amos Lee says he’s influenced by everyone from Bill Withers to Stevie Wonder, he isn’t name-dropping as many A-list icons as possible. He’s simply connecting the dots between yesterday and today, something he’s done repeatedly in the studio and onstage. The proof is in the following playlist, which shows how the singer-songwriter landed opening slots for Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, and Norah Jones. And by that we mean everything from such lighter-ready live songs as “Night Train” and “Black River” to such fan favorites as the blue-eyed soul of “Won’t Let Me Go” and the swiftly nailed high notes of “Jails & Bombs.”

A classic singer-songwriter who’d fit right in on a bill with his Blue Note labelmate Norah Jones, Amos Lee quit teaching after just two years so he could chase the music career he’d dreamed of since working the stacks at a jazz-centric record store. His slow-burning songs aren’t just indebted to his childhood heroes Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, though; they’re a seamless mix of smoky, sepia-toned soul, folk, R&B, and vocal jazz, as explored on Lee’s self-titled debut (featuring Jones on several tracks and the production of her bassist, Lee Alexander) and such tastefully arranged tracks as “What’s Been Going On,” “Sweet Pea,” and “Listen” — career highlights that push Lee’s gorgeous melodies and brash lyrics in front of skittish beats, delicately plucked guitars, and bold flourishes of brass, keys, and bass. Sorry kids: this one’s not going back to teaching anytime soon.