Will Downing is the first to admit that his new album, All the Man You Need, is a slight departure from his more contemporary jazz-flavored projects.

The 36-year-old singer — who's on the Rhythm of Love tour, which runs through the first week in August, with Chanté Moore, Gerald Albright and Phil Perry — said his goal was to indulge his R&B tendencies and, in the process, widen his audience.

"This record is a little unlike the other ones I've recorded," he said. "I'm primarily known as a contemporary jazz artist that has R&B overtones. I just decided to kind of flip the script and put a lot of emphasis on the R&B aspect and the radio appeal, more so than the jazz stuff."

Also unlike his previous work, this album reflects more involvement by other writers and producers, Downing said. They include singer/songwriter Kelly Price, who co-wrote the album's first single, "When You Need Me" (a duet with Chanté Moore) (RealAudio excerpt), with Stanley Brown.

"I took a backseat on this album," Downing said. "Normally, I'm very much involved in the production, but I just decided to kinda let some folks come in and do what they do best and see if we can compete with what's out there."

All the Man You Need, Downing's eighth album, features an array of slow and midtempo songs that represent a hybrid of what the singer has done before and what he wanted to achieve this time. The album is not drastically different from older Downing releases — such as 1991's A Dream Fulfilled, which included the R&B top-20 hit "I Try" (RealAudio excerpt), and 1993's Love's the Place To Be (RealAudio excerpt of title track).

But it's a striking contrast to its most recent predecessor, 1998's Pleasures of the Night (RealAudio excerpt of title track), a collaborative effort with jazz saxophonist Gerald Albright.

"I think this record is the total opposite end of the spectrum of what we did last time," Downing said. "['Pleasures of the Night'] was supposed to be — and is — basically a traditional/contemporary jazz album, and with this album, we're showing the many sides of who I am."

New Opportunities

Downing's many sides run the gamut on All the Man You Need, from the vocally acrobatic intro, "It's On," (RealAudio excerpt) to the youthful and sexy "Summer Day" to the modern, radio-friendly title track. And while such songs as "Share My World," (RealAudio excerpt) "Thinkin' 'Bout You" and "Only a Moment" stay true to Downing's quiet-storm roots, the singer hopes the album will reach listeners during daylight hours as well.

"I think with this record — and I've already seen it happen with the first single — we're gonna start hearing the record during the daytime, which obviously gives an even wider audience the opportunity to hear the music."

Melissa Summers, midday personality and assistant program director for Atlanta's WALR (104.7 FM) said her station is playing Downing's single in its "Slow Jams" segment (7 p.m. to midnight),but that the song could end up in midday.

"It has possibilities," she said, "especially with his R&B flavor. It's not so soft that it puts [listeners] to sleep, and it's not so hard that they can't concentrate [during the workday]. It really has the potential." Summers said Downing's R&B emphasis on this album represents a "smooth transition" for the singer.

Life And Love

In true Downing fashion, the songs on All the Man You Need are about love and relationships — past and present. One of his favorites, "Every Time It Rains," (RealAudio excerpt) is about "times that I spent with someone very special to me," Downing said. "It seems like a lot of the good times we shared, a lot of the very fond memories happened when we were together and it rained."

The Gordon Chambers ballad "Real Soon" contains a lyric Downing describes as "interesting, picturesque and sensitive." The sole cover in the set is Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands," which Downing said he decided to record after hearing the song on an oldies station.

"It just felt so good to me," he said. "I walked around all day singing it or humming it, and I said, 'Let me try to add my own little twist to it,' and that's what we did."

But Downing didn't take many liberties with the song. "A great song is a great song," he said "You can add a little spin to it, but it's kinda hard to change, especially that song in particular."