Various Artists
A Twist of Jobim

1997Musicians: Lee Ritenour, Yellowjackets, El DeBarge, Al Jarreau, Oleta Adams, Eric Marienthal, Ernie Watts, Herbie Hancock, Dave Grusin, and others.

Rating:

I’ll warn you right off the bat that this is a contemporary take on the great works of Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. This project is the result of the Carnegie Hall tribute to Jobim shortly after he passed away. GRP had recorded the proceedings, but multiple legal and contractual hurdles have just about ensured that we’ll never hear that recording.

Undeterred, Lee Ritenour assembled a cast of all-star musicians and recorded this ‘Twist of Jobim’ project on his newly-formed record label i.e.music, a unit of Polygram. His influence is evident throughout. Ritenour appears on most of the tracks. If you’re curious about what this sounds like, think of some of the recent Ritenour albums like ‘Portrait’, ‘Festival’ and ‘Color Rit’. Joining Ritenour on various tracks are Al Jarreau and Oleta Adams, Eric Marienthal, Ernie Watts, Yellowjackets, Herbie Hancock, El DeBarge and Dave Grusin, among others.

Overall, I really like this project. It brings together some of my favorite artists playing the music of one of my favorite composers. IMO, it comes off very well in the execution. Jarreau and Adams are paired on “Waters of March” and “Girl from Ipanema” to good effect, the latter featuring a sample of Joao Gilberto’s original version from the classic ‘Getz/Gilberto’ and the piano of Russell Ferrante. Russ is featured with Yellowjackets on one of my favorite Jobim tracks, “Mojave”.

An unusual track is “Dindi”, sung by none other than soul/R&B singer El DeBarge. It works, but only marginally so. DeBarge doesn’t quite have the delivery of a classic jazz singer, and to me the tired hip-hop-styled beat just doesn’t fit. It’s not bad, just not all that original. It has “Top 40” intensions written all over it.

Dyed-in-the-wool Jobim fans will likely appreciate any chance to hear their favorite composer’s works in a new light. This album delivers! And given its genre-crossing styles of jazz, funk and pop, it could be a moderate crossover success.

Enjoy!

Clara Ponty
Clara Ponty
Philips 314 536 155-2 (1997) Rating:

I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but a photo of Clara Ponty’s new album on the internet caught my eye immediately. Whoa! To these eyes, she has a stunning, European type of beauty that, on many women, you imagine is only superficial at best. As I expected, though, Clara’s beauty is way more than skin deep; the beauty she creates with her music touches the soul.

By now, you may have surmised that pianist and composer Clara Ponty has a familiar last name. Her father is jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. Given her father’s choice of career, and having grown up in Paris and Los Angeles because of it, Clara’s touch has a strong European influence to it, with a type of artistic freedom that one could only experience in America. And I do detect subtle hints of Jean-Luc’s musical stylings in her compositions, as well as a few Claude Debussy influences.

Clara Ponty penned all of these tunes herself, except for the disc opener, “Romance,” which she collaborated on with her father. Reading her notes to these songs is required reading. For “Romance”, she says, “A collaboration with my father. Like moonlight drawn into a dark leaf, creating a new form, love.” For “Jeux d’Oiseaux”, “A game played among birds. This piece captures a moment of pure joyousness.” And for “Glimpses of Paradise, she explains…”An impressionistic moment; passing through a prism, a falling spectrum of colors.”

Clara’s songs are more like paintings than anything else I can think of (and I hate to use that tired cliché, but it’s appropriate). She paints aural pictures. Her music is technically filed under “new age”, but unlike many of that genre, she has more than one color on her palette and therefore does not fall into the dreaded “yuppie Muzak” rut that many Windham Hill acts fell prey to over the years. For each moment of lightness and color, there is another of darkness. For moments of fun and playfulness, there are others of trance-like, meditative states (“Sunrise Prayer”) and “Melancholy.”

But much of this music defies description. Beside a hint of percussion on a couple of tracks, this is completely unadorned solo piano. I can tell this one is going to be in my CD deck for awhile, providing solace in this crazy world we live in. And yet, I cannot give her five stars for this album; this is her first project, and with her obvious talent for composing and performing, she’s bound to get even better.

David Sanborn
Pearls
Elektra 61759-2 (1995)

Rating: * * * *

It seems the entire musical community is on a “standards” kick lately. Natalie Cole did her daddy’s records, followed by ‘Take A Look’, another album of fine renditions of standards. Toni Tenille, John Pizzarelli, and even the Stray Cats’ Brian Setzer cut big-band tracks featuring standards. Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett are enjoying renewed success today, a couple of artists responsible for making these standards popular in the first place. And coming up next week, Chicago (yes, the rock band) is releasing ‘Night & Day (Big Band)’, which features unique remakes of big band classics.

Hot on their heels is David Sanborn,putting aside his fusion/funk chops (a la Marcus Miller) to lay down some tracks of…you guessed it…standards. Curiosity getting the best of me, I had no idea what to expect. David Sanborn. An orchestral backing. Johnny Mandel arrangements. Standards. Hmm…

It’s not exactly a knockout, “must have” album by any means, but it is indeed pleasant. It features Sanborn’s fiery, bluesy alto saxophone against a velvet backdrop of lush strings. Since Sanborn is the feature of this show, he carries most of the melody and soloing throughout the album. A sax-a-thon dose of mega-Sanborn, if you will.

The song selection is well thought out. Featured are the tracks “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”, “Willow Weep for Me”, and more modern “popular” standards such as an excellent reading of “This Masquerade”, Leon Russell’s “Superstar”, and a duet of “Nobody Does It Better” featuring Oleta Adams.

This would have been a great “make out” album to have in high school. (Well, maybe not, since the girls I knew listened to Aerosmith and AC/DC and Led Zep…at least I can fantasize!) A good late-evening gig to throw into the CD player with a glass of wine and a fire crackling in the fireplace. David pulls out the stops and does some great soloing, so this album should please his current fans. Other, more casual listeners will enjoy its laid back groove. All told, a pleasant album with a little “kick” to it. Enjoy!

Michael Franks
Abandoned Garden
Reprise 45998-2 (1995)
Rating: * * * *

After releasing so many albums, one has to wonder if Michael Franks is becoming repetitive or, even worse, a self parody. With this release, Abandoned Garden, Michael Franks proves that there is life and good music beyond “Popsicle Toes” and “Baseball”. In fact, his albums following the electric boogaloo entries Skin Dive and The Camera Never Lies have become better with each new release, shedding most of the electronics in favor of an acoustic, laid-back groove. Franks does not even have the ideal singing voice, but that does not detract from his appeal as a vocalist or composer. What he lacks in vocal forcefulness is made up for with a smooth and, dare I say it, seductive approach.

Franks’ first album, The Art of Tea, was good for a debut effort, replete with top session musicians and clever songwriting full of double entendres. Sleeping Gypsy, his second set, coincided with his meeting the Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos Jobim. The effect was immediate–Franks’ sound took on Brazilian overtones that he would recall in future albums. This comes full circle with Abandoned Garden, recorded in memory of the late Antonio Carlos Jobim.

This album opens with “This Must Be Paradise” and “Like Water, Like Wind”, both recalling Antonio and Brazil, excellently arranged by Yellowjackets members Russell Ferrante and Jimmy Haslip. With the excellent Brazilian-influenced guitar work of Chuck Loeb and Franks’ vocal inflections, you can almost hear echoes of Jobim in these two selections. “This Must Be Paradise” successfully mimics Brazilian styling, but “Like Water, Like Wind” is Franks’ true tribute to Jobim here, recalling fond memories of the time they spent together and the admiration they shared for one another. The title track mourns his passing: “Though the samba has ended, I know in the sound of your voice, your piano, your flute, you are found…”.

Also produced by Ferrante and Haslip is “Somehow Our Love Survives”, a re-recording of a song which originally surfaced on a Joe Sample album sung by Al Jarreau. Another surprise here is contemporary Brazilian musician Djavan’s “Bird of Paradise”, with English lyrics supplied by Franks. Djavan’s original take was reggae-influenced, while Franks opts for a jazz touch.

Other tracks work fairly well in this context. “A Fool’s Errand” is textbook Michael Franks, further tales of love’s misadventures. “Hourglass” successfully parallels a woman to a timepiece. Two other tracks originate from Franks’ musical “Noa Noa” about the life of painter Gauguin: “Without Your Love” and the dialog “In The Yellow House”, presented here as a duet with Brian Mitchell (which sounds and feels slightly out of sync with the rest of the album).

Overall, I prefer Franks’ previous album Dragonfly Summer to this one; to me, it sounds more like a singular project. But this is not to belittle Abandoned Garden. It is a heartfelt tribute to a lost mentor and friend, fine music to listen to, and a very worthwhile addition to the Michael Franks catalog. Highly recommended.

Herb Alpert
Second Wind

Almo Sounds AMSD-80005 (1996)

Produced and arranged by Herb Alpert and Jeff Lorber

Rating: * * * *

Featuring: Herb Alpert, trumpets and additional keyboards; Jeff Lorber, keyboards; Nathaniel Philips, bass; John “J.R.” Robinson, drums; Paul Pesco, guitar; Michael Fisher, percussion; Luis Conte, percussion; Jimmy Johnson, fretless bass solo on “Flamingo”.

Tracks:

1. Second Wind
2. Flirtation
3. Wherever You Are
4. Sneakin’ In
5. Drivin’ Home
6. Can’t Stop Thinking About You
7. Flamingo
8. My Funny Valentine
9. Side Steppin’
10. Rendezvous
11. Across The Bridge
12. Sugar Cane

Composed by Herb Alpert and Jeff Lorber, except: “Can’t Stop Thinking About You” by Herb Alpert; “Flamingo” by Grouya/Anderson; My Funny Valentine by Rodgers/Hart.

Four years have passed since trumpeter Herb Alpert’s last album, Midnight Sun. A lot has happened since then. Herb and his business partner Jerry Moss sold their A&M Records label to Polygram, and Herb took some time off from recording. With the formation of the boutique label Almo Sounds in 1994 (distributed by Geffen), I knew it wouldn’t be long until Alpert came out of hibernation to record an album.

This album was the result of a meeting with Jeff Lorber back in 1994, and was anticipated by the recording of “Winter Wonderland” on the Jazz To The World Christmas collection with Lorber. I admit to not being much of a Jeff Lorber fan; after all, he’s given us the likes of Kenny G. and Dave Koz, and some of his own recordings tend to be formulaic fusion exercises. Luckily, Alpert knew exactly what he wanted on this album, and was able to draw on Lorber’s talent (perhaps keeping it in check) without being buried beneath petty fusion cliches and layers of synthesizers.

Structurally, there really isn’t much to this album. The groove is loose, a bit laid back, and especially lean. There are five musicians in the basic band, and it sounds like five. No, it’s not acoustic, but Alpert uses the electric-based backdrop more as a canvas than a wall of technofunk to bury his trumpet in (memories of North on South Street come to mind). Most of the beats derive from a loose funk or hip-hop rhythm, but quickly step out of the way once established.

But despite its spare sound, there is plenty of room for Alpert to solo. This is not the Herb Alpert you’ll remember from the era of “The Lonely Bull” or “A Taste of Honey”. This is a more thoughtful, more mature Alpert, although you’ll still recognize his style. (He’s also added a mute to his back of tricks.)

How do the songs stack up? They’re a nice collection, actually. There’s nothing here that has that knockout quality of something like “A Taste of Honey” or “Rise” that screams “Top 40”, but that’s not the intent. The songs here act more as backdrops for Alperts soloing. A bit of melody lays down the foundation, and the solos are the colorful splashes that make it interesting.

The title track, “Second Wind”, punctuated by Hammond B-3 organ, perhaps recalls his Tijuana Brass style of trumpet playing the best, while the muted trumpet suggests more of jazz stylings a la Miles Davis (whom Alpert cites as an influence along with Bill Evans and Stan Getz). “Flirtation” is interesting in its used of plucked pizzicatto strings to accentuate the slinky, sexy groove. Tijuana Brass fans may recognize “Flamingo” from the S.R.O. album, and the one melodic song from the ill-fated street/hip-hop project North on South Street, “Can’t Stop Thinking About You”, is rescued for this album. “Sneakin’ In” has a funky, bluesy Hammond organ lick that transmutates into a light hip-hop beat upon which Alpert lays some muted trumpet melodies.

Most jazz lovers will have a take it or leave it approach with this album. Good jazz does not need to be strict and uptight, nor does it need to be difficult and discordant. By anyone’s measure, this is Jazz Lite. It’s enjoyable, well-crafted, loose, light jazz with funky overtones, employed with tact and restraint. This is one of Herb Alpert’s most solid albums, far better than the last couple of recordings he made at the old A&M. Alpert fans no doubt will enjoy this immensely; others who lean toward this type of music should also be pleased. Purists may shake their heads and wonder what all the fuss is about. But as it stands, it’s an album by an artist doing what he likes to do, enjoying himself in the process, and doing a fine job with the tools at his disposal. And there may be hope for Jeff Lorber yet! Recommended!