Nature Is Never Silent

As one of the top studio guitarists in the pop, soul and jazz genres, it's probably a rare day that finds Paul Jackson, Jr. noodling by himself. Reflective of his expertise and popularity is Never Alone, a snazzy party platter loaded with early evening jam sessions, seductive midnight confessions and even cooler breakdowns for after the last guest leaves. Jackson's concept is to at the very least duet with one of his all-star pals, from Earl Klugh to Harvey Mason, but the real fun here comes when he struts his rock instincts and brings to the stage Joe Sample, Wilton Felder and Gerald Albright ("knighttime") and, closing the disc, George Duke, Kevin Toney, Sheila E. and some amazing drum fills by Alphonse Mouzon.

Though born in Ukraine, composer Galina Grigorjeva has lived in Estonia since 1992 and has worked within that country's deep tradition of sacred choral music. She studied music in Tallinn in the mid-'90s, and her music is thus interesting in terms of representing the thoughts of a younger generation that has absorbed the holy minimalism of Arvo Pärt as well as a variety of other styles from the Slavic world and beyond. Indeed, the unifying stylistic thread of the six works on the album can be hard to find, and indeed the booklet notes by Saale Karede point to "the living light that glows through the music," most of it religious.