Bob Wayne

Playing uninspired background "Muzak" had brought Bob James commercial success, and financially, he certainly had no incentive to change. Despite employing such talent as David Sanborn (alto sax), Hubert Laws (flute), Ron Carter (bass), and Idris Muhammad (drums), Touchdown is a bland throwaway. Overproduction is the rule here, and their talents are largely smothered by James' excessive production and trite arrangements. This CD does contain James' likeable "Angela (Theme from Taxi)," but most of the songs on Touchdown are pure schlock.

There's very little to distinguish Lucky Seven from Heads, Sign of the Times, Touchdown and other forgettable studio albums that Bob James recorded in the late 1970s. The keyboardist had carved out a niche for himself playing uncreative background music, and he obviously felt that the easiest way to maintain his commercial success was to make sure one studio project was as contrived and formulaic as the next. Despite employing such talented musicians as Michael & Randy Brecker, Eric Gale and Steve Khan, Lucky Seven is remarkably boring. "Rush Hour" and "Big Stone City" sound like 1970s movie music at its corniest, and the adult contemporary number "Friends" is unbearably insipid. Whether you're looking for jazz, R&B, disco or pop, Lucky Seven is among the many James albums that should be avoided.

By Three, Bob James – the pianist, composer, and arranger – was deep into jazz-funk. The five tracks here reflect his obsession with hard, danceable grooves that take as much from the soul-jazz book as they do his years with CTI. Using many of the same session players he bonded with at his former label – including Eric Gale, Hugh McCracken, Hubert Laws, Will Lee, and Harvey Mason – and a large host of stellar horn players (among them Lew Soloff and Jon Faddis), James offers five selections of simple but fun jazz-pop.

Bob James is a highly developed pianist, arranger, and composer. This set is notable for its heavyweight cast including David Sanborn, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Hubert Laws, and Earl Klugh. It also netted the monster hit "Angela (Theme from Taxi)," which continued to get airplay on smooth jazz stations into the 21st century.

Wayne Shorter has written a number of landmark jazz compositions that have found favor among fellow jazz musicians, but Mysterious Shorter marks a rare occasion when an entire CD is devoted to his music. Trumpeter Nicholas Payton heads a strong quintet, including saxophonist Bob Belden (who doubles on soprano and tenor saxes, like Shorter, and contributed all of the arrangements), organist Sam Yahel, guitarist John Hart, and drummer Billy Drummond. Since six of the eight songs are from Shorter's early Blue Note CDs prior to his move toward fusion, the substitution of Yahel's laid-back organ for the more striking sound of the piano softens the sound of Belden's charts, giving them a bit more of a mysterious flavor, especially in the brisk, playful setting of "Footprints." Payton is known for his powerful trumpet playing, but displays a quiet lyrical touch in "Teru."

Bob James' most enduring recording is perhaps one of his least adventurous. Full of simple laid-back melodies, light, airy grooves, and quiet backdrops, it's a smooth jazz "masterpiece." It's an enduring part of his catalog and was the launch pad for many movie and television projects, and for a string of hit recordings for the Warner label in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. In effect, it insured his financial security for the future. The set is notable for its heavyweight cast including David Sanborn, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Hubert Laws, and Earl Klugh. It also netted the monster hit "Angela (Theme from Taxi)," which continued to get airplay on smooth jazz stations into the 21st century. James is a highly developed pianist, arranger, and composer, and while the music here is as safe as milk, it nonetheless spoke to millions.

Urban Flamingo features James with his Michigan-based quintet of bassist Al Turner, drummer Ron Otis, guitarist Perry Hughes and saxophonist David McMurray. The disc opens with "Choose Me," which has James jamming over the chord changes of a funky blues. While the primarily electric instrumentation and McMurray's often syrupy saxophone playing will undoubtedly turn off mainstream-minded listeners, they will appeal to those who are looking for a pop or R&B-oriented jazz sound.

Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, et al. - The Young Lions (1960) {Vee-Jay}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 347 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb
© 1993 Vee-Jay | NVJ2-908
Jazz / Hard Bop / Bop

Irvin Shaw wrote the novel The Young Lions from which this all star post-to-hard bop all-star band took their name, launching the moniker of a generation of Wynton Marsalis-led followers in the '80s. Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Frank Strozier on alto sax, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, and either Louis Hayes or Albert "Tootie" Heath (sic as "Tuttie") on drums comprise the original Lions, a one-shot band who set the standard for the Blue Note-Riverside-based players who would follow in their path. There's a true democratic, shared value and responsibility evident in every sonic phase of this recording, but it is Shorter who wrote all the material.