Génie

Of all the things Bob James has done over the years, he remains best known for composing "Angela (Theme From Taxi)." That likable tune was first released on 1979's Touchdown, and it was recorded again for this 1983 release, which focuses mainly on background music he wrote for the popular television comedy. Dull background music had been James' forte since the mid-1970s, and in that sense, The Genie isn't out of the ordinary for him. "Angela" is the only tune on the CD that's memorable; one could listen to The Genie several times and still have a hard time remembering any of the melodies except "Angela." The Genie enjoyed airplay on some stations that claimed to be jazz-oriented, but truth be told, selections like "Night Moods" and "Groove for Julie" are really instrumental pop with slight jazz overtones. Of course, whether The Genie should be called jazz or pop isn't the thing that matters the most. The bottom line is that most of the material is neither interesting nor stimulating.

One of Lyle's stronger releases was Genie, his debut LP from 1977. Produced by Wayne Henderson, this is primarily a fusion/crossover jazz effort. A young Lyle shows considerable promise on electric gems that include the imaginative title track, the congenial "Pisces," the North African-influenced "Mother Nile," and the haunting "Night Breeze" (which was also recorded by Ronnie Laws in the 1970s). Not everything on Genie is fusion or crossover jazz. "You Think of Her" and "Magic Ride" are vocal funk/soul items that find Lyle singing lead; he isn't mind-blowing as a singer, but he's decent. And Lyle detours into straight-ahead jazz with an unaccompanied solo piano performance of the standard "I Didn't Know What Time It Was." Nonetheless, R&B vocals and acoustic jazz aren't the things that Genie is best known for – instrumental fusion and crossover jazz are what caused this LP to go down in history as an electric jazz favorite. Genie falls short of perfect – the record would have been even stronger if Lyle had stuck to instrumental music, which is his specialty. But much of the album is excellent, and Genie frequently reminds us how much promise Lyle showed in the beginning.