Year: 2003
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 49:09
Size: 113,5 MB
Art: Front
(5:22) 1. Watermelon Man
(4:37) 2. Right Here, Right Now
(5:25) 3. Le Grand
(4:31) 4. Don't Know Why
(5:12) 5. Jellybeans And Chocolate
(5:44) 6. Third Encounter
(5:35) 7. Swingin' Waikiki
(4:10) 8. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
(4:31) 9. Wistful Thinking
(3:58) 10. Quiet Room
A true elder statesman of contemporary jazz (whose seminal mid-'80s recordings helped pave the way for the smooth jazz genre), pianist David Benoit stayed relevant, fresh, and funky due to three factors brilliant melodies, stylistic diversity from track to track, and working with hip, edgy producers. Rick Braun co-produced two of Benoit's recent, similarly brilliant offerings, Professional Dreamer (1999) and Fuzzy Logic (2001), and on Right Here, Right Now assumes the helm fully, guiding Benoit through a wide terrain of musical territory, sometimes adding his own trumpet expertise. There's the ongoing fun of funk/soul triumphs like "Watermelon Man" (Herbie Hancock's classic fashioned with the old-school bounce of another Benoit influence, Ramsey Lewis), the retro-minded title track, and the brassy jam "Jellybeans and Chocolate" (featuring Brian Culbertson and Euge Groove). Benoit's more thoughtful side emerges on the film score-like "Le Grand," an unofficial tribute to the ststyle of Michel Legrand featuring a dense percussion atmosphere, and the understated, melancholy "Quiet Room," a tribute to Benoit's late father (featuring Braun and guitarist Pat Kelley) and something of a sequel to his Grammy-nominated piece "Dad's Room." Benoit's other stops include hitching posts in "Swingin' Waikiki" (ah, the joy of bossa, featuring saxman Andy Suzuki) and a mystical, bass-throbbing "Third Encounter." Aside from his occasional Vince Guaraldi reduxes, Benoit with a few exceptions never much relied on cover tunes, but here includes two besides the Hancock tune a dreamy "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" with Peter White and an orchestra, and a sparse easy listening cover of "Don't Know Why." Years passed, smooth jazz radio kept playing his oldies, yet his new stuff kept getting better and better.~ Jonathan Widran https://www.allmusic.com/album/right-here-right-now-mw0000316033
Personnel: David Benoit – acoustic piano (1-10), Wurlitzer electric piano (1), arrangements (1-7, 9, 10), string pad (2), synthesizer programming (2), Fender Rhodes (5), Hammond B3 organ (5), string arrangements and conductor (8); Pat Kelly – guitar (1, 3, 4, 7-10); Tony Maiden – guitar (1, 5); Randy Jacobs – guitar (2); Peter White – guitar solo (8); Kevin Axt – bass (1, 4, 8); Nathan East – bass (3, 6); Freddie Washington – bass (5); Dean Taba – bass (6, 7, 9, 10); Land Richards – drums (1, 4, 6, 8); Bud Harner – drums (2); Steve Ferrone – drums (3, 5, 6); Jeff Olson – drums (7, 9); Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 3, 4, 6, 7); Luis Conte – percussion (2); Lenny Castro – percussion (5); Brad Dutz – percussion (8); Euge Groove – tenor saxophone (5); Andy Suzuki – tenor saxophone (7, 9); Nick Lane – trombone (1, 2), horn arrangements (1, 2, 5); Brian Culbertson – trombone (5); Rick Braun – trumpet (1), party and fun stuff effects (1), arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5, 6), horn arrangements (1, 2, 5), synthesizer programming (2), computer programming (6), flugelhorn (10); Wayne Bergeron – trumpet (2)
Personnel: David Benoit – acoustic piano (1-10), Wurlitzer electric piano (1), arrangements (1-7, 9, 10), string pad (2), synthesizer programming (2), Fender Rhodes (5), Hammond B3 organ (5), string arrangements and conductor (8); Pat Kelly – guitar (1, 3, 4, 7-10); Tony Maiden – guitar (1, 5); Randy Jacobs – guitar (2); Peter White – guitar solo (8); Kevin Axt – bass (1, 4, 8); Nathan East – bass (3, 6); Freddie Washington – bass (5); Dean Taba – bass (6, 7, 9, 10); Land Richards – drums (1, 4, 6, 8); Bud Harner – drums (2); Steve Ferrone – drums (3, 5, 6); Jeff Olson – drums (7, 9); Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 3, 4, 6, 7); Luis Conte – percussion (2); Lenny Castro – percussion (5); Brad Dutz – percussion (8); Euge Groove – tenor saxophone (5); Andy Suzuki – tenor saxophone (7, 9); Nick Lane – trombone (1, 2), horn arrangements (1, 2, 5); Brian Culbertson – trombone (5); Rick Braun – trumpet (1), party and fun stuff effects (1), arrangements (1, 2, 3, 5, 6), horn arrangements (1, 2, 5), synthesizer programming (2), computer programming (6), flugelhorn (10); Wayne Bergeron – trumpet (2)
Right Here, Right Now
