Quincy Jones - Back On The Block

Styles: R&B, Crossover Jazz
Year: 1989
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:55
Size: 134,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:04) 1. Prologue (Q's Rap)
(6:34) 2. Back On The Block
(5:11) 3. I Don't Go For That
(4:54) 4. I'll Be Good To You
(0:31) 5. The Verb To Be
(3:31) 6. Wee B. Dooinit
(6:28) 7. The Places You Find Love
(2:53) 8. Jazz Corner Of The World
(5:34) 9. Birdland
(5:04) 10. Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song)
(3:44) 11. One Man Woman
(4:46) 12. Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)
(0:54) 13. Prelude To The Garden
(6:40) 14. The Secret Garden

Back on the Block is a 1989 studio album produced by Quincy Jones. The album features legendary musicians and singers from across three generations, including Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, Barry White, Chaka Khan, Take 6, Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau, Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, El DeBarge, Ray Charles and a 12-year-old Tevin Campbell.

Multiple singles were lifted from the album and found success on Pop and R&B radio, including "I'll Be Good to You", "I Don't Go for That", "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)", and "Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)" which was originally an instrumental track on the Brothers Johnson's Look Out for #1 set. "Tomorrow" is also noteworthy for introducing a young Tevin Campbell to the music scene. Back on the Block won the 1991 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Jones' track, "Setembro (of brazilian composers Gilson Peranzzetta and Ivan Lins)" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1991 film, Boyz n the Hood. Back on the Block topped the R&B Albums chart at number-one for twelve weeks, and topped the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart as well.

Back on the Block featured the last studio recordings of jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Fitzgerald and Jones had previously worked together on her 1963 album with Count Basie, Ella and Basie!. Jones had produced three albums with Sarah Vaughan when they both worked for Mercury Records. At the 33rd Grammy Awards, Back on the Block won seven Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

In arranging, Jerry Hey, Quincy Jones, Ian Prince and Rod Temperton won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Birdland", and Glen Ballard, Hey, Jones and Clif Magness won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) for "The Places You Find Love". Jones also won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance for "Birdland", and the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Bruce Swedien won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for his work on the album. Ray Charles and Chaka Khan won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "I'll Be Good To You". The Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group went to Big Daddy Kane, Ice-T, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel, Quincy Jones III and Jones for "Back on the Block".https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_on_the_Block

Personnel includes: Quincy Jones (vocals, keyboards, programming); Bobby McFerrin (vocals, bass, percussion); Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warrick, Al Jarreau, Luther Vandross, Barry White, Take 6, Tevin Campell, James Ingram, El DeBarge, Al B. Sure! (vocals); Ice-T, Big Daddy Kane, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel (rap vocals); James Moody, Gerald Albright (alto saxophone); Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis (trumpet); Herbie Hancock, George Duke (keyboards); George Benson, Steve Lukather, Paul Jackson, Jr., (guitar); Nathan East (bass); Harvey Mason (drums); Steve Porcaro, Josef Zawinul, Rod Temperton (programming); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).

Back On The Block

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Al Jarreau - We're In This Love Together

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 110:33
Size: 260,3 MB
Art: Front

(3:46)  1. We're In This Love Together
(4:03)  2. Boogie Down
(3:04)  3. Moonlighting
(6:20)  4. Roof Garden
(4:18)  5. Mornin'
(5:37)  6. Your Song
(4:13)  7. Breakin' Away
(3:06)  8. Rainbow In Your Eyes
(4:19)  9. After All
(3:49) 10. Trouble In Paradise
(3:59) 11. Never Givin' Up
(5:23) 12. L Is for Lover
(3:56) 13. Closer to Your Love
(4:57) 14. You Don't See Me
(4:28) 15. Step By Step
(4:39) 16. So Good
(4:31) 17. High Crime
(4:27) 18. Heaven and Earth
(3:31) 19. Take Five (Edit Version)
(4:52) 20. Black and Blues
(4:27) 21. Raging Waters
(5:05) 22. We Got By
(3:51) 23. Says
(5:14) 24. Mas Que Nada (Live 1993)
(4:28) 25. My Old Friend

The only vocalist in history to net Grammy Awards in three different categories (jazz, pop, and R&B, respectively), Al Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 12, 1940. The son of a vicar, he earned his first performing experience singing in the church choir. After receiving his master's degree in psychology, Jarreau pursued a career as a social worker, but eventually he decided to relocate to Los Angeles and try his hand in show business, playing small clubs throughout the West Coast. He recorded an LP in the mid-'60s, but largely remained an unknown, not reentering the studio for another decade. Upon signing to Reprise, Jarreau resurfaced in 1975 with We Got By, earning acclaim for his sophisticated brand of vocalese and winning positive comparison to the likes of Billy Eckstine and Johnny Mathis. After 1976's Glow, Jarreau issued the following year's Look to the Rainbow, a two-disc live set that reached the Top 50 on the U.S. album charts. With 1981's Breakin' Away, he entered the Top Ten, scoring a pair of hits with "We're in This Love Together" and the title track. After recording 1986's L Is for Lover with producer Nile Rodgers, Jarreau scored a hit with the theme to the popular television program Moonlighting, but his mainstream pop success was on the wane, and subsequent efforts like 1992's Heaven and Earth and 1994's Tenderness found greater success with adult contemporary audiences. A string of budget compilations and original albums hit the shelves at the end of the decade, but into the turn of the century his original output slowed down. That was until he signed with the Verve/GRP label in 1998 and reunited with producer Tommy LiPuma. LiPuma had produced Jarreau's ostensible 1975 debut, We Got By, and the pairing seemed to reinvigorate Jarreau, who went on to release three stellar albums under LiPuma's guidance, including 2000's Tomorrow Today, 2002's All I Got, and 2004's Accentuate the Positive. Givin' It Up, recorded with George Benson and released in 2006, was nominated for three Grammy Awards each one for a different song. Jarreau returned with his first ever full-length holiday-themed album, Christmas, in 2008. Four years later he offered a live recording, Al Jarreau and the Metropole Orkest: Live, performing alongside the Dutch ensemble. A frequent live performer into his seventies, Jarreau was hospitalized in 2010 and forced to cancel concert dates, but he resumed touring after leaving the hospital, and indicated that reports about possible health problems had been exaggerated. In February 2017 an announcement was posted on Jarreau's website stating that the singer had been hospitalized for exhaustion in Los Angeles; that he was canceling upcoming scheduled tour dates; and, in fact, that he would be retiring entirely from touring in the future. He died in the morning of February 12 at age 76, mere hours before the 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was to begin. ~ Jason Ankeny https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/were-in-this-love-together/1373144935

We're In This Love Together

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Seawind - Reunion

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 69:32
Size: 159.2 MB
Styles: West Coast jazz
Year: 2009
Art: Front

[4:40] 1. Kept By Your Power
[5:54] 2. You're My Everything
[6:53] 3. Sunshadow
[6:38] 4. Hold On To Love (Featuring Al Jarreau On Vocals)
[5:28] 5. Follow Your Road
[6:44] 6. Free
[6:34] 7. Wayne
[5:42] 8. He Loves You (Featuring Al Jarreau Vocal Solo)
[5:16] 9. Devil Is A Liar
[5:07] 10. Pearl
[4:08] 11. Everything Needs Love
[6:22] 12. Liquid Spies

Seawind was a band formed in Hawaii in the mid-seventies that prominently featured a horn section of University of Indiana alums. The horn sections leader, Jerry Hey, would go on to be THE pop horn arranger of the eighties and nineties (often with the Seawind horns in tow for many of those sessions). Micheal Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire, and literally hundreds of others artists have used Jerry's arranging skills to add some restrained melodic punch to their recordings. Give a listen to the horn arrangement of Jackson's "Working Day and Night" - brilliant. That's what Hey did over and over again.

Seawind was more than just a springboard for Jerry Hey and the Seawind horns however. Seawind was also a highly musical and accomplished band that released four records during their career. Some of drummer Bob Wilson's songs, ("Devil is a Liar" "Follow Your Road" and "Free") are timeless jazz/rock compositions and could easily be in the rotation on any of today's few remaining jazz stations. ~Jim Stalker

It has been 29 years since Seawind's last new release!! This 12 song CD includes beautifully performed, updated 2009 arrangements of "Follow Your Road", "Free" , "Devil Is A Liar" and "He Loves You" (which also features vocalist Al Jarreau). This is by far, Seawind's best ever, recording!

Reunion

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David Benoit - Here's To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2000
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 41:54
Size: 96,6 MB
Art: Front

(3:06)  1. Linus and Lucy
(4:18)  2. Charlie Brown Theme
(4:38)  3. Pebble Beach
(4:30)  4. Linus Tells Charlie
(4:34)  5. Frieda
(5:17)  6. Christmas Time Is Here
(3:08)  7. Getting Ready
(4:05)  8. Blue Charlie Brown
(4:28)  9. Red Baron
(3:47) 10. Happiness

An album of Peanuts-related music performed by David Benoit is a no-brainer, not only because of the retirement and death of Charles Schultz, who drew the comic strip, but also because Benoit has in recent years taken over writing the music for the ongoing series of shows, which were scored originally by Vince Guaraldi. Benoit emphasizes his predecessor by devoting seven of the album's ten tracks to Guaraldi compositions. Unfortunately, he begins with one of those exercises in necrophilia that is usually the province of the less-talented progeny of great singers, overdubbing a few of his own unnecessary noodlings on the original recording of "Linus and Lucy." Fortunately, things improve after that, as the trio of Benoit, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Peter Erskine is joined by a series of high-profile guest musicians: guitarist Marc Antoine on "Pebble Beach" and "Red Baron"; trumpeter Chris Botti on Benoit's "Linus Tells Charlie"; saxophonist Michael Brecker on "Freda"; and guitarist Russell Malone on "Blue Charlie Brown." Despite the spring release date, the inclusion of the near-standard "Christmas Time Is Here" is inevitable, and here it's sung by Take 6. In an inspired move, the album closes with Al Jarreau's winsome take on "Happiness," a song from the stage musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. All in all, this is a pleasant, if minor, addition to Benoit's catalog. ~ William Ruhlmann http://www.allmusic.com/album/heres-to-you-charlie-brown-50-great-years%21-mw0000061082

Personnel: David Benoit (piano); Al Jarreau, Take 6 (vocals); Michael Brecker (tenor saxophone); Chris Botti (trumpet); Vince Guaraldi (piano); Marc Antoine, Russell Malone (guitar); Christian McBride (bass); Peter Erskine (drums).

Here's To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!

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Eumir Deodato - S/T

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:46
Size: 100.2 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[6:36] 1. Summertime
[5:47] 2. Double Face
[4:06] 3. I Want You More
[5:43] 4. Border Line
[5:02] 5. No Getting Over You
[6:59] 6. The Crossing
[5:23] 7. Night Passage
[4:06] 8. Rule My World

Widely regarded as one of the most respected and sought-after musicians in the music world, Brazilian-born Eumir Deodato has racked up 16 platinum records to his credit as artist, arranger or producer with combined sales of well over 25 million records in the USA alone. His discography, including compilations and all his work as arranger, producer and keyboardist, surpasses 450 albums. He has also had the honor of performing with the St. Louis Symphony (which backed him on his superb Artistry album), the Cincinnati Symphony, the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestra di Musica Leggera dell’Unione Musicisti di Roma. In addition, several artists over the years have covered his songs, including George Benson, Lee Ritenour, Sarah Vaughan and The Emotions to mention just a few. And yet, in spite of all of his varied triumphs, honors and distinctions over the years, the multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist will probably forever be associated with one song – his innovative rendition of Richard Strauss’ classical opus Also Sprach Zarathustra (or more commonly known as the theme to 2001: A Space Odyssey).

That single compelling song, which first appeared on his 1973 debut album for CTI Prelude, sold at least five million copies and earned Deodato his first Grammy Award, instantly moved him to international stardom and setting a course for his remarkable ongoing career in music. Thirty years later, that same tune has found its way into the repertoire of the jam band Phish, a testament to Deodato’s enduring influence.

Eumir Deodato

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Al Jarreau - Ain't No Sunshinne

Styles: Vocal Jazz

Year: 2003

File: MP3@320K/s

Time: 28:33

Size: 78,8 MB

Art: Front

(2:06)  1. Ain't No Sunshinne

(4:23)  2. Lean On Me

(3:41)  3. Use Me

(3:49)  4. Kissing My Love

(2:06)  5. Grandma's Hands

(5:20)  6. You

(3:41)  7. Lonely Town Lonely Street

(3:23)  8. Same That Made Me Laugh

The only vocalist in history to net Grammy Awards in three different categories (jazz, pop, and R&B, respectively), Al Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 12, 1940. The son of a vicar, he earned his first performing experience singing in the church choir. After receiving his master's degree in psychology, Jarreau pursued a career as a social worker, but eventually he decided to relocate to Los Angeles and try his hand in show business, playing small clubs throughout the West Coast.  He recorded an LP in the mid-'60s, but largely remained an unknown, not reentering the studio for another decade. Upon signing to Reprise, Jarreau resurfaced in 1975 with We Got By, earning acclaim for his sophisticated brand of vocalese and winning positive comparison to the likes of Billy Eckstine and Johnny Mathis. After 1976's Glow, Jarreau issued the following year's Look to the Rainbow, a two-disc live set that reached the Top 50 on the U.S. album charts. With 1981's Breakin' Away, he entered the Top Ten, scoring a pair of hits with "We're in This Love Together" and the title track. After recording 1986's L Is for Lover with producer Nile Rodgers, Jarreau scored a hit with the theme to the popular television program Moonlighting, but his mainstream pop success was on the wane, and subsequent efforts like 1992's Heaven and Earth and 1994's Tenderness found greater success with adult contemporary audiences.  A string of budget compilations and original albums hit the shelves at the end of the decade, but into the turn of the century his original output slowed down. That was until he signed with the Verve/GRP label in 1998 and reunited with producer Tommy LiPuma. LiPuma had produced Jarreau's ostensible 1975 debut, We Got By, and the pairing seemed to reinvigorate Jarreau, who went on to release three stellar albums under LiPuma's guidance, including 2000's Tomorrow Today, 2002's All I Got, and 2004's Accentuate the Positive. Givin' It Up, recorded with George Benson and released in 2006, was nominated for three Grammy Awards each one for a different song. Jarreau returned with his first ever full-length holiday-themed album, Christmas, in 2008. Four years later he offered a live recording, Al Jarreau and the Metropole Orkest: Live, performing alongside the Dutch ensemble. ~ Jason Ankeny http://www.allmusic.com/artist/al-jarreau-mn0000606283/biography

R.I.P.
Born: March 12, 1940, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Died: February 12, 2017, Los Angeles, California, United States

Ain't No Sunshinne

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Bob James, David Sanborn - Double Vision

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 43:15
Size: 99.0 MB
Styles: Piano jazz, Crossover jazz
Year: 1986/2014
Art: Front

[6:47] 1. Maputo
[6:16] 2. More Than Friends
[7:03] 3. Moon Tune
[5:49] 4. Since I Fell For You
[5:13] 5. It's You
[6:27] 6. Never Enough
[5:36] 7. You Don't Know Me

Bass – Marcus Miller; Drums – Steve Gadd; Guitar – Paul Milton Jackson Jr.; Keyboards, Synthesizer, Arranged By [Rhythm & Synthesizer], Programmed By – Bob James; Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa; Saxophone – David Sanborn.

This combination works quite well. Poppish keyboardist/arranger Bob James joins with electric bassist Marcus Miller, drummer Steve Gadd, guitarist Paul Jackson, percussionist Paulinho da Costa, and (on two songs) guitarist Eric Gale to accompany the distinctive and always soulful altoist David Sanborn. Sanborn caresses the strong melodies, mostly originals by James and Miller, and plays well with guest vocalist Al Jarreau on "Since I Fell for You." One of the best recordings ever released under James' name (Sanborn gets co-billing) and a big seller. ~Scott Yanow

Double Vision 

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Al Jarreau - Tenderness

Styles: Jazz, vocal
Year: 1994
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 72:39
Size: 168,5 MB
Art: Front

(5:13)  1. Mas Que Nada
(7:36)  2. Try A Little Tenderness
(6:05)  3. Your Song
(5:21)  4. My Favorite Things (Feat. Kathleen Battle)
(7:39)  5. She's Leaving Home
(6:17)  6. Summertime
(6:04)  7. We Got By (Feat. David Sanborn)
(5:54)  8. Save Your Love For Me
(5:26)  9. You Don't See Me
(5:52) 10. Wait For The Magic
(5:24) 11. Dinosaur
(5:42) 12. Go Away Little Girl

Rather than do a strictly studio or strictly live album next, Jarreau recorded a "live in the studio" affair before an invited audience and this time he would not be bothered with the latest new mediocre R&B tunes. Spreading his net from the Gershwins through Lennon-McCartney to Jorge Ben, Elton John and himself, Jarreau assembled a core band that includes vets like Joe Sample, Steve Gadd, the late Eric Gale, and producer Marcus Miller and turned himself loose on the songs with a freedom that hasn't been heard extensively on his records since the '70s. As then, he transplants standards of whatever school into his own cross-genre idiom, squeezing his tone through the syllables and flashing his speed scatting. He produces some lovingly drawn-out reprises of "She's Leaving Home" and "We Got By," a semi-funk "Summertime" with echoes of Gil Evans in the horns, and fits into the rapid-fire "Mas Que Nada" in the Brazilian manner-born. Opera diva Kathleen Battle's breathless coloratura soprano makes for an odd, unsettling contrast with Jarreau's snake-like wanderings in "My Favorite Things" (the only track recorded at a separate session in New York; the others were cut in L.A.); Michael Brecker's tenor sax adds a third alien voice to the mix. Those who were first drawn to Jarreau from his live and recorded performances of the mid-'70s are going to like this CD and this time, the new material ("Wait for the Magic," "Dinosaur") is not only interesting and thought-provoking, it makes good use of Jarreau's voice. As with Live In London, a home video of the sessions is available, but contains only ten tracks. ~ Richard S.Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/tenderness-mw0000624282

Personnel:  Alto Saxophone – David Sanborn (tracks: 6; 7), Kenny Garrett (tracks: 8);  Backing Vocals – Jeff Ramsey, Sharon Young, Stacy Campbell;  Bass – Marcus Miller;  Drums – Steve Gadd;  Guitar – Eric Gale, Paul Jackson Jr. (tracks: 1);  Keyboards – Joe Sample, Neil Larsen; Percussion – Bashiri Johnson (tracks: 4), Don Alias (tracks: 11), Paulinho Da Costa;  Producer – Marcus Miller;  Synthesizer – Jason Miles (tracks: 4), Philippe Saisse;  Tenor Saxophone – Michael Brecker (tracks: 4);  Trumpet – Michael "Patches" Stewart;  Vocals – Al Jarreau, Kathleen Battle (tracks: 4)

Tenderness

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Dave Grusin/Lee Ritenour - A Twist Of Jobim

Styles: Piano And Guitar Jazz
Year: 1997
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:36
Size: 132,2 MB
Art: Front

(5:05)  1. Water To Drink (Agua de Beber)
(5:05)  2. Capain Bacardi
(4:57)  3. Dindi
(4:38)  4. Waters of march
(4:04)  5. Bonita
(8:48)  6. Stone flower
(4:46)  7. Favela
(3:53)  8. Children's games
(6:26)  9. Lamento
(5:22) 10. Mojave
(4:28) 11. Girl from Ipanema

The debut release from the I.E. label (which is connected with Polygram) is an unusual multi-artist tribute to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. Some of his tunes are made funky (but in a melodic and tasteful way), while others become quiet (but still passionate) ballads. The treatments are all jazz-oriented, and there is plenty of solo space for the likes of guitarist Lee Ritenour (in one of his finest jazz efforts), pianists Dave Grusin and Alan Pasqua, altoist Eric Marienthal, bassist Christian McBride, and tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts. Plus, there are guest spots for Herbie Hancock (an excellent acoustic piano solo on "Stone Flower"), the sopranos of Art Porter (on "Dindi") and Steve Tavaglione, the Yellowjackets (who team up with Ritenour on "Mojave"), singer El DeBarge ("Dindi") and the vocal duo of Al Jarreau and Oleta Adams ("Waters of March" and a lightweight rendition of "The Girl from Ipanema"). Nearly every song holds one's interest, the melodies are celebrated, and the fresh interpretations contain more than their share of surprises. ~ Scott Yanow  http://www.allmusic.com/album/a-twist-of-jobim-mw0000616318

Personnel: El DeBarge, Al Jarreau, Oleta Adams (vocals); Lee Ritenour (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer); Yellowjackets (guitar); Dan Higgins (flute); Steve Tavaglione (soprano saxophone, EWI); Art Porter (soprano saxophone); Eric Marienthal (alto saxophone); Ernie Watts, Bob Mintzer (tenor saxophone); Jerry Hey (flugelhorn); Dave Grusin, Russell Ferrante (piano, synthesizer); Herbie Hancock, Alan Pasqua (piano); John Beasley (synthesizer); Gary Novak, Harvey Mason, Sr. , Will Kennedy , William Kennedy (drums); Paulinho Da Costa, Cassio Duarte (percussion).

A Twist Of Jobim

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Al Jarreau - My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@VBR ~244K/s
Time: 44:43
Size: 79,2 MB
Art: Front

(4:51)  1. My Old Friend (Feat. Gerald Albright)
(4:08)  2. Someday (Feat. Dianne Reeves)
(4:52)  3. Churchyheart (Backyard Ritual) (Feat. Marcus Miller)
(4:37)  4. Somebossa (Summer Breezin') (Feat. Gerald Albright)
(4:28)  5. Sweet Baby (Feat. Lalah Hathaway)
(3:46)  6. Every Reason to Smile/Wings of Love (Feat. Jeffrey Osborne)
(4:00)  7. No Rhyme, No Reason (Feat. Kelly Price)
(4:32)  8. Bring Me Joy (George Duke, Boney James)
(4:42)  9. Brazilian Love Affair / Up from the Sea / It Arose and Ate Rio in One Swift Bite (Feat. Dianne Reeves)
(4:42) 10. You Touch My Brain (Dr. John)

My Old Friend, Celebrating George Duke (Concord, 2014) is Al Jarreau’s special tribute to his friend and former music collaborator. The multiple Grammy Award-winner is joined by several of George Duke’s many collaborators, including long-time music partner Stanley Clarke. Al Jarreau has invited guest artists Gerald Albright, Dr. John, Lalah Hathaway, Boney James, Marcus Miller, Jeffrey Osborne, Kelly Price, Dianne Reeves and several others to join the celebration and re-interpret some of George Duke’s best known post-bop, jazz, R&B and Brazilian jazz compositions. The album was produced by Stanley Clarke, John Burk, Marcus Miller and Boney James. The 10 songs selected from Duke’s extensive catalogue will lift your spirits and bring back fond memories of George Duke in his heyday. The program opens with the appropriate title track “My Old Friend.” Al Jarreau’s great vocals are supported by an all-star ensemble that not only features his label mate-saxophonist Gerald Albright- but such great artists as Stanley Clarke on bass, Patrice Rushen on piano/keyboards, Paul Jackson, Jr. on guitar, John Robinson on drums and backing vocals by Jeffrey Osborne with several other background vocalists. Although George Duke did not write this song, its selection was certainly on-point because of Al Jarreau’s 50-year friendship with the great musician. Gerald Albright is also featured on “Somebossa (Summer Breezin’)” a song written by Jarreau, Duke, and Patrick Lundquist. This breezy bossa nova-styled song is a gentle reminder of George Duke’s diverse musical abilities and understanding of Brazilian jazz. 

John Burk and Stanley Clarke produced both songs. “Someday” features George Duke’s cousin, the multiple Grammy Award-vocalist Dianne Reeves. She duets with Al on this wonderful George Duke original which also features keyboardist John Beasley and Marcus Miller on bass. Miller also produced the track with John Burk. Dianne Reeves returns later in the program to sing “Brazilian Love Affair/Up from the Sea It Rose and Ate Rio in One Swift Bite.” Her lovely vocals make these songs worth several listens. Marcus Miller is the featured performer on “Churchyheart (Backyard Ritual),” another beautiful song written by Al Jarreau and George Duke. This ballad is sung by Al accompanied by John Beasley on keyboards, Mike Cottone on trumpet, Jubu on guitar, and John Robinson on drums. What makes this song so special is the addition of Miller’s bass clarinet solo that underlines the dynamic vocals of Al Jarreau and adds another great attitude to the hot rhythm section. There is no way to forget the Clarke/Duke monster hit “Sweet Baby” due to its repeated airplay on classic smooth jazz radio stations these days. Vocalist Lalah Hathaway joins Al Jarreau in a remarkable duet. Duke’s writing partner Stanley Clarke plays bass and lends his backing vocals on this lovely reinterpretation of one of their best-loved hits. As a composer/producer/arranger George Duke was behind many artists’ chart-topping hits including Jeffrey Osborne’s. 

Here, Jeffrey sings a medley of the Clarke/Duke hit “Every Reason to Smile” and his own hit "On the Wings of Love.” One of Duke’s major show-stoppers, "No Rhyme, No Reason,” gets a soulful update from Kelly Price with programming by Boney James. Boney James also produced “Bring Me Joy.” This song was recorded by Boney James, Dave Rideau and Seth Presant and mixed by Dave Rideau. It features the original recording of George Duke himself performing on keyboards. James’ haunting saxophonics will surely bring a smile to your face as you remember them playing this amazing song together. The CD closes with Dr. John reinterpreting “You Touch My Brain” a funky, jam that showcases Al Jarreau and Dr. John’s bluesy vocals. Al Jarreau has done a great job with My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke. With his leadership, vocal expertise and the abundance of great artists gathered for the recording, he has definitely extended George Duke’s exciting legacy as well as his own for years to come. http://www.axs.com/al-jarreau-s-my-old-friend-celebrating-george-duke-features-jazz-great-13060

My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke

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