Produced by George Duke, this was Reeves's 8th album release. It's a mixed bag; sometimes trying to be a straight-ahead jazz vocal album, sometimes a smooth jazz/pop album, sometimes a world music album. Don't get me wrong - if you want to tackle those genres, by all means do it - but maybe on different albums. If you take each song on its own, however, the performances are fantastic, even if the material doesn't always work.
Guest artists abound: Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, Kevin Eubanks, Cannonball Adderley (through the miracle of technology), Hubert Laws, and, of course, Duke.
Reviews/ratings:
- CashBox
- The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★★½
- The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★★★
Album nominated for Best Jazz Vocal Performance Grammy award, her second nomination.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Peak on Billboard Jazz Albums chart: #6
Tracks: My picks are the tasty swing of Hello Haven't I Seen You Before, the MPB smoothness of Smile, and the joyous nostalgia of Nine (the age, not the time signature as the piece is actually in 7. Also includes a tasty acoustic solo from Eubanks). The only track that truly falls short is a cover of Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, but most Mitchell covers fail so that's not a surprise.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
Dianne Reeves (1987)
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