Bob James/Earl Klugh - Cool (1992)

This album is pleasurable enough, just not very memorable. I'm not sure what it is about the collaborations between these two that seem to bring out the bland in each other. James has had good collaborations (I'm thinking specifically of Double Vision) and so has Klugh (Laws and Benson come to mind) so I don't know why this one never gets me going. But it was a #1 album so what do I know? I guess it's decent enough for your Sunday jazz brunch next weekend. Whaddaya mean you don't have a jazz brunch every Sunday?

Reviews/ratings:

• CashBox: "an exceptional jazz album"
• Billboard: "a pleasant quartet set that's as elegantly performed as it is emotionally toothless"
• The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide (1999): ★★
• The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz (1999): ★★

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #170
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #1
• Billboard R&B: #88

Tracks: Of the 12 tracks, 4 were written by Klugh, 5 were written by James, and they wrote one together. I tend to gravitate towards the Klugh originals, the best of which is The Sponge.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Two of a Kind (1982)

Bob James & David Sanborn - Double Vision (1986)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by a CD.

In 1986, I would have purchased an album of David Sanborn playing children's music on a plastic recorder. I had seen him in concert twice by then and considered myself a full-on fan. And Jarreau's on this thing, too? Sign me up! Probably purchased in the late summer of '86, this LP got a lot of playing time during my junior year of college and for more than a full year after its release. Most of these tracks wouldn't have been out of place on Sanborn's Backstreet album and that's fine with me.

Billboard, May 31, 1986, p. 60

"...both players' sizable followings..." That's was certainly me in 1986 and not much has changed since then on that front.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #50
• Billboard Pop CD: #10
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• Billboard R&B: #16
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• CashBox CD: #11
• Rolling Stone: #27

Tracks: Let's rank 'em!

1. Since I Fell For You, a 1945 standard with the aforementioned Al Jarreau on vocals. #1 in a landslide. Peaked at #10 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart after appearing on the Moonlighting soundtrack album.
2. It's You, written by Sanborn.
3. You Don't Know Me, cover of a 1956 Eddy Arnold tune
4. Never Enough, written by James & Sanborn.
5. Maputo, written by bassist Marcus Miller
6. More Than Friends, written by Miller
7. Moon Tune, written by James & Sanborn

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Like many college students, I had a minimum wage manual labor job in the summers. In the summer of '87, my main job was re-glazing and painting window frames. Most days, I was completely alone except for a water jug and my Walkman or radio. I must have sung Since I Fell For You about 100 times that summer. At the top of my lungs. With no complaints from the neighbors. (No record contract offers, either, but that's neither here nor there.)

And I'll probably listen to that track at least three more times before taking this disc out of the tray.

Previously revisited for the blog:

David Sanborn	Bob James
Original Album Series (2010)	Playin' Hooky (1997)
Timeagain (2003)	Rameau (1984)
Love Songs (1995)	Two of a Kind (1982)
The Best of (1994)
Hearsay (1994)
Upfront (1992)
Another Hand (1991)
A Change of Heart (1987)
Straight To The Heart (1984)
Backstreet (1983)
As We Speak (1982)
Voyeur (1981)
Beck & Sanborn (1975)

Bob James - Playin' Hooky (1997)

Note: this CD released using HDCD encoding.

In which Mr. James gets together with some great guests and produces something a little different than his usual solo stuff. To my ears, the guests seem to push James a little and I'm digging the results. The collaborations hearken back to his '70s works while still sounding contemporary in the '90s (if that makes any sense). But it's all smooth and works great after a long day in the cubicle farm.

Notable names include: Steve Gadd, Fareed Haque, Dave Samuels, Boney James, Paul Brown, Chuck Loeb, Nathan East, and Rick Braun.

Playin' hooky from where? Fourplay? Or maybe his usual output?

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart.
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #4

Tracks: My top picks are Playing With Fire, Mind Games, and Hook Line & Sinker. The only track I'll skip is the awkward take on Gershwin's 1922 tune, Do It Again.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Rameau (1984)
Two of a Kind (1982)

Earl Klugh and Bob James - Two of a Kind (1982)

NUMBERS WEEK (MARCH 14-20, 2011)

These two were at the height of their popularity at the time this album was recorded. Bob James is more of an easy listening keyboardist than a jazz musician (his most famous work is the theme from the TV show Taxi), while Klugh is a laid back acoustic guitarist. Not surprisingly, the best tracks are those that Klugh wrote and James just noodles around on the Fender Rhodes. This was the duo's second collaboration; they released One On One in 1979.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #44
• Billboard Jazz: #1
• Billboard R&B: #23
• CashBox: #44
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• Radio & Records Jazz Radio National Airplay: #1
• Rolling Stone: #50

Tracks: The opening track, The Falcon, is not a good way to start off an album, but the duo bounces back quickly with Whiplash. Sandstorm, Where I Wander, and Wes are all good Klugh tunes.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Bob James - Rameau (1984)

Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD.

Jean Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) was a French composer during the Baroque era. Jazzer James takes some of Rameau's keyboard pieces, reworks them, and performs them on both digital and analog synthesizers (OB-8, Jupiter 8, Yamaha GS-1 & 2, Minimoog, etc.). Somehow, James avoids having this sound like a Wendy Carlos album. His arrangements are tasteful and the sounds he chooses seem to serve the music. James originally recorded some of these tunes to give as Christmas gifts to friends and the music is well-suited to the season. An interesting listen, but this disc isn't for someone giving Rameau some serious study; not for purists. This CD is out-of-print as of this writing.

Stereo Review, February 1985

Tracks: my favorite piece is the Gavotte & 6 Doubles which has some fantastic variations. I also like La Chasse and Les Niais de Sologne. The Tambourins at the end of the CD are a poor way to end the disc.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I remember hearing this for the first time as a college freshman. Some upperclassmen were having a party and someone put this on and tried to show how much he knew by analyzing it non-stop (this is what passes for entertainment at a party for music majors). While this analysis impressed a wide-eyed 18-year-old, I now know better. Dude was full of crap.