Najee - Rising Sun (2007)

One of the smooth jazzer's stronger releases. As with most Najee albums, I prefer the tracks with saxophone over those where he plays flute. Don't get me wrong, he's a fine flautist, I just don't particularly care for that sound, especially when compared to his soprano sax sound (which improves with each outing). Not as many ballads on this one, which may be why I like it a little better than his earlier stuff.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart:  Did not chart

Tracks:  My top picks are Clarity (a John Mayer cover), Brazilian Affair, Out Of A Dream, and Still In Love. Even the take on the standard Moody's Mood For Love is good. The only track I'm tempted to skip is Romance The Night.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Morning Tenderness (1998)
Najee Plays Songs From The Key Of Life (1995)
Share My World (1994)
Just An Illusion (1992)
Najee's Theme (1986)

Najee - Najee Plays Songs From The Key Of Life (1995)

Smooth jazzer Najee performs instrumental covers of all the songs, in sequence, from Stevie Wonder's classic 1976 album, Songs In The Key Of Life. Najee is joined by some big names, including George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke, Sheila E., and Ray Parker, Jr. (who is a great guitar player - too bad he'll be known in history only for Ghostbusters). The result is an enjoyable disc, even though it leans towards Muzak at times and there's a little too much flute soloing for my taste. I'll be honest, flute isn't my favorite instrument and it can be heard on 11 of the 18 tracks here. By contrast, soprano saxophone, which appears on the album cover, only appears on 5 tracks. We need some truth-in-advertising here!

A few of the songs are shortened and/or combined with another so that what was originally a double LP set can fit on one disc at about 71 minutes of music. For example, Isn't She Lovely, was 6:34 in Stevie's original; Najee's version clocks in at about 45 seconds. Of course, nothing can compare to the original, but covering Stevie Wonder tunes is never a bad idea. As far as tribute CDs go, I've heard much worse.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: Did not chart
• Billboard R&B: #67

Tracks: The better tracks are Love's In Need Of Love Today, I Wish, Ordinary Pain, and As. You can skip Saturn/Ebony Eyes, All Day Sucker, and Pastime Paradise, which, as you could probably guess, doesn't translate well to jazz flute.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: I purchased this disc at a used CD store in Victoria around 2002 or 2003. I was unfamiliar with Najee at the time but bought this disc because it was Stevie Wonder's music.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Morning Tenderness (1998)
Share My World (1994)
Just An Illusion (1992)
Najee's Theme (1986)

Najee - Just An Illusion (1992)

Definitely a product of its time. Heavy on synth bass and drum programming, this doesn't sound as smooth today as it probably did upon release. On this release especially, I find myself liking Najee's soprano playing more than his tenor playing and much, much more than his flute playing. However, the multiple attempts at hip-hop/jazz fusion fall flat and make this my least favorite Najee album.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #107
• Billboard R&B: #25
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #5
• CashBox Contemporary Jazz: #10

Tracks: I hate myself for enjoying the cover of Color Me Badd's I Adore Mi Amor. I also like Noah's Ark and Until We Meet Again. I'm not wild about the title track, Breezy, Burn It Up, and Here We Go. The other tracks are innocuous.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Morning Tenderness (1998)
Share My World (1994)
Najee's Theme (1986)

Najee - Share My World (1994)

Najee isn't as good as Grover Washington, Jr., but he isn't as bad as Kenny G. His R&B flavored urban jazz music isn't adventurous but, if nothing else, he's consistent. What's surprising: I have 6 Najee CDs in the collection. What isn't surprising: I bought all of them used. Harmless.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #163
• Billboard R&B: #23
• CashBox Jazz: #1
• Billboard Contemporary Jazz: #2

Tracks: The best tracks here are Now That I've Found You (the only song from this CD to make it to 1998's The Best Of Najee), Joy, Heart Like Mine, and Saleemah's Dream. You're better off skipping the tracks Laid Back, I Didn't Know, and (G) Street.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Morning Tenderness (1998)
Najee's Theme (1986)

Najee - Morning Tenderness (1998)

Smooth urban jazz from saxophonist/flutist Najee. The keyboard player on this CD is nicknamed "Big Juicy" which I think is an awesome nickname.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: Did not chart
• Billboard R&B: #65

Tracks: I don't necessarily mean this as an insult, but the music sounds pretty much the same. Lots of heavy bass and female background vocals. For the most part, Najee has a nice saxophone tone quality until he tries to play in the upper register, then his sound gets sharp and pinched. There's a couple of tracks with vocals which I could do without on this type of CD, although Indian Summer isn't too bad.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. This is another smooth jazz CD I purchased used solely for background music at work. To that end, Najee music is great.

Najee - Najee's Theme (1986)

While grading some student work this morning, I though I'd knock out one of my smooth jazz "background music" CDs for the blog. Actually, I think Najee perfers the term "urban jazz" over "smooth jazz". This release is '80s-tastic with lots of synth, drum machine, and cheesy background vocals.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #56 (May 2, 1987)
• Billboard R&B: #12
• Billboard Jazz: #8
• CashBox Jazz: #1

Tracks: Most tracks sound very similar (which is part of the appeal, I suppose), but Najee put together some fairly nice covers of Earth Wind & Fire's Can't Hide Love and Anita Baker's Sweet Love (the latter is probably my favorite cut on the CD). We're Still Love is pretty bad, even by cheesy '80s standards.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None