Spaces Revisited
Artist: Larry Coryell

What started as a project to reunite Coryell with Billy Cobham on drums in order to take a second look at the sound and style of the Coryell's Spaces ended up creating a whole new chapter instead. With Richard Bona on bass and Bireli Lagrene on guitar, these nine songs capture the spirit of that 30-year-old session with new, adventuresome... Read More

The Infinite Desire
Artist: Al di Meola
Community Score: 7.00

With the help of new generations of guitar synthesizers and samplers, The Infinite Desire finds a mature, lyrical, more expressive Al di Meola casting his lot with Telarc, which until the late '90s had concentrated its attentions upon aging acoustic jazzers. Indeed, he makes marvelously musical use of the new devices, creating sensuous, exotic... Read More

Show Me What You Can Do
Artist: Frank Gambale
Community Score: 10.00

Gambale and the gang tear it up! Stu Hamm is Levinesque-thundering, Stanley Clarke-kicking bass. Vital Information's Steve Smith's drumming keeps right up when it gets wild and hold things together during spacy chordal splurges. These pros got pumped watching old Mahavishnu Orchestra videos and cranked up the old fusion fires. Gambale surprised... Read More

Sun Song
Artist: Tony Darren

Acknowledging that he couldn't roll all of his jazz, rock, country and blues influences into his high-spirited acoustic guitar debut Sun Song, Darren he emerges with a style that is not as jazz intensive as Metheny's, yet snappy along the light funk lines of Benson's trademark "Breezin'" and heavily Brazilian. The one guitarist who is not on... Read More

Live & More
Artist: Marcus Miller

Marcus Miller is one of the great hyphenates of contemporary rhythm and jazz, equally successful as a producer (Luther Vandross, David Sanborn), songwriter (numerous Vandross hits, James/Sanborn's "Maputo"), and artist in his own right. It's not easy to capture every aspect of the man who has been called the "Superman of Soul" on one disc, but... Read More

Standards My Way
Artist: Kimiko Itoh
The Last Dance of Mr. X
Artist: Andy Summers

Though perhaps best (or at least better) known for his work with the Police, guitarist Andy Summers seems to be doing rather well for himself. He may not be filling arenas and attracting screaming teenage girls, but their mothers can scream pretty loud as well, and as it is to them that Summers now appears to be playing, his maturity and ability... Read More

Stop the Music
Artist: Joel Forrester

Joel Forrestor was, with Philip Johnston, one of the creative geniuses who made up the Microscoic Septet. Since that group dissolved, Forrestor has ventured out on his own with a fair degree of success, especially on this solo piano CD. He wrote the quirky theme for the National Public Radio series "Fresh Air," which is presented here as a solo... Read More

Live at the Berks Jazz Fest
Artist: Heads up Super Band

One of the best sources for in the pocket smooth jazz recordings since the early 90s, Heads Up's promise of a live date featuring three of its most appealing core artists - bassist Gerald Veasley, keyboardist Joe McBride and saxman Kenny Blake - seems like as sure a bet as the genre can offer. In terms of showcasing the varied strengths of each... Read More