Beginning in the late '80s, saxophone master Gerald Albright recorded numerous successful solo albums for Atlantic when he wasn't busy assisting an impressive, and mammoth, roster of popular R&B artists. Born in South Central Los Angeles, the saxophonist idolized James Brown and took much influence from Maceo Parker and Cannonball Adderley. He... [+] Read More

Beginning in the late '80s, saxophone master Gerald Albright recorded numerous successful solo albums for Atlantic when he wasn't busy assisting an impressive, and mammoth, roster of popular R&B artists. Born in South Central Los Angeles, the saxophonist idolized James Brown and took much influence from Maceo Parker and Cannonball Adderley. He first made a name for himself within the music industry during the 1980s, when he became a highly requested session musician. His revered reputation resulted in a solo contract with Altantic Records. His first album for the label, Just Between Us, introduced him to the masses in 1987, and numerous albums resulted, including a best-of collection in 2001. Albright's fame peaked in the early '90s, around the time he released Live at Birdland West, a brave album for the saxman showcasing his ability to play jazz as well as R&B. He moved from Atlantic to GRP in 2002 for the Groovology album, his first in over five years, and continued to maintain his busy schedule as a sessionman. His second GRP album, Kickin' It Up, followed in 2004. Two years later he appeared on Peak Records, which released New Beginnings. Some of the more well-known artists Albright assisted during his career include Anita Baker, Quincy Jones, the Temptations, Phil Collins, Whitney Houston, and many, many more. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Kenny G. has long been the musician many jazz listeners love to hate. A phenomenally successful instrumentalist whose recordings make the pop charts, G.'s sound has been a staple on adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio stations since the mid-'80s, making him a household name. Kenny G. is a fine player with an attractive sound (influenced a... [+] Read More

Kenny G. has long been the musician many jazz listeners love to hate. A phenomenally successful instrumentalist whose recordings make the pop charts, G.'s sound has been a staple on adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio stations since the mid-'80s, making him a household name. Kenny G. is a fine player with an attractive sound (influenced a bit by Grover Washington, Jr.) who often caresses melodies, putting a lot of emotion into his solos. Because he does not improvise much (sticking mostly to predictable melody statements), his music largely falls outside of jazz. However, because he is listed at the top of "contemporary jazz" charts and is identified with jazz in the minds of the mass public, he belongs in this book.

Kenny Gorelick started playing professionally with Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1976. He recorded with Cold, Bold & Together (a Seattle-based funk group) and freelanced locally. After graduating from the University of Washington, G. worked with Jeff Lorber Fusion, making two albums with the group. Soon he was signed to Arista, recording his debut as a leader in 1982. His fourth album, Duotones (which included the very popular "Songbird"), made him into a star. Soon he was in demand for guest appearances on recordings of such famous singers as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Natalie Cole. Kenny G.'s own records have sold remarkably well, particularly Breathless, which has easily topped eight million copies in the U.S.; his total album sales top 30 million copies. 1994's holiday album Miracles, and 1996's Moment continued the momentum of his massive commercial success. He also recorded his own version of the Celine Dion/Titanic smash "My Heart Will Go On" in 1998, but the following year he released Classics in the Key of G, a collection of jazz standards like "Round Midnight" and "Body & Soul," possibly to reclaim some jazz credibility. Regardless, he has made the soprano sax sound appealing to millions of fans, while simultaneously annoying many jazz purists. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

George Howard's polished fusion of funk, jazz and urban soul helped the soprano saxophonist become one of the most popular contemporary jazz performers of the '80s and '90s. Since he concentrated on groove and overall sound instead of improvisation, Howard never received much attention from jazz critics, but he retained a large audience well... [+] Read More

George Howard's polished fusion of funk, jazz and urban soul helped the soprano saxophonist become one of the most popular contemporary jazz performers of the '80s and '90s. Since he concentrated on groove and overall sound instead of improvisation, Howard never received much attention from jazz critics, but he retained a large audience well into his second decade of performing.

Howard began his musical career in the late '70s. He received his first break when Grover Washington, Jr., one of his musical idols, invited him on a tour in 1979. The tour helped establish Howard's name, and in 1982 he released his debut album, Asphalt Garden, on Palo Alto. The record was a moderate hit, as was its follow-up, 1984's Steppin' Out. It wasn't until the 1985 release of Dancing in the Sun that Howard earned a large audience. The album reached number one on the contemporary jazz charts. Following the release of Dancing In the Sun, he moved to MCA, where he issued A Nice Place to Be, Reflections, Personal and Love Will Follow. All four records were considerable successes on the charts. In 1991, Howard signed to GRP, releasing his debut Love and Understanding that year. It was followed by Do I Ever Cross Your Mind in 1992 and When Summer Comes in 1993. A Home Far Away was released in 1994, and Attitude Adjustment was issued in 1996. All of his GRP recordings were quite successful, confirming his place among the most popular contemporary jazz performers of the '90s. His first five years with GRP, plus a selection of his MCA recordings, were summarized on 1997's The Very Best of George Howard. Howard returned to recording with Midnight Mood, which was released in January 1998.

Sadly, it was the last record he would release in his lifetime. He died unexpectedly March 29, 1998. A few months later, his last recording -- a version of Sly Stone's There's A Riot Goin' On, which was conceived as part of Blue Note's cover series -- was released. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

George Benson is simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, but he is also an amazingly versatile musician; and that frustrates critics to no end who would paint him into a narrow bop box. He can play in just about any style -- from swing to bop to R&B to pop -- with supreme taste, a beautiful rounded tone, terrific speed, a... [+] Read More

George Benson is simply one of the greatest guitarists in jazz history, but he is also an amazingly versatile musician; and that frustrates critics to no end who would paint him into a narrow bop box. He can play in just about any style -- from swing to bop to R&B to pop -- with supreme taste, a beautiful rounded tone, terrific speed, a marvelous sense of logic in building solos, and, always, an unquenchable urge to swing. His inspirations may have been Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery -- and he can do dead-on impressions of both -- but his style is completely his own. Not only can he play lead brilliantly, he is also one of the best rhythm guitarists around, supportive to soloists and a dangerous swinger, particularly in a soul-jazz format. Yet Benson can also sing in a lush soulful tenor with mannerisms similar to those of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway; and it is his voice that has proved to be more marketable to the public than his guitar. Benson is the guitar-playing equivalent of Nat "King" Cole -- a fantastic pianist whose smooth way with a pop vocal eventually eclipsed his instrumental prowess in the marketplace -- but unlike Cole, Benson has been granted enough time after his fling with the pop charts to reaffirm his jazz guitar credentials, which he still does at his concerts.

Benson actually started out professionally as a singer, performing in nightclubs at eight, recording four sides for RCA's X label in 1954, forming a rock band at 17 while using a guitar that his stepfather made for him. Exposure to records by Christian, Montgomery, and Charlie Parker got him interested in jazz, and by 1962, the teenaged Benson was playing in Brother Jack McDuff's band. After forming his own group in 1965, Benson became another of talent scout John Hammond's major discoveries, recording two highly regarded albums of soul-jazz and hard bop for Columbia and turning up on several records by others, including Miles Davis' Miles in the Sky. He switched to Verve in 1967, and, shortly after the death of Montgomery in June 1968, producer Creed Taylor began recording Benson with larger ensembles on A&M (1968-1969) and big groups and all-star combos on CTI (1971-1976).

While the A&M and CTI albums certainly earned their keep and made Benson a guitar star in the jazz world, the mass market didn't catch on until he began to emphasize vocals after signing with Warner Bros. in 1976. His first album for Warner Bros., Breezin', became a Top Ten hit on the strength of its sole vocal track, "This Masquerade," and this led to a string of hit albums in an R&B-flavored pop mode, culminating with the Quincy Jones-produced Give Me the Night. As the '80s wore on, though, Benson's albums became riddled with commercial formulas and inferior material, with his guitar almost entirely relegated to the background. Perhaps aware of the futility of chasing the charts (after all, "This Masquerade" was a lucky accident), Benson reversed his field late in the '80s to record a fine album of standards, Tenderly, and another with the Basie band, his guitar now featured more prominently. His pop-flavored work also improved noticeably in the '90s. Benson retains the ability to spring surprises on his fans and critics, like his dazzlingly idiomatic TV appearance and subsequent record date with Benny Goodman in 1975 in honor of John Hammond, and his awesome command of the moment at several Playboy Jazz Festivals in the 1980s. His latter-day recordings include the 1998 effort Standing Together and 2000's Absolute Benson. All Blues appeared in spring 2001 followed by Irreplaceable in 2004. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide [-] Hide

One of the most popular groups in what is loosely termed "contemporary jazz," the Rippingtons were formed (and have been led ever since) by guitarist/keyboardist Russ Freeman (no relation to the veteran West Coast bop pianist of the same name). Freeman (born February 11, 1960, in Nashville) studied at Cal Arts and UCLA, and recorded Nocturnal... [+] Read More

One of the most popular groups in what is loosely termed "contemporary jazz," the Rippingtons were formed (and have been led ever since) by guitarist/keyboardist Russ Freeman (no relation to the veteran West Coast bop pianist of the same name). Freeman (born February 11, 1960, in Nashville) studied at Cal Arts and UCLA, and recorded Nocturnal Playground as a leader in 1985 for the Brainchild label, a one-man project. In 1987, he was approached to record for the Japanese Alfa label and came up with the Rippingtons name for the all-star group he used on the disc (Moonlighting), an ensemble featuring David Benoit, Kenny G., and Brandon Fields. Their album was released domestically by Passport and became a hit. Freeman soon formed a regular touring band (usually including saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa, bassist Kim Stone, drummer Tony Morales, and percussionist Steve Reid), cut a second disc for Passport, and the group recorded regularly for GRP. Russ Freeman writes all of the music for the Rippingtons, much of which falls in the pop/R&B genre. In the late '90s, the group moved over to the Windham Hill label, recording such albums as Black Diamond (1997), Topaz (1999), Live! Across America, and Life in the Tropics (both in 2000). For 2003's Let It Ripp, the band relied heavily on their horn section to carry the weight of the album. The Latin-flavored Wild Card followed in 2005. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide [-] Hide

During the 13 years he spent recording for Warner Bros., David Sanborn had more than his share of artistic triumphs, but at times wasted his considerable talents on radio-friendly schlock. Containing more pluses than minuses, The Best of David Sanborn paints an honest picture of his jazz/R&B/pop work for that label. Sanborn's distinctive alto is... [+] Read More

During the 13 years he spent recording for Warner Bros., David Sanborn had more than his share of artistic triumphs, but at times wasted his considerable talents on radio-friendly schlock. Containing more pluses than minuses, The Best of David Sanborn paints an honest picture of his jazz/R&B/pop work for that label. Sanborn's distinctive alto is a joy on both rugged, gritty jazz/R&B like "Slam" and "Anything You Want" and such lyrical and heartfelt ballads as "Rain on Christmas," "A Tear for Crystal," and "Lisa." Meanwhile, a mindless, note-for-note cover of Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Neither One of Us" exemplifies Sanborn at his radio-friendly worst. But despite the inclusion of a few stinkers, this 16-song CD isn't a bad introduction to his Warner Bros. output. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide [-] Hide

All of a sudden, George Benson became a pop superstar with this album, thanks to its least representative track. Most of Breezin' is a softer-focused variation of Benson's R&B/jazz-flavored CTI work, his guitar as assured and fluid as ever with Claus Ogerman providing the suave orchestral backdrops and his crack then-working band (including... [+] Read More

All of a sudden, George Benson became a pop superstar with this album, thanks to its least representative track. Most of Breezin' is a softer-focused variation of Benson's R&B/jazz-flavored CTI work, his guitar as assured and fluid as ever with Claus Ogerman providing the suave orchestral backdrops and his crack then-working band (including Ronnie Foster on keyboards and sparkplug Phil Upchurch on rhythm guitar) pumping up the funk element. Yet it is the sole vocal track (his first in many years), Leon Russell's "This Masquerade" -- where George unveiled his new trademark, scatting along with a single-string guitar solo -- that reached number ten on the pop singles chart and drove the album all the way to number one on the pop (!) LP chart. The attractive title track also became a minor hit single, although Gabor Szabo's 1971 recording with composer Bobby Womack is even more fetching. In the greater scheme of Benson's career, Breezin' is really not so much a breakthrough as it is a transition album; the guitar is still the core of his identity. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Boney James comes from somewhere over in the easy listening corner of jazz, with rhythms bordering on funk in one direction and soft soul in the other, with a lot of programmed drums (very well done) and deep, dark synth bass. Sometimes a male voice will venture out into the mix, but this isn't a particularly significant portion of the program... [+] Read More

Boney James comes from somewhere over in the easy listening corner of jazz, with rhythms bordering on funk in one direction and soft soul in the other, with a lot of programmed drums (very well done) and deep, dark synth bass. Sometimes a male voice will venture out into the mix, but this isn't a particularly significant portion of the program -- just the right sort of sound for this kind of laid-back, late-night, easy listening material. James himself handles alto, tenor, and soprano sax duties with ease, playing relaxed, weaving lines throughout each cut and working with some decidedly pleasant arrangements. Seduction is smooth and self-assured. ~ Steven McDonald, All Music Guide [-] Hide

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