There was a strong jazz vibe running through some of
Philip Bailey's sides with
Earth, Wind & Fire. On
Soul on Jazz, his second release for Heads Up International, co-producer
Bailey remakes several jazz standards, some with new lyrics by his son, Sir Bailey. The foray is most successful on
Thelonious Monk's "Ruby My Dear," a percussive take on
Gene McDaniels' "Compared to What," and
Joe Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy." R&B and jazz stylishly intersect on the smooth airy ballad "Unrestrained."
Bailey redoes the
EWF classic "Keep Your Head to the Sky," giving it a mellow sheen that's close to one of his past cuts, "Children of the Ghetto." On that and his dusky cover of
Herbie Hancock's "Tell Me a Bedtime Story" and the loopy "Bop-Skip-Doodle,"
Bailey flexes his legendary falsetto. More jazz-oriented than
Dreams,
Soul on Jazz benefits from the sharing of production chores with
Myron McKinley,
Bob Belden, and
Scott Kinsey. The album is definitely on track. ~ Ed Hogan