A true elder statesman of contemporary jazz (whose seminal mid-'80s recordings helped pave the way for the smooth jazz genre), pianist
David Benoit stayed relevant, fresh, and funky due to three factors -- brilliant melodies, stylistic diversity from track to track, and working with hip, edgy producers.
Rick Braun co-produced two of
Benoit's recent, similarly brilliant offerings,
Professional Dreamer (1999) and
Fuzzy Logic (2001), and on Right Here, Right Now assumes the helm fully, guiding
Benoit through a wide terrain of musical territory, sometimes adding his own trumpet expertise. There's the ongoing fun of funk/soul triumphs like "Watermelon Man" (
Herbie Hancock's classic fashioned with the old-school bounce of another
Benoit influence,
Ramsey Lewis), the retro-minded title track, and the brassy jam "Jellybeans and Chocolate" (featuring
Brian Culbertson and
Euge Groove).
Benoit's more thoughtful side emerges on the film score-like "Le Grand," an unofficial tribute to the style of
Michel Legrand featuring a dense percussion atmosphere, and the understated, melancholy "Quiet Room," a tribute to
Benoit's late father (featuring
Braun and guitarist
Pat Kelley) and something of a sequel to his Grammy-nominated piece "Dad's Room."
Benoit's other stops include hitching posts in "Swingin' Waikiki" (ah, the joy of bossa, featuring saxman
Andy Suzuki) and a mystical, bass-throbbing "Third Encounter." Aside from his occasional
Vince Guaraldi reduxes,
Benoit with a few exceptions never much relied on cover tunes, but here includes two besides the
Hancock tune -- a dreamy "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" with
Peter White and an orchestra, and a sparse easy listening cover of "Don't Know Why." Years passed, smooth jazz radio kept playing his oldies, yet his new stuff kept getting better and better. ~ Jonathan Widran