Over the past two decades, few artists have better defined the distinctly urban flow of the smooth jazz genre -- or better understood its connections to older soul-jazz greats like
George Benson and
Wes Montgomery -- than guitarist
Richard Smith. Yet for all of his nine solid solo releases and work with genre greats like
Dan Siegel,
Richard Elliot,
Rick Braun, and
Kirk Whalum, he's never quite emerged as an A-lister for all-star tours and cruises. What to do? Remember the powerhouse success of
Tom Scott & the L.A. Express, one of his adopted hometown's most influential jazz/pop/funk/R&B bands ever, and figure out a way to update that wild vibe and tradition with his favorite big-name locals. His connections help bring an impressive bunch of cats to the gig: bassist
Brian Bromberg (who produced many of the tracks), drummer
Vinnie Colaiuta, percussionist
Alex Acuña, keyboardist
Jeff Lorber, trumpeter
Greg Adams, saxmen
Gary Meek and
Eric Marienthal, and pianist/vocalist
Patrice Rushen. Who says the West Coast can't blow? While
Smith's
Montgomery/
Benson/
Larry Carlton-influenced electric playing dominates, and
the L.A. Chillharmonic is clearly his vision, this project is a true throwback to the days when blowing and jamming was at least as important as getting a radio-friendly song on the air. This explosive collection does both, mixing catchy-cool hooks (as on the brass enhanced midtempo title track) with more energetic and slightly more improvisation-filled explorations as "Ultimate X," "Boogie on Reggae Woman," the crunching rock blues-influenced "Back in the Day," and the
Siegel co-penned final burst of energy "Alvinator." Those who think that this group might have so much fun riding the rollercoaster that they might forget the "chill" part of their name can rest assured. "Gift" breezes along
Smith's swirling, graceful acoustic and
Lorber's piano, with
Rushen chiming in dreamy wordless vocals.; the
Brian McKnight composed "What We Do Here" is a pure update of the quiet storm aesthetic; and "Agrigento" has a spacy atmospheric sensuality that balances the feisty tone of much of the collection. Since this was one of 2008's best progressive smooth jazz dates, it begged the question: one time all-star joint or the start of something big? Anyone who knows that there's more to smooth jazz than what we hear on the radio should hope for the latter. ~ Jonathan Widran