The drummer with the very successful rock group
Journey for seven years,
Steve Smith left the band in 1985 to devote his career to jazz and specifically his group
Vital Information. This CD is taken from their tour of August 1989 and features
Smith's unit (which also includes
Larry Schneider on reeds, guitarist
Frank Gambale, keyboardist Tom Coster, and bassist
Larry Grenadier) playing a strong set of group originals plus the standard "I Should Care" (a straight-ahead feature for Coster and the rhythm section). Although Coster uses electronics on some of the pieces, much of his date is simply high-quality acoustic jazz; even the funkier material swings. Recommended. ~ Scott Yanow