There's been a lot of talk about retro soul from the likes of Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – artists who have mined vintage sounds largely for the surface and sound's sake. But wunderkind Raphael Saadiq has something more on his mind for his third solo studio set. The Way I See It does sound a lot like a '60s vintage Motown album (with a couple of nods to Philly soul and Stax for good measure), but beneath the meticulously crafted veneer beats some thoughtful excursions. Take the bouncy "Big Easy" which juxtaposes an upbeat track to a bluesy story about a man desperately looking for his woman after the horror of Hurricane Katrina. The powerful "Oh Girl" opens like an Isaac Hayes symphonic soul epic then blossoms into a tender falsetto-sung Philly soul ballad of thanks to a woman who saved a brutha from himself. Also novel is "Just One Kiss" on which Raphael collaborates with newcomer Rocio Mendoza who sings in Spanish in response to his soul macks in English. Meanwhile Raphael plays call and response with a chorus of himself on the Four Tops-reminiscent "Staying in Love" (on which he schools "Falling in love can be easy / Staying in love is too tricky"). There are further duets with soul mate Joss Stone (on "Calling for You") and his protégé' CJ on the Stevie-esque "Never Give You Up," but much of this CD is a one-man show with Ray Ray handling most of the singing and playing chores (save for a few piano parts and the throwback string arrangements of Detroit master Paul Riser). The Way I See It proves that Raphael has been doing some deeper listening than the average bear, upping him from Son of Soul to a man-and-a-half torchbearer.

 

Veteran songwriter/producer Preston Glass has put together an utterly mesmerizing and totally inspired project of healing with a cavalcade of guest artists that pushes each to a deeply purposeful place of love and excellence. From the spiritual flight of "Love Will Get Us Through the Times" (sung by LaToya London), the funky poppin' bass foundation of "Groove Injection' (sung by Preston with protégé Seabron), to the soulful skip of "Blackberry" (a luscious declaration to "Turn off that blackberry / Turn on your love light, baby" f/ former Temptation Ali Woodson), a collaboration between keyboard chameleon Brian Culbertson and the severely underrated Rebbie Jackson titled "Save the Stress for Last," a funk blast from Maurice White called "Panic Button," and a Quiet Storm return to form duet by Larry Graham and Amy Keys titled "Good for Me (Good for You)" (with tasty sax by the Crusaders' Wilton Felder). And that's just half of the album! Glass – a disciple of the legendary Thom Bell- is a sharpshooter when it comes to custom crafting the right pieces for he right artist. He masterfully sustains a sense of purpose here while delivering an aural cornucopia of rejuvenating vibrations – from Reaggaeton ("Burn It" f/ Silver Turtle) and a stepper's tune ("Everybody Let's Dance" by Lyndon Carter) to the heart-mending "In Small Doses by Carlos. Even the interludes are precious. Do not miss this generous 16 track CD which truly lives up to its name.

 

The music industry man of the hour is Lil Wayne who parlayed two years of non-stop mix tape and guest appearance grinding into the first CD to sell over a million copies in its first week in 39 dreary music biz months. Though the project stays true to his bragadocious and salacious reputation with smashes like "Lollipop" and the T-Pain team-up "Got Money," the CD isn't without intrigue. One is the clever "Dr. Carter" on which a nurse brings tired broken down rap casualties to Wayne for diagnoses. Others are the police woman fantasy "Mrs. Officer" (f/ Bobby Valentino), plus a pair of potent hip hop collaborations in "La La" (f/ Brisco & Busta Rhymes) and "You Ain't Got Nuthin'" (f/ Juelz Santana & Fabolous). He even miraculously got veteran soul mama Betty Wright to grace his loopy XXX attitude track "Playing with Fire" despite verses about setting metaphorical p***y ablaze (imagine that…but you don't have to…it's right there on bonus track #14). It's Lil Wayne's world, but what is that world coming to?!?!

 

The release of producer turned performer Anthony David's latest release is a study in reciprocation. Anthony (full name Anthony David Harrington) who was formerly the manager of India.Arie now gets a rejuvenated shot at the big time with the release of Acey Ducey, a compilation of the strongest material from his two indie released albums 3 Chords & The Truth (an acoustic soul classic from 2004) and The Red Clay (it's more contemporary 2006 follow-up) on Arie's vanity imprint Soulbird. The project gives you the best of both David worlds - from a delicious cover of Level 42's "Something About You" and a duet with Irie titled "Words" to a sexy guitar only track about a booty call with an ex-girlfriend titled "Cold Turkey."

 

The space age rock-hop performance trio of the production team The Neptunes explores the picture painting and mind expanding magic of music with their third effort. Though there are more knuckleheaded horn dog pieces here than this writer cared to wade through, two standouts penned by group star Pharrell Williams tower head and shoulders over this effort. The first is "Sooner or Later," a quaint to epic in 60 seconds Beatles-esque heartbreak rock piece that a certain Mr. Kravitz will surely wish was on his last album, and the effervescent "Happy." As the album title suggests, you can get away with murder lyrically when the sonic templates are as brain bashing and color-chorded as what N.E.R.D. (Pharrell, Chad Hugo and rapper Shay) has produced here.

 

Shaking off all manner of easy categorization, the duo of singer Shawnie Mack and singer/trumpeter Johnny Britt continue their blend of sexy smudge fudge of neo-soul-jazz-pop sounds on the defiantly titled It is What it Is. From the funky Sekou Bunch bass groove of "I Wanna Know" and a respectful glide through Marvin Gaye's naughty "You Sure to Ball" to the trumpet-kissed Isley-esque "Keep Doin'" and the sassy club joint "Dance With U," the only aural constant is class. And they definitely know how to talk to a lady with songs like "You're a Queen'; and "I Wanna Marry U." The scat filled "Mojazz" (a nod to their roots) features Dave Thomas and Alvin Chea of Take 6 while the album closer "It Was Love" gives honor to God. Elsewhere the guest list is filled with A-list L.A. cats like Harvey Mason, George Duke, Norman Brown, Ray Parker Jr. and many more. It's all smooth and creamy chocolate goodness from track one to one-one (11).

 

With a new project extends from a revolutionary multi-sax-tracked attack on Ne-Yo's "Because of You," the double-up beats of "Vibe with Me" and the crashing energy of the opener "Just Like That,' saxophonist Eric Darius is claiming a new day in soulful jazzy club-bound instrumental music. "Goin' All Out is about the new directions my music is taking," he states. "When I started writing for this project, my goal was to target the young demographic that doesn't listen to jazz. Being that they're from my generation and I listen to a lot of the hip hop, R&B and pop that they listen to, I incorporated elements of that music so they could relate to it. The trade off is I hope it will inspire them to check out more jazz. I want to open listeners' ears and expose them to new sounds by offering them jazz from a new stylistic approach."

 

Jazz and soul singer Sweet Baby J'ai has been steady building a loyal fan base on the West Coast and beyond with her choice renditions of top shelf repertoire. She stretches herself even further with her latest release which finds her doing the Latin blues boiler "Sweet Corinne," tapping into her inner Helen Reddy on "I Can't Cry For You," recalling sensual moments in sweet afterglow on "You Were Great Last Night," and groovin' you with the jazz musings of her spoken word detour "Exactly Like You (Perpetrating)." Most special of all are two heartfelt pieces J'ai composed herself - "Frida's Song" (soulful props to the pain behind the paintings of the great Frida Kahlo) and the teardrop stained ballad "Upside Down." This super multi-talented lady is going places. Get on the train!

 

Though Ms. Moore recorded the Covered and Uncovered double CD package a couple of years back with her husband Kenny Lattimore, Love the Woman is her first solo outing since 2000's Exposed. The 12 song project finds her continuing in a cautionary bent on the hard work that is the reality of relationships with songs like the first single "It Ain't Supposed to be That Way," the opener "Always Gonna Be Something" and the wedged in "Can't Do It." But there are still detours for sensuality in the samba-tinged "First Kiss," the Raphael Saadiq-produced "Special" and especially the title track "Love the Woman," sadly one of only two songs Chante composed herself this time. She steps to two all but untouchable classics with producer George Duke on covers of the Minnie Riperton swan song "Give Me Time" (penned by Leonard Caston and Lili Hurtado) and Nancy Wilson's signature "Guess Who I Saw Today" with lukewarm results, but it is a treat to hear her swing on the up-tempo finger-snapper "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" (the hidden bonus track). More balance, more focus, more fire and more signature Moore, would have improved her much anticipated fifth CD.

 

For her fourth album after four years, Ashanti delivered the breakthrough single "The Way That I Do" that upped the anticipation for the project. But it's basically bang up business as usual here despite a wide range of producers that spreads from Babyface and Diane Warren to L.T. Hutton and Rodney Jerkins. The one song that has a shot at being a breakthrough club jam (likely with a guest male rapper and remix) is the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Good Good" (on which Ashanti schools ladies on how to keep a man – with good lovin' and good long leash).

 

One of the hottest concert tickets this summer is the reunion of jazz fusion super group Return to Forever. Led by keyboardist Chick Corea and featuring Stanley Clarke on acoustic and electric basses, Lenny White on drums and Al Di Meola on acoustic and electric guitars, this quartet represented the highest level of musicianship with a playful spirit and the ability to go from Latin-classical suites to funk-rock firebombs. They haven't played together since the early '80s, so music heads are seriously fiendin'. To catch everyone else up to speed, Concord Records scored the coup of releasing a 2-disc anthology of the group's best music, personally selected by the group members who all contributed to the liner notes. Consisting of nuggets from both their Polydor and Columbia recordings, the collection is highlighted by the entire Romantic Warrior album (their magnum opus from 1977), the acoustic masterpiece "No Mystery," the jubilant "Celebration Suite," a jam so hard it'll make you slap your mama titled "Sofistifunk" and the entirety of the band's first electric album Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy (featuring original guitarist Bill Connors). 20 songs total, this is ground zero fusion, remixed and mastered from the original analog tapes. Relive the magic, be sure to see the legends live, then get ready for Concord to release an album of all new music by the band in 2009.

 

Stuff was always a curiosity of a band to me. Individually, drummer Steve Gadd, keyboardist Richard Tee, guitarists Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree played on literally EVERYBODY's recording sessions and concerts in every conceivable genre of music. But when they got together at New York clubs under founder/bassist Gordon Edwards, They let their hair down playing down home grooves on tried and true hits like "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)," "That's the Way of the World" and "You Are So Beautiful," along with the occasional original which usually sound like something they came up with very much on the cuff. They had a bedrock blues based style highlighted greatly by the churchy feel of Tee's playing and the unshakable pulse of Gadd (sometimes in tandem with a second drummer Christopher Parker). It was a Parker-less quintet version of Stuff that took the stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1976 to give the crowd the taste of their New York club act. This DVD is a precious document because while most of these cats have been captured in great DVDs backing everyone from Paul Simon to Grover Washington, Jr., there is very little footage of these guys doing their own thing. For fans and especially other musicians, it is a very poignant treasure to behold in all its deceptive simplicity, marred only by a clearly unrehearsed cameo from Odetta singing "Oh Happy Day." The package also includes two very well done liner note essays from Edwards and a very eloquent fan - singer Chris Rea.

 

This is a lovely coffee table book about internationally acclaimed soul jazz pianist Gene Harris, assembled with care, affection and deepest respect by his widow Janie Harris with Bob Evancho. As the leader of the jazz trio The Three Sounds, as a solo artist and as a contributor to the tours and recordings of greats ranging from Ray Charles to B.B. King, Gene's key ingredient to music was joy. His story is told intimately and with many anecdotes both humorous and sobering. In so doing, it also reveals the beauty and strength of their interracial marriage, and the development of his daughter Niki Harris into a world class vocalist in her own right. It's an easy and fascinating read loaded with wonderful career-crossing photographs and a full discography that, of course, is even better with any of Gene's numerous recordings playing in the background as the soundtrack to your literary adventure. You don't even have to already be a fan of this man. Reading this, you will want to become one…in a hurry.

 

Perhaps the most recognized name in Brazilian music other than composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, Sergio Mendes deftly combined the sensual sway of music from his homeland with the ambience of jazz and the accessibility of American pop to create some of the most imaginatively transporting music ever heard. Though bossa nova was already an international sensation when Mendes first came over working in more of a jazz vein, by the time he started the group Brazil '66 at then-new A&M Records in the mid-60s, he hit upon a winning formula of authentic Brazilian music (often composed by his country's most promising new talents) with romantic orchestrations and choice augmented repertoire from the songbooks of Cole Porter to the Beatles. Today Mendes is in godfather mode, basking in the attention of producers and artists – young and older - who he has influenced while also keenly tapping into the sonic palette that they have to offer. The latest result is Encanto, the all-star sequel to his surprise success from 2006 Timeless. While I found aspects of the previous release to range wildly in quality from brilliant (Q-Tip having a rhythmic blast with "The Frog") to insulting (a totally disrespectful version of "Slow Hot Wind"), much more of this new CD is consistently satisfying. The CD opens with Fergie bringing a percussion-based to the often strings drenched "The Look of Love," closes with CD co-producer Will.I.Am adding a respectful rap to the classic "Agua de Beber" while in between Ledisi brings a concentrated diction to the notoriously tricky "Waters of March." Sunny vibes prevail on the single "Funky Bahia" (f/ Siedah Garrett), "Odo-Ya" (f/ Carlinhos Brown) and "Morning in Rio" while the familiar sexy jazz things is masterfully handled by Natalie Cole on "Somewhere in the Hills," the sorely under-recognized Gracinha Leporace on "Catavento" and a dream team of husband and wife Herb Alpert & Lani Hall on Jobim's "Dreamer" on which Sergio on electric piano trades lies with Alpert on trumpet then duets with Hall in Portugese and English…the A&M trio finally all on one sweet song. Now if I can just find my hang glider…

 

When it comes to that phrase about masters making very complex things look deceptively easy, Brazilian drummer Portinho is a prime example. His playing presents a master class in taste, efficiency, swing and subtly flexed power. Since moving to the United States in the early '70s, he has been sought out by South American greats from Argentine sax man Gato Barbieri to Brazilian piano temptress Tania Maria to Calypso king Harry Belafonte to Cuban sax master Paquito D'Rivera. Now leading his own trio with special guest trombonist Jay Ashby, Portinho serves up a superbly balanced set of arrangements that move from Ellington's "Satin Doll" and Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" to a particularly inventive reworking of the Steps Ahead line "Pools" (composed by the late Don Grolnick) and "Homage to Tom" (a piece dedicated to Jobim). Ashby states, "It has been a pleasure to participate on this project with my old friend and mentor Portinho, who taught me the inner meaning of the samba and its artful appreciation. Vinho Do Porto represents a set of great arrangements all of which are perfectly crafted to highlight one of the most unique and distinctive voice of the modern drum set – Portinho."

 

Back in the mid-80s when I had the pleasure of working as the Music Librarian for radio station KUTE "The Quiet Storm," one of the many artists we were proud to introduce to Los Angeles listeners was Brazilian singer Kenia. She had an uncanny knack for sounding like your dream Brazilian girl next door but with a vocal facility that was undeniably accomplished. Her albums Rio/New York and Initial Thrill were heavily requested pieces for us. I was pleased to see that after a ten year hiatus, she has returned in impeccable form with a new CD. On it she reaches back to pre-samba music of choro that was all the rage in Rio in the '20s, along with her usual assortment of Island-kissed American ballads like "Angel Eyes" and "Crazy," the acoustic opener "Par, Impar," the melodically winding "Deixa Dilson Vamos Nelson" and Djavan's "Aviao" (with English lyrics by Lorraine Feather and a new title: "Being Cool"). Here's hoping it doesn't take another decade for the quality conscious Kenia to grace us with more music this good.

 

One of the first superstars when the bossa nova craze swept the country was singer Astrud Gilberto, an accidental star who, as an afterthought, sang the English counterpart to her then-husband Joao's Portuegese on the classic recording of "The Girl From Ipanema" with saxophonist Stan Getz. The single became a multi-million seller and the dainty lady with the simply lovely voice was signed to a deal with Verve Records. Her first three albums proved somewhat uneven as producers experimented too capriciously with her delicate range. But arranging great Gil Evans coaxed a comfortable set of performances out of her for her fourth album Look to the Rainbow (1966), which Verve has just reissued among several other recordings in salute of the 50th anniversary of bossa nova. This CD is highlighted by the opener "Berimbau" (featuring the late Dom Um Romao playing the percussive string instrument of he song's namesake), the romantic "I Will Wait For You" (featuring Johnny Coles on trumpet), the charming title track plus "She's a Carioca." Also nice is "Learn to Live Alone," one of two arranged by Al Cohn on this 11-song classic. Along with its 1967 follow-up Beach Samba (featuring arrangements by Don Sebesky and Eumir Deodato), this CD represents one of the finest Ms. Gilberto ever recorded.

 

One of the most enduring African American family films of the '70s is Claudine, which starred Diahann Carroll as a single mother raising five kids in Harlem while being pursued by a garbage collector played by James Earl Jones. The music for that film was composed by the great Curtis Mayfield and performed by Gladys Knight & The Pips. Though created in one hasty 3-day weekend, this music turned out to be some of the group's most memorable recordings, including the indignant fury of "Mr. Welfare Man" (though a little too long), the definitive version of "The Makings of You," the heartwarming finale "Make Yours a Happy Home" and Gladys' sexiest song EVER "On & On." Because the original Lp only consisted of 7 songs (one of which was a cool Mayfield instrumental), Shout Factory has included another entire soundtrack as a bonus – Pipe Dreams, the ill-fated film that Gladys also starred in. Though nowhere near as strong as Claudine, its 9 numbers include "So Sad the Song," the scat swing vocal of the piano punctuated "Pot of Jazz" (co-penned by Gladys' brother Bubba Knight) and two contributions from the pen of Rev. James Cleveland. Complete with insightful liner notes and photos, this is a wonderful collection of Gladys' 70s film music on one disc.