My Inspiration in Bloomington, MN

It's taken a long time, but he finally nailed it.
Everette Harp
is a bona fide star in the smooth, or "contemporary"
jazz
genre. As a saxophonist, his talent is undeniable. One can hear everyone from
Junior Walker
to
Grover Washington, Jr
Stanley Turrentine
,
Cannonball Adderley
, and
David Sanborn
in his playing, which is forceful, song-like and emotive. He cops to it in the liner notes, and that's just fine; that honesty is what frees him up to make the kind of music he wants to and acknowledging those influences places his own music in a direct line from his predecessors. That said, while some of his records have been very good, he's never gotten exactly what he needed from a label or a producer -- or an engineer for that matter -- to really make it all come together in a way that knocks the ball out of the park. Until now, that is. With his move to
Shanachie Records
in 2006,
Harp
found a new creative freedom, to let his
chops shine right along with his
soul
and
funk
grooves.
brought in a bunch of old friends for this date,
George Duke
is here, as is
Jeff Lorber
James K. Lloyd
from
Pieces of a Dream
, but he's done that before. What really gets it here is that the band he put together on this set is tight, sympathetic, and ready to punch it up a notch.
wrote seven of these ten tunes, with one each by
Lloyd
Lorber
, and there's a nice little cover of
"Don't Look Any Further."
's
"Juke Joint"
opens the set, and it's pure funky
J.B.'s
all slicked up with a slippery backing groove, punched up horns, and a melody that exists because the groove is so pronounced. The Rhodes solo by
is smokin' but it's
Alex Al
's rubbery bassline and
leading off a three-piece horn line that makes it pop. The production on this tune is a bit compressed, but there are enough raw edges to really make it pop.
"All Jazzed Up (And Nowhere to Go)"
comes right out of the '70s
CTI
catalog . This could have appeared on either
Washington
Feels So Good
or
Mister Magic
LPs, and that's a very high compliment. The composition is seamless with an elegant soulful melody line, and the keyboard work by
Rex Rideout
is perfect, moving like a snaky
Bob James
in his prime, with
finding the right solo for the groove. The doubling of
A. Ray Fuller
's guitar,
Teddy Campbell
's neat cowbell touches on the drums, and percussion by
Lenny Castro
all over the sound is superb, but it's the larger horn section that's pushing
out front in his solo, and he goes for it without ever leaving the tough yet romantic funky party line. This is one of the hippest tunes
has ever written or cut. The
ballads
are fine, too, as
"In My Time"
illustrates; its lithe Rhodes lines by
Rideout
's melodic invention and vamping on the melody move the tune into a spacious groove. The guitar fills by
Fuller
are simply superb.
"Old School"
is exactly what it claims to be: pure, funky, silky
soul-jazz
that emerges from the late-'70s/early-'80s school complete with
-style synth-string arrangements.
"Funky Palisades"
is in the pocket, tough, lean and mean with startling breaks by
Campbell
on the drum kit.
"Wait 4 U"
is a beautiful little stepper of a mid-tempo ballad with nice interaction between
. The tight percussion on
"Don't Look Any Further"
is another neat little
-
Creed Taylor
touch.
kicks in the groove, and
handles melody, dynamics, and the unique texturing of the tune with some neat wordless backing vocals and an elegant nylon string guitar solo by guest
Dwight Sills
. The set closes with the title tune, a ballad that one assumes was written for
's father, who passed away earlier in 2007. It's a vocal tune with
singing, and it's heartfelt even if it comes off as an odd choice on this kind of a groove-fest. It's one of those tunes he just had to do, and he should be respected for it. It's tacked on at the end of the album. Someone with a larger ego and less taste would have made it first. It's a quiet thank you and tribute even if it departs significantly from the rest of the material here. It's pleasant, but doesn't need to be heard more than once or twice -- unlike the rest of the set, which is addictive. Make no mistake, this is the one where all the previous bonds come off and
emerges full of ideas, his trademark chops intact, and despite his obvious nods to his heroes, he's a player, composer, and producer firmly in his own right. Great. ~ Thom Jurek