Urban Daydreams

Should there be any doubt as to why over the course of a few short years in the mid- to late '80s shot from relative obscurity to certifiable contemporary jazz superstardom, this diverse outing will quickly put it to rest. With 's assistance, producer perfectly layers the many adventurous synthesizer riffs and lush orchestration here with 's elegant acoustic piano. penned the most exciting track (if not one of the best cuts of 's early career), the funky and melodic which features the high flying sax work of . either wrote or co-wrote the other eight tunes, ranging from the introspective to the playful but he really strikes pay-dirt on the title track, which has that unmistakable trademark, a mellow beginning and a rousingly upbeat finish. Also a lot of fun is the perky, spirited which he wrote with for a TV special. With each new album, began taking new and inspired chances in the format's early days. On his previous album , it was the classically tinged and here it's Fortunately, he knows just how to please, and so sticks for the most part to the magic touch he has displayed so formidably on the acoustic piano. When you hear a tune, you can instantly identify it. Such definition characterized his even greater output of the '90s. ~ Jonathan Widran