Customer Reviews

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Bob James continues to show himself a master of contemporary jazz in this, his last jazz album for what was then CBS records. It was out of print for a long time, but is now back in print on Warner Bros. The CD starts off with the rockish "No Pay, No Play", featuring Bob's new discovery, saxophonist Kirk Whalum. Also fearured are the Howlin' Horns with Blood, Sweat, & Tears trumpeter Lew Soloff. "Courtship" (the official basketball theme of the 1984 Olympics) features Bob on basketballs, and Marcus Miller on bass (and killer solos from Eddie Daniels and George Young). "Moonbop" features guitarist David Brown along with Bob at the keys. Brown again steps in for the CD's funkiest track "I Need More Of You". Kirk Whalum heads off the second half and brings along his band for "Ruby, Ruby, Ruby" (which the saxophonist composed three years earlier for his wife). The moody "Midnight" features Whalum, Eric Gale, and Gary King. Last is the "duet" between Bob and David Brown entitled "Legacy". One is reminded faintly of Chick Corea. Also of note is the CD's back cover with it's nostalgic newspaper clippings.

Bob James's string of artistically satisfying albums that....in many ways seemed to belong to their own genre in a lot of ways continued with this excellent 1984 release. Perhaps looking to the "retro neuvo" style of the mid 1980's "No Pay,No Play" starts everything out with a hot,horn driven early 60's style soul shuffle mixed with plenty of Bob's natural pop savvy and some sassy boogie woogie kind of piano. "Courtship",the 1984 Olympic football theme is a funky reminder of Bob's way with highly cinematic grooves and,again his sense of songcraft is intact. On "Moonbop" and "I Need More Of You" the sound of electro funk which factored highly on his 1982 recording Hands Down is again looked to and Gary King's bass is at a primary forefront. On "Ruby Ruby Ruby" and "Midnight" Bob introduces us to Kirk Whalum who,while later proving somewhat inconsistant in his embrace of smooth jazz clishes actually delivers here,especially on his own composition of the two-both of them being the lighter ends of the album in terms of tempo and feeling. The final tune "Legacy" finds a middle ground with kind of a jazz-pop slow groove where Dave Brown takes the main them on guitar. For the most part Bob James albums contain much quality work,a weaker tune here and there but there are always many things to enjoy. And even at points where he was the dartboard target for anti fusion musicians and critics Bob James has proved very adaptable in terms of the production values of when he's recording and remaining contemporary. Also being full of fresh ideas and highly memorable compositions and impeccable players show that,whatever you may call his music in terms of style there is definately a lot to admire.

I had a few Bob James LPs on vinyl, but this is the only one so far I've bothered to get on CD. This album features more of a "pop" sense than more of his other work, and it mainly avoids the generic NAC sound that can bore me at times. The members of the band each wrote one song, and they're mostly excellent numbers. Bassist Gary King's "No Pay No Play" is a rousing funk piece, and guitarist David Brown's "Moonbop" is an odd but intriguing uptempo number. Saxist Kirk Whalum (who was considered an "exciting young find" back then) contributes "Ruby Ruby Ruby", which isn't bad but not horribly compelling. Bob James' contributions aren't bad, either - "Courtship" (which I believe was used for Olympic basketball) is quite catchy, and the excellent "I Need More of You" is a tune that gets stuck in my head for days. "Legacy" ends the album on a very beautiful note, with its piano and acoustic guitar. Only "Midnight" fails to make much impression with me. Probably the best "pop" album Bob James could make.