Customer Reviews

All My Friends Are Here

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this for the Bette Midler track but was gladly surprised that all the tracks were done very well. Very jazzy mood, laid back and fun! Arif definitely had his hand in this production! All the songs were arranged and or composed by Arif Mardin. Love the packaging as well as the music!

It feels like Arif Mardin freed his musical soul on this album. It is his swan song, but comes off more like the finale of a fireworks display!

The songs range from quirky (Dual Blues) to lush and seductive (So Blue). The production is exquisite (as you would expect!) Some tracks are dressed in lush arrangements, some are more sparse, featuring rich piano and soulful upright bass. The one thing that touches me most about this album? For all its jazzy sophistication, it is so emotionally intimate-ending with the final track, "Wistful", where we are serenaded by Arif himself sweetly playing the piano. The divas and luminaries that Arif produced throughout his career are all here! Chaka Kahn, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, Norah Jones--and they are brilliant. Play this album through just once and you will feel like a friend too!! Love it!!

This project is a must have. The standout cut is the Chaka Khan/David Sanborn collaboration entitled "So Blue". This is the highlight of the project and is a prime example of Arif's magical genius. May he rest in peace.

Five stars - this is a beautiful cd. Every song wonderful. I'd never heard of Arif Mardin, but what a song writer. I heard Nora Jones' song, Longing for You, on Sirus and I had to have the cd.

Let me start off by saying I am not a jazz fan, and pretty neutral about most the vocalists on this record. Too often, in my opinion, jazz (and blues) breaks into tiresome cliches, but not here. I don't know if its because many of the vocalists are bringing something different to the genre, or its just the arranger/producer touch, but everything has a fresh feel to it.

This is OK. A little to Jazzy for my personal tastes. With the names associated with this product, one might think it would be more pop. No doubt about it though, Arif Mardin contributed greatly to popular music!! Long live the king!

WHILE SOME OF THE MUSIC HAS GOOD ARRANGEMENTS ALOT OF THE SINGERS ARE NOT TELLING A GOOD JAZZ STORY.A LITTLE FLAT IN A FEW PLACES.