Customer Reviews

Presence

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Presence finds Chuck Loeb squarely back in the smooth jazz camp after two solo releases that veered more toward straight ahead. It's a welcome return. While the New York guitarist's work with projects such as Steps Ahead and Metro prove that he has the chops to play straight, his pop-jazz style is more accomplished.

One of the veterans of the smooth jazz scene, Lobe has, besides recording more than half a dozen of his own solo projects, produced for Spyro Gyra, Bob James, Walter Beasley, Larry Coryell, Jeff Kashiwa, and Kim Waters, among others. He has written for film and television, and in his early career in the 70's was the composer, arranger and bandleader for the Stan Getz Orchestra.

Like the best of his previous work, Presence is remarkable for Loeb's light touch on the guitar, on songs like the elegiac title track written for Loeb's recently deceased father-in-law, or in his lilting acoustic lines on the James Taylor cover, Shed a Little Light, or in just the right amount of country twang in The Western Sky (in which Loeb trades lead with Till Bronner's plaintive trumpet).

On hand for this recording, his first on Heads Up Records, is a host of Loeb's past and present touring band mates, as well as guests Andy Snitzer, Paul Brown, Dave Mann, Till Bronner, Wolfgang Haffner, Mitchel Forman, and vocalist Carmen Cuesta-Loeb. Altogether a stellar cast for a fine recording.

Welcome back, Chuck.

This album includes a group of soothing songs that consolidate certain musical instruments to encapsulate a virtually perfect jazz album.
"Good To Go" is a jovial rollick complete with guitar work from Loeb and string work from Mitchel Forman. It's an upbeat song that will get you in a peppy mood.
"Rikki Don't Lose That Number" has synthesizer bass work and fender Rhodes play from Loeb as well as from Mike Ricchiuti and Matt King. Loeb also utilizes his keyboard skills which make this opus an unforgettable one.
"Window of the Soul" is a soulful rhythmic composition that has drum work from Wolfgang Haffner, Brian Dunne and Josh Dion, acoustic bass play from Christian Diener, keyboard work from Loeb and percussion play from Dion for a track that muses different types of instruments into one harmonious exposition.
"Starting Over" has skillful piano play from King, more keyboard and fender Rhodes work from Loeb, Ricchiuti and King for a track that has a marginally modified vibe than the others.
Chuck Loeb's "Presence" definitely has its own charisma and has its own brand of magnetism.
Enjoy !

Chuck Loeb,s new Presence is awesome I give it 9 stars over all. He just keeps getting better & better on each cd he puts out.George Bretzlaff

Chuck, did a great job on this one just about every song is groving when i'm in my VETT chuck playing, great JOB Mr. Loeb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Took a chance on this and was thrilled. This is really nice music if you like
smooth jazz.

From any possible perspective, the presence of the guitar in its double feature - as soloist and supporting instrument in the smooth genre jazz - literally surmounted the accustomed tendencies along the musical evolution. During the seventies, the piano was per excellence the leader voice, notice for instance; Bob James, dave Cruisin, Ramsey Lewis, Chick Corea and Joe Sample were basically the supreme leaders along that decade (we had to remark the presence of Al di Meola ijn the guitar or George Benson were the exception, not the rule) albeit the eighties found its vehicle of expression the sax (Grover Washington Jr. (in memoriam), John Klemmer, Eric Marienthal, Stan Getz diffused and divulgated the sax toward new unthinkable horizons and figured like remarkable supporting instruments in pop ballads (Billy Joel and George Michael became well aware of that, who can deny it?) but then the guitar found in Lee Ritenour, Pat Metheny (since the late seventies) untamed exponents who directly influenced remarkable legends of the actual stages - like Chuck Loeb, Peter White and Nils - and even at least three important rock guitarists turned off their career looking for the enormous expressive possibilities of the smooth jazz (Craig Chaquico. Jeff Golub and Neal Schon).

Since the Nineties the guitar blended with brilliant results with other legendary soloists of the keyboard (Jeff Lorber, Gregg Karukas, Brian Culbertson David Benoit, Freddi Ravel, Keiko Matsui) as well as prominent sax musicians (Rick Braun, Kirk Whalum, Warren Hilll, Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters or Boney James).

This album constitutes for Chuck Loeb, another artistic feat, the fresh, fertile audacious and amazing artistic power is there, radiant of resplendent vitality.

Don't ever this album pass out your list of personal acquisitions and surprising gifts.

I'm a Chuck Loeb fan and this album does not disappoint. Track 1 and Track 5 are my favorites. If you want to bunp things up a knotch to an uptempo album try Chuck's EBOP album. Sonny

aThis cd is really a piece of jazz memorabilia. I had never heard Chuck before and found his melodies both soothing and [...]. He reminds me of the Chuck Mangione era of jazz when the greats were popping and the wannabe's went hopping. Excellent tones and rhythmic unity on all of his collaborations

2 1/2

Much of the smoothed-out guitar work on display here comes across d.o.a. from the typical soulless tempos which guides so much of the waiting-room side of this genre, though Loeb is keen to insert a few numbers with far more vibrancy and compositional lure so as to attract a few extra listeners outside the smooth jazz spectrum as well.

This CD is alright, But it doesn't seem to have the impact of previous works by Chuck Loeb. The title track Presence isn't what I expected.
I would strongly suggest intense listening a few times.