Customer Reviews

Shake It Up

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I happened to see a local circular that advertised this cd for sale. I bought it without benefit of hearing a single song. I love it! R.S.V.P. sets up an incredible jam session of two of the most talented horn players on the planet. Both remakes of Hugh Masekela's Grazin'In The Grass are outstanding. I wasn't familiar with any of the vocalists, but the harmonies are tight. The title cut is a very smooth groove! If this cd is an indication of how hot this summer is going to be musically, we're in for a scorcher. This cd will be burning up the charts in no time. This is a must have for fans of these two extremely talented gentlemen. Also recommended, Seduction by Boney James and Body and Soul by Rick Braun. Awesome cd!

I'd been favorably impressed with the music of Boney James (real name James Oppenheim)that I've heard on the radio. Also, one of my students turned me on to him. This album not only features his smooth technique and big sound on tenor, but also great interplay with Rick Braun on trumpet.

There's a nice mix of covers and originals, the most notable covers being a very hip, yet almost reverent rendition of Horace Silver's Song For My Father and instrumental (better) and vocal versions of Grazin In The Grass made famous by Hugh Masekela. There also is a nice mix of tempos, ranging from ballad to driving.

James is a great player, aside from his sound and technique, his R&B influences shine through. This is a nice album and people who enjoy GOOD smooth jazz and funk will like this.

Rushed out and bought this at lunch. Two of my favorites artists have created my now favorite cd. Doesn't matter if you're a Boney James fan, Rick Braun fan or just like GREAT music, buy this work of art. I guarantee you'll like it.

Let me get right to it: this is one of the five greatest smooth jazz albums of all time. There, I said it. Why should you get this record?

First off, even though it is "smooth" or "contemporary jazz" and is played at a very high level, this music is surprisingly accessible. Simply great hooks, fattt beats, and a collaborative vibe that is infectious.

Moreover, the cover art and liner notes are tastefully done, as is the clever title.

Very much a genre benchmark.

I heard this whole CD playin non-stop on some radio station in Dallas and just had to find it. I'm usually more into regular jazz as opposed to smooth jazz, but Rick Braun(trumpet) and Boney James(sax) working together like they do in this album is great. I especially enjoy the remakes of the Freind Of Distinction's Grazin in the grass. Cool, Cool stuff. May God bless us all.

This is the best smooth jazz collaboration CD I have ever heard. On this disc you get Rick Braun, who himself is a great trumpet player along side Boney James. Boney himself is as smooth of a sax player as you can get. This 2000 realese is very well produced. The two often times take on a song together and never do a song alone. Although there are quite a few a slow songs, the tempo is always raised when a fast one comes on. Key tracks include "R.S.V.P.", "Shakin' It Up", and "Grand Central."

This is a great duo. They go together like peanut butter and jelly, like biscuits and gravy, like Micheal Jordan and Scotty Pippen, like an icy road and bald tires. Yes, it's smooth. And it had to happen. Some super remakes, some great new stuff, some riff so deep you just feel them. I'm feelin it. If you like Boney and Ricky, you'll love this album...

While I've enjoyed James' and Braun's music in the past, I would certainly not qualify as a big fan of either of them. But after seeing a video on Ovation of Grazin' in the Grass, I had to give this CD a shot.

While both cuts of Grazin' are very good & accessable, it's Song for My Father that really sticks in my head. I find myself humming this incessently (much to the chagrin of my co-workers). A really first class outing by two musicians who each held their egos in check for the overall quality of the CD.

KNOR in DFW was running this CD while doing equipment tests, so there was no announcer explaining who the artist was. I searched and searched this site and luckily I found this CD by listening to zillions of sample tracks. That's how good these guys are!

Any jazz lover would be crazy not to have heard of Rick Braun and Boney James. Either way, the two were able to break grounds in this 2000 release. The impecable sounds of Braun's trumpet and the smooth rythyms of James's sax playing talent come together in a jazz lover's dream. From the get up harmony of R.S.V.P. to the sweet vocal version of Grazin' In The Grass, this album would be able to appeal to every musical fan, jazz crazed or not. Like every great jazz musician is able to do, James and Braun made sure they gave Shake It Up an always alternating mood. With the album-named single of Shake It Up to put you in a light and very cheerful mood and The Stars Above which could put you to sleep in a heatbeat, it makes you wonder why great jazz musicians don't collaborate as much as even rap artists do. Never the less, with Boney on his sax sounding as good as any one and Rick on his trumpet sounding as legendary as Louis Armstrong did, Shake It Up is a wonderful album that should be recommended to every jazz fan alive.