Customer Reviews

Unconditional

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

 

 

Oh the "Never Satisfied" segment of society; always wanting the same, never asking for more. This CD is actually much better than the "For You" set, if for no other reason, 1.) there is more saxophone being played here, and 2.) there are more original(stress- original) songs. I'm not knocking "For You" - I'm just suggesting that artists should get a little credit for being original.

Just my opinion, because of producer Paul Brown's hand in all of this, this disc comes off like a "Boney James disc, except there is a much more soulful tenor sax playing the lead. I give Kirk 4 stars because he is out there with his own voice this time, and theresults work just fine.

If you liked Kirk Whalum's "Colors" disc (again, original stuff), then buy this disc and kick back into the groove.

Don't playa hate.

been a fan of whalums' for years, he always has had the ability to make his sax sing,.. senusal, soothing, deliberate yet powerful very much like a vocalist ...a good vocalist. On this new cd "unconditional', there are some new old and some new. What variety!!! Shadowing the great Glover Washington's Winelight sessions making the sax form words with quickness and ease, with the tune, " Grover worked and underpaid" is not a easy task but Whalum accomplishes this with the right touches. The sheer beauty of "a song for evan, is down right inspirational. "now til forever, is so so infectious, you'll hear this in your head days after. and much to my surprise, a vocalist that he featured on his last album,covering," all I do", a old Stevie Wonder tune. Miss Wendy moten is featured again on this album with a tune called "real love, I have Miss Moten first two solo albums and wondered what happened to such a great upcoming vocalist...you cant imagine how pleasing it is to hear she working with kirk...Cant wait til kirk tours with this album looking forward to the old and the new. Wendy would make a great opening act..... Buy this cd its worth every dollar!!!!

Bottom-Line: Like almost all of Whalum's releases there is not a track on the well produced CD that is, well off-track or mere filler, no track sounds like an after-thought...

Something I didn't know about Kirk Whalum until very recently is that he is a man of the (biblical) cloth, a certified mouthpiece for God. Certainly I knew him as a spiritual being, it so informs his music, which is anything but vapid and soulless; just the opposite is true. Indeed Kirk Whalum is known for his sensual, sexy style of (soprano & tenor) saxophone play.

Whalum plays his sax like no other performer past, or present, save perhaps Grover Washington Jr., and on all of his CD's you can hear the love, and dare I say tenderness, he pours into every track. Who who needs words when Whalum plays, so delicious, soulful, and corporeal is the sound?

Undoubtedly the title of his 2001 release "Unconditional" refers to the love God has for him and that which he has for his "Creator." Be that is it may, the CD is far from a pure spiritual or gospel inspired piece; like all of Whalum's releases over the years "Unconditional" can and should be enjoyed by the masses. The title track Unconditional (No. 5) is not overly spiritual in tone or tenor, but Whalum's textured multilayered sax notes rise powerfully towards the heavens like a soaring choir after making their main harmonious happy musical statements.

Let's back track a bit to the first track, Now Till Forever, which starts off in the classic Whalum calming yet smoking approach to sax playing, harmonizing effortlessly with John Stoddart's soulful scatting.

On Playing With Fire (track No. 8), which was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, Whalum's soaring sax tones are answered, echoed, and given a stronger voice courtesy of the light acoustic guitar renderings of Peter White; late in the piece, Whalum textures and layers his saxophone to mimic a horn section, weaving that lovely sound around White's lofty guitar licks. Wait; hear the calypso beat in the background weaving in and out of the melody like a melodic serpent?
My favorites: track No. 3, God Must Have Spent S Little More Time On You, a cover of the 1999 `N Sync hit and track No. 7 Macy Gray's I Try. No one can cover a Popular hit like Whalum and in a October 2000 Billboard interview he said of the practice of including such hits on his CD's: "It is easy to be narcissistic and insular, to want to get your own point across every time. These songs are accessible to the public, and there is nothing wrong with that. If you think about Louis Armstrong or Count Basie, who have as much integrity as anyone who ever picked up an instrument, they played things that appealed to the public, things that would make people dance. That's not a crime." So true, it's beautiful soulful music.

Whalum is not alone of course, he has again gathered together some of the heavyweights of the genre to perform with him, they include, but are not limited to: Paul Jackson, Jr., Peter White, Michael Thompson, Tony Maiden (guitar); Shai (vocals, keyboards, bass); Wendy Moten (vocals); David Kahlid Woods, Gregg Karukas (various instruments); Greg Phillinganes (Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards); Tim Heintz (organ, keyboards); Roberto Vally (keyboards, bass); Neil Stubenhaus, Alex Al (bass); "Lil" John Roberts, Teddy Campbell (drums); Lenny Castro, Luis Conte, Bashiri Johnson (percussion).

In addition to Playing With Fire's nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Performance, "Unconditional" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album and There You'll Be was nominated for the 2002 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.

Like almost all of Whalum's releases there is not a track on the well produced CD that is, well off-track or mere filler, no track sounds like an after-thought; all of the songs are performed with same aural quality and integrity one would except from a master instrumentalist like Whalum. Smooth Jazz stations are you listening? "Unconditional" is another Whalum CD that is on my musical shelf to stay!

As a tried and true Kirk Whalum fan, I am quite perplexed as to why this CD was cut. It is completely void of this man's true talent and not one track, in my opinion, even hints at the soulful and emotional way he usually plays his horn. As one of my favorite artists, it pains me to say, "Why did you bother?"

Now even Kirk Whalum has been affected by "BONEY-ISM".... Excuse my perception, but if you have your own distinctive voice like Whalum does and you come off sounding like someone else then you lose some of your originality and genuiness. There are actually a few remakes on this album and as evidenced with "For You", Brown and Whalum shined these hits up and gave them a different perspective. Paul Brown is a fine producer but in the future he's gonna have to leave his cookie cutter at the door. This is an average CD at best...you simply expect more from Kirk Whalum.....

Kirk whalum is one of the best smooth jazz sax players out there the cd " Unconditional " is not his best work --- it is one of his better cd's kirk whalum is also a great gospel musician and adds this aspect of his playing and musical background into his cd's and that is one of the things that stops me from giving this cd 5 stars because it takes away from the smooth jazz aspect of the cd's and starts to change the genre if you do not mind this I would suggest listning to kirk's " In this life " cd , but if you want to hear more of a smooth jazz style try " The best of Kirk Whalum " ..

This CD isn't bad, but I think Kirk Whalum really out did himself on his last album "For You" and this one doesn't quite measure up. There are a few nice tracks on this one; I particularly like #1, #4, and #8. But as a whole, he set the bar too high.

Kirk Whalum is a great session musician; as a solo artist he blends into the woodwork making up the world of pop jazz groups dominated by sax. Actually he is a cut above the rest but still that is not saying much. There is no daring , provocative challenge to the music; it is just safe. Maybe that is why some people refer to it as elevator music. However, his slow jams are nice for spending time with that special someone, if you happen to be so lucky. The music just goes through you, a sensual vibe that takes two to fully appreciate it. Cool tracks include the funky "Groverworked and Underpaid,"" Playing With Fire," that features some nice guitar work by by another pop jazz giant , Peter White, that gives the song added texture and the alto sax Whalum blows on "Waltz For David." The worst songs are those with vocals. Whalum has proven his potential but is confined by the pop jazz formula. This is recommended for those in love or falling in love, otherwise it is mundane.

Kirk is very talented but this CD was not his best. Hopefully the best is yet to come

This CD is Awesome! Why compare to For You, which is an EXCELLENT CD, but the brotha is definitely groovin on Uncondtional also! I love it.