• featuring the London Symphony Orchestra •[/center]

During the 13 years he spent recording for Warner Bros., David Sanborn had more than his share of artistic triumphs, but at times wasted his considerable talents on radio-friendly schlock. Containing more pluses than minuses, The Best of David Sanborn paints an honest picture of his jazz/R&B/pop work for that label. Sanborn's distinctive alto is a joy on both rugged, gritty jazz/R&B like "Slam" and "Anything You Want" and such lyrical and heartfelt ballads as "Rain on Christmas," "A Tear for Crystal," and "Lisa." Meanwhile, a mindless, note-for-note cover of Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Neither One of Us" exemplifies Sanborn at his radio-friendly worst. But despite the inclusion of a few stinkers, this 16-song CD isn't a bad introduction to his Warner Bros. output.

Roger Chapman's second studio album, Mail Order Magic, was recorded under some tough conditions for the singer. Punk and new wave were sweeping England of any "oldies" acts, and Chapman was having trouble taking root in his own country. In addition, the label to which he had signed was folding, giving him a deadline to finish and release the album. Meanwhile Chapman, still high from the success of continental tours, tried to up the ante by recording with better players, including old Family-mate John Wetton. But lack of finances bumped the sessions from studio to studio, and Terry Barham and Paul Smykle (notable for reggae production) were brought in to stitch together the recordings into a pressable album. Considering all of this, the results were fantastic. The hard-edged rock, especially "Unknown Soldier," suited Chapman's edgy voice best. The Shortlist also served up R&B and even a little experimental music ("Ground Floor" sounds like an early demo of "Higher Ground"). Chapman would find a more comfortable career down the road, but the material would rarely be as convincing and as powerful as this.

This double-CD features consistently ferocious electric guitar from Scott Henderson. Recorded live at La Ve Lee (a small club near Los Angeles), the extended program has Henderson mostly in the spotlight with electric bassist John Humphrey offering strong support and drummer Kirk Covington sometimes contributing rockish vocals that are as much shouting as they are singing. Henderson plays some jazz on Wayne Shorter's "Fee Fi Fo Fum," digs into blues now and then, and displays some country roots on "Hillbilly in the Band" but mostly plays high-intensity fusion, tearing into the pieces and showing that he could hold his own with any rock/fusion guitarist. Invigorating playing.

PowerPack Lame 320 KB/s | 57 / 44 MB | total 44:36

David Sanborn • alto & soprano sax
Marcus Miller • bass
Michael Colina • piano
Hiram Bullock • solo & rhythem guitar
Steve Gadd • drums

“The simple blues-informed pop charms of L.A. songwriter Kevin Moore remain unchanged on his eighth album. All twelve of these songs about romance and its triumphs and failures godown easy, thanks to his unhurried and unmannered singing, and arrangements that run slow and spare. That openness allows Moore's slide playing, perfected on the porch of Mississippi delta bluesman Eugene Powell, to add subtle, pretty decoration to tunes like "Your Love" and "Eileen." He's got a sympathetic cohort in John Porter, who also produced Moore's debut album and is especially adept at capturing the sounds of the acoustic instruments that dominate this disc. After pursuing all the twists and turns of love and its baggage on Suitcase, Moore ends the CD with "Life Is Beautiful," an ode to the pure and basic joys of life as a couple, reflected in a blithely primal trio accompaniment of crisp acoustic guitar, mandolin, and drums.” – Ted Drozdowski