dreadpirateroberts Right on the heels of the brilliant ‘First Light’ comes Hubbard’s ‘Sky Dive’ which is a less consistent but still worthwhile addition to his canon, perhaps for the title track and the funk-influenced opener alone. While on the surface it doesn’t stray far from the approach taken on the previous album; Sebesky conducting strings and a horn section, Hubbard both fiery and lyrical and supported by a fine group of CTI regulars like Carter, Benson, Laws, Airto and Cobham, the balance of the songs don’t play together as well this time around.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with the performances (except that I’d liked to have heard more of Jarrett) but the ballad seems to play without aching and the other two cover versions, In a Mist and the theme from The Godfather, suffer a little from what seem to be scattered arrangements, even if the latter has a fantastic ending.

For me most of the joy in this album comes from the title track and Povo – each allow the band to get stuck into the rhythm and provide ample solo space for everyone – Hubbard sounds confident and Carter holds everything together with his bass line as band jam it out. Benson is great as ever and the really the piece’s only weakness might be a vague sense of sameness when compared to the song First Light on Hubbard’s previous release. Sky Dive is another cracker which gives a slight Latin feel to its laid back approach and ends the album very pleasantly.

I hesitate to say for fans only, as this is still great fusion and Hubbard is always a pretty commanding soloist, but for my money ‘First Light’ is the superior example of the fusion he was producing for CTI in the early ‘70s. Still, ‘Sky Dive’ does boast a couple of classics so if a reissue appears, it might be worth collecting anyway.

FunkFreak75 Though Freddie had been collaborating for a couple of years with a group of musicians who dabbled with/ circulated on the fringes of the burgeoning Jazz-Rock "Fusion" scene--including Airto Moreira, Ron Carter, Ray Barretto, Jack DeJohnette, Hubert Laws, and, to a lesser degree, George Benson. Freddie's attempts at allowing more rock and electric elements into his stage and studio performances seemed hindered by his own allegiance to (and enjoyment of) more recent trends in jazz--like "hard bop" and "cool jazz." One problem was his relative aversion/avoidance to Latin influences like Afro-Cuban rumba and Brazilian bassa nova--two forms of popular jazz that had had huge influence in American music in the 1960s.Well, this album sees Freddie finally getting his foot in the door--thanks in no small part to his employment of Billy Cobham, Airto Moreira, and Ray Barretto--the former two of whom had been students/musicians with Miles and Carlos Santana and Joe Zawinul's Weather Report (Airto), the latter who had crossed over with the likes of Herbie Mann and Edgar Winter. This is the first album of Freddie's that I feel he has finally figured out how to fuse some of rock 'n' roll's innovations into his jazz music.

1. "Povo" (12:33) after an introductory extract from some man's speech the band enters, settling immediately into a somewhat funky laid-back groove for the solos of George Benson, Freddie, Hubert Laws, and Keith Jarrett (electric piano). A very pretty, engaging, and well-constructed grooving piece that I enjoy from start to finish despite its standard format of turn-taking alternating singular solos over the rhythm section. It's a good thing the basic rhythm track is so good. (22.75/25)

2. "In a Mist" (7:04) sounds like an old-time classic jazz piece with small acoustic combo and some side action big band horns. No infusion of rock (or anything else) here. Keith Jarrett's piano sounds to me like Thelonius Monk. I'm really not interested in old-time jazz, just Jazz-Rock Fusion. (12.75/15)

"Naturally" (5:53) (only available on the CD release) opens up sounding like the late-night musings of a band playing for the thinning crowd of mellowing lounge drinkers. Freddie steps it up a notch with the second verse--the rest of the all-acoustic band keeping up. Hubert Laws gets the second solo on one of his flutes, during which the horn section begins to show itself with gentle accents. Guitarist George Benson is next with his jazz guitar (sans vocal mirroring)--for which the horns and winds combine to provide some dreamy, gentle support. I'm not really into this song cuz I'm looking for Jazz-Rock Fusion, not jazz.(8.5/10)

3. "The Godfather (from the Paramount Motion Picture The Godfather)" (7:21) solo trumpet opens this one with a jazzy rendering of the well-known movie theme. Bassist Ron Carter gets the next shot--also tout seul--then pianist Keith Jarrett joins in and Ron steps into the support role as Billy Cobham's soft jazz drums (mostly brush and cymbal work) joins. Freddie returns to the lead as a bank clarinets add their support from the wings, later the horn banks. Keith Jarrett gets a nice solo in the sixth minute. Finishes off with a repeat of the solo trumpet opening. (8.5/10)

4. "Sky Dive" (7:40) a return to the world of electricity with a smooth, Latin-flavored song. Nice solos from Freddie (a really long one!), George Benson, Hubert Laws, and Keith Jarrett (again on electric piano) as well as really nice work from all of the support staff--especially Billy Cobham as well as some really smooth arrangements for horns and winds from Don Sebesky. (13.5/15)

Total time: 34:38

B/four stars; a very nice jazz album with a couple of fine Jazz-Rock Fusion songs (one funk-lite, the other Latin-lite).