BOB JAMES — BJ4 (review)

BOB JAMES — BJ4 album cover Album · 1977 · Pop/Art Song/Folk Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
FunkFreak75
Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Englewood Cliffs, NJ in November - December, 1976, this is an album I played to death back in college. I now listen to it with both fond nostalgia and cringe-worthy embarrassment as I find magical moments mixed with others of pure schlock and/or discomfort.

A1. "Pure Imagination" (5:22) though I never liked the opening 20 seconds of this version of one of my all-time favorite songs, the rest of the song provides a wonderful rendition as well as a staunch example of the newly-dominant Smooth Jazz. This was, in fact, the piece that made me a superfan of flutist Hubert Laws. I never liked the way the piano was recorded/engineered on this song. (8.75/10)

A2. "Where The Wind Blows Free" (6:44) the magic in this song comes from the earworm of the chord progression of the main theme as well as the wonderful "side" work of the strings. One of the few songs on BJ4 that I still like today. (8.875/10)

A3. "Tappan Zee" (6:51) the magic in this song that I still like is the floating/drifting piano soloing that Bob does throughout: it almost sounds as if he's just playing around--as if he is unaware that he's being recorded or that he could care less about what his soloing sounds like he's just having fun being in the moment. Otherwise, this song is too sprawling and patchworked for my tastes. (13.125/15)

B1. "Nights Are Forever Without You" (6:25) the magical element of this comes during Eric Gale's guitar solo: the sublime motif played by the rhythm section beneath him, otherwise it just sounds too TV theme song like--the main melody too directly imitative of the vocal line of the 1976 pop hit by England Dan & John Ford Coley. (8.75/10)

B2. "Treasure Island" (6:41) A song I used to adore I now only really like for the gorgeous, spacious intro (before the guitar chords enter and ruin it); after that it just becomes the practice ground for the nauseating schlock that will become the massively overheard "Angela (Theme from "Taxi")" I do still enjoy Art Farmer's trumpet play and the strings work in the end section. (8.875/10)

B3. "El Verano" (4:55) I've always absolutely adored the intro and opening section of this song. In fact, I think I'd have to admit that this song still sends me into heart-wrenching throes of deep nostalgia--which means a lot. Though I now have less tolerance for the Smooth Jazz that BJ and songs like this helped usher in (that replaced the high-skill and experimental risky songs that peak-era Jazz-Rock Fusion had produced) I understand when perfection is so good that it becomes timeless. (9.5/10)

Total Time: 36:21

B/four stars; an excellent collection of era-defining Smooth Jazz songs from one of the absolute masters of the genre.

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Caroll Liebowitz & Nick Lyons : The Inner Senses 21st Century Modern
CAROL LIEBOWITZ
Buy this album from MMA partners
Poems Never End Post Bop
TONY TIXIER
Buy this album from MMA partners
In the Middle of Nothing - to Palle Mikkelborg Post-Fusion Contemporary
CARSTEN DAHL
Buy this album from MMA partners
3 Cohens / WDR Big Band : Interaction Progressive Big Band
3 COHENS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Echo Vocal Jazz
EMI MAKABE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Thou shalt worship the rich and famous! - Duo Aki Rissanen & Steven Kamperman
AKI RISSANEN
snobb· 1 day ago
Heikki Sarmanto & Juhani Aaltonen "JUST US" album song snippets
HEIKKI SARMANTO
snobb· 1 day ago
Metropole Orkest & Jasper Blom - Your Beauty My Brains - Metropole Studio Sessions Dutch Jazz Jam II
JASPER BLOM
js· 1 day ago
Sketchy by Alex Coke (Alex Coke-BMI)
ALEX COKE
snobb· 2 days ago
Tito's Dumpling Machine
GEORGE PORTER JR.
snobb· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed