BOB JAMES — Bob James & Earl Klugh ‎: One On One (review)

BOB JAMES — Bob James & Earl Klugh ‎: One On One album cover Album · 1979 · Pop/Art Song/Folk Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
FunkFreak75
Recorded in the summer of 1979 at Mediasound, Sound Palace, and SoundMixers, in New York City, and released by Tappan Zee in October. I purchased this one in the week it was released and remember liking it very much. (I was really into Earl Klugh's solo material from this time.) Alternating songs with compositions from both Bob and Earl, we get three compositions each.

A1. "Kari" (6:26) Earl's first contribution, compositionally, and it kind of falls flat. (8.75/10)

A2. "The Afterglow" (6:30) Bob's first song offering and it's a beauty--especially when Earl's in the lead position. (9/10)

A3. "Love Lips" (6:33) this has the classic Earl Klugh stamp of originality on it--and he crushes it while everyone else pretty much supports. Bob's pretty good on his Fender Rhodes--and Gary King is great on his electric bass. (9/10)

B1. "Mallorca" (4:46) an unusually sophisticated BJ piece that offers displays of jazz virtuosity on several instruments (piano, guitar, and double bass by Ron Carter). I really like this one despite my fixation on Ron Carter's genius. (8.875/10)

B2. "I'll Never See You Smile Again" (5:25) Earl's last song contribution reveals something quite pacifying. The somewhat unusual/atypical Fender Rhodes play on this is offset by some brilliant bass play by Gary King. Despite it lacking any melodic hooks, I really like and admire the performances on this one. (8.875/10)

B3. "Winding River" (5:22) piano opens this one, Bob's final composition of the album. The interplay of Ron Carter's double bass is wonderful--masterful--and then Earl and the rest of the ensemble join in. A few surprise flourishes around the one-minute mark let us know that this song might not turn out to be exactly what we're expecting--and this bears out to be true as Harvey Mason's drumming becomes more and more nuanced and dynamic while still hiding (somewhat) beneath the piano, guitar, and bass. This may sound as if I'm describing old-fashioned jazz, but it's not: it's still anchored very much in Earl Klugh's musiquarium. (8.875/10)

Total Time 34:38

88.96 on the Fishscales = B/four stars; an excellent jazz-leaning display of mature and interestingly-sophisticated Smooth Jazz.

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