All Categories — CDs  

One of the strongest jazz albums we've ever heard from Toots Thielemans – and one of the straightest, too! The session has a no-gimmicks, straight-ahead approach that features Toots grooving on guitar and harmonica in small combo format – working with the Ray Bryant trio, and coming up with a sound that's surprisingly soulful – that pure "Toots" sound we always look for on other records, but don't always find! The addition of Ray's piano is mighty nice – and gives the record a great undercurrent of soul – and bass is by Tommy Bryant, and drums are by Oliver Jackson. There's a bit of sweet whistling next to the guitar on a few tracks, and titles include "Soul", "Nuages", "Misty", "Brother John", and "Confirmation".

A hip little rock group from the upstate NY scene – and heck, they had to be hip, to record on the Just Sunshine label! The sound here has a bit of a funky rock approach, colored by a Band-like hominess – but thanks to some strong famous guests on the session, the instrumentation steps out way past the vocals on the best numbers – with help from a crack lineup that includes Toots Thielemans, Tito Puente, David Sanborn, and the Brecker Brothers! The core group are great, too – with the same sort of tight rhythms and soulful vocals we loved from their previous release – and titles include "Vicious Circle", "Freewheelin", "Down To The City", "What Becomes Of Your Life", "Do It Like Ya Mean It", and "Whitecaps".