Shanachie
2007
My Inspiration
About This Album
It's taken a long time, but he finally nailed it. Everette Harp is a bona fide star in the smooth, or "contemporary" jazz genre. As a saxophonist, his talent is undeniable. One can hear everyone from Junior Walker to Grover Washington, Jr to Stanley Turrentine, Cannonball Adderley, and David Sanborn in his playing, which is forceful, song-like and emotive. He cops to it in the liner notes, and that's just fine; that honesty is what frees him up to make the kind of music he wants to and acknowledging those influences places his own music in a direct line from his predecessors. That said, while some of his records have been very good, he's never gotten exactly what he needed from a label or a producer -- or an engineer for that matter -- to really make it all come together in a way that knocks the ball out of the park. Until now, that is. With his move to Shanachie Records in 2006, Harp found a new creative freedom, to let his jazz chops shine right along with his soul and funk grooves. Harp brought in a bunch of old friends for this date, George Duke is here, as is Jeff Lorber and James K. Lloyd from Pieces of a Dream, but he's done that before. What really gets it here is that the band he put together on this set is tight, sympathetic, and ready to punch it up a notch.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4,7 and 9)

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