SNAPSHOT

Oh George, what have they done to you?

Being a jazz or fusion musician in the age of corporate record labels can be very difficult. Just look at what Warner Brothers did to the once great George Duke. The former Zappa sideman has now been reduced to an album of bland, albeit well produced, pseudo soul drivel.

Admittedly, he can still play a good keyboard solo, but the songs are, save one track, all that mindless pap that gets airplay on those "smooth jazz" radio stations. In other words, completely forgettable.

I did mention that there was a good track on this disk. Bus Tours Is actually a wild jam of a song. But one song cannot save this miserable album.

Sorry, one star. Maybe if you can find this in a cut-out bin for lessthan a dollar, it's worth it for the one track (mine was a free promo). Otherwise, don't bother.

Duke made a biggest sudden shift in his music - this time it is from the 80's R&B to a competent smooth jazz underlined music. Not betting on melodies anymore, it is more about feeling and atmosphere. Thankfully, music sounds more natural with the exception of tuned drums. There's no rush, each song has a room for the players to provide understated expression, in the best case it's a tasteful piano. On the flipside, the album goes on for too long given the material strength even though there is a certain track diversity - Latin instrumental, smooth jazz or contemporary R&B. The album is mainly recommended to those interesting in the revived Duke playing abilities