Joy Ride

Performer: Bob James
Artist: Boney James; Will Lee; Lee Ritenour; Norman Brown; Tim Heintz; Jonathan Butler; Chuck Loeb; Dave McMurray
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Bob James (piano, keyboards); Richard Bona (vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, percussion, programming); Jonathan Butler (vocals, nylon string guitar); Rasheeda (vocals); Dave McMurray (soprano saxophone, keyboards, programming); Kim Waters (soprano & alto saxophones); Boney James (saxophone); Chris Botti (trumpet); Jerry Hey (flugelhorn); Dave Mann (flute); Chuck Loeb (keyboards, guitar, programming); Marcel East (keyboards, drums, percussion); Tim Heintz (keyboards); Michael Colina (synthesizer); Norman Brown, Lee Ritenour, Nick Moroch, Tony Maiden, Wayne Gerard, Michael Thompson (guitar); Nathan East, Will Lee (bass); Billy Kilson (drums); Lenny Castro (percussion). Producers include: Chuck Loeb, Paul Brown, Michael Colina, Marcel East, David McMurray. Engineers include: Carlos Gunn, Don Murray, Ken Freeman. JOY RIDE was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Performance. Personnel: Bob James (piano, keyboards); Jonathan Butler (vocals, guitar, steel guitar); Richard Bona (vocals, acoustic guitar, percussion, drum programming); Rasheeda (vocals, background vocals); Rasheeda Mason (vocals); Marcel East (guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion); Chuck Loeb (guitar, keyboards, drum programming); Michael Thompson, Norman Brown, Tony Maiden, Wayne Gerard (guitar); Nick Moroch (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Lee Ritenour (electric guitar); Dave Mann (flute); Boney James (saxophone); Kim Waters (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone); David McMurray (soprano saxophone, keyboards, drum programming); Chris Botti (trumpet); Jerry Hey (flugelhorn); Harvey Mason, Jr., Brian Culbertson (keyboards, drum programming); David Torkanowsky, Tim Heintz (keyboards); Michael Colina (synthesizer); Nathan East (bass guitar); Billy Kilson (drums); Leonard "Doc" Gibbs, David Charles, Larry Frantangelo, Lenny Castro (percussion); David Woods, Steve Dubin (drum programming). Audio Mixers: Harvey Mason, Jr.; Ken Freeman; Paul Brown ; Brad Gilderman. Recording information: Automotive Recording, Irvington, NY; Highlife Room; NRG Studios; Remidi Studios, Dobbs Ferry, NY; Sear Sound, New York, NY. Photographer: Jeffrey Henson Scales. Arrangers: Marcel East; Michael Colina; Paul Brown ; Richard Bona; Steve Dubin; Brian Culbertson. James traipses from tight, funky ensemble workouts to soupy, unctuous melanges of sound that do for eardrums what sensual massages to for sore backs. Only a cynic won't fall for these 12 brightly colored instrumental cuts. As always, James has assembled the creme de la creme of studio musicians to help flesh out his keyboard noodlings into grandiose aural landscapes. "Take Me There" floats its gentle streaks of Kenny G-like soprano sax across a backwash of keyboards, percussion, and heady bass (courtesy of "Late Show With David Letterman" band bassist Will Lee). Saxophone takes center stage on the deeply grooved "Raise the Roof," the instrumental tension of which arises from the alteration of sultry Brazilian rhythms and more orchestral and airy passages. And anyone who isn't drawing a bubble bath, preparing two glasses of champagne, and spooning out mouthfuls of beluga caviar during the downright erotic "It's All Right" has failed to grasp the song's raison d'etre.

Keyboardist Bob James is a man who has worn many musical hats. He began as a progressive-jazz pianist in the early 1960s (he even recorded for famed underground avant-garde label ESP). By the '70s, however, he'd incorporated electric keyboards and become a star in the burgeoning fusion genre, making records which would later be sampled by countless hip-hop artists. Along the way, he was also involved in the soundtracks for everything from SERPICO to the TV show TAXI, and worked as arranger and producer for Dionne Warwick, Roberta Flack, and others. In the '90s, James became even more popular as a member of the smooth-jazz supergroup Fourplay.

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