I'm not necessarily a HUGE fan of pianist Bernard Wright's 1981 solo debut 'Nard, but there are a few tracks that hit on all the Dave Grusin/smooth jazz cylinders, most notably "Master Rocker". If I was a DJ playing out, I would play the crap out of the track "Master Rocker". Instead, I play it at home on the headphones and get my pleasure that way. "Master Rocker" has got it all-nice drumming, great touches on the electric piano/keyboard, nice use of horns, it's all tastefully executed. While there some definite misses on 'Nard, the tracks the hit, like "Master Rocker", make this album worth checking out.
The track, "Love Me Forever", off of Carlton and the Shoes album of the same time, is one of those perfect soulful, rocksteady tracks from the late 60's that I can listen to repeatedly and never tire of it. I've been continuing to listen to a lot of dub and reggae music from the 60's through 80's in the past month (the uncharacteristically warm 70's and 80 degree weather in Seattle during this time of the year will do that for ya!), and will probably be featuring some more music from that genre in the coming month. In the meantime, listen to "Love Me Forever"--such a beautiful melody, and I love the horn line that leads into the vocals. Perfect!
