Bob James & David Sanborn - Double Vision
(painting by Eric Blum)
Undeniably & without question, one of the best contemporary jazz albums ever created has been pulled from the record crates for the induction to our Back In the Day Page! No doubt, this album kicked off festivities when it was released back in 1986. And heh, the minute "Maputo" came on, you knew the project was destined to be one of the greatest!
Track Listing:
~ Maputo
~ More Than Friends
~ Moon Tune
~ Since I Fell For You
~ Never Enough
~ You Don't Know Me
The primary players who assisted Dave & Bob along the way of this fine masterpiece were Marcus Miller (Bass), Paul Jackson Jr. (Guitar), Paulinho Da Costa (Percussion) & Steve Gadd (Drums). Produced by Tommy Lipuma.
As stated, "Maputo" was practically played out! It was featured as an opening or closing theme track for most jazz oriented radio dials, as well as served as a template for the injunction of the term Smooth Jazz, from the already foundated genre Contemporary Jazz. Needless to say, does it all matter? Bob James (Piano) knew exactly what he was doing when he parleyed & complimented his touch to the ever elegance of David Sanborn's untouchable sax style, form & rythmn. "Maputo" of course, was written by Marcus Miller & his signature is written all over the track, from the bassline to some exceptional background hooks. This track may have marked the legacy of Mr. Miller's compositional abilities, although he had been doing this all along for David Sanborn's earlier solo releases.
Al Jarreau's solo in "Since I Fell For You" was remarkable & very hard to turn off after a slight listen. Memories creep right through my mind every time I hear Al J. croon the life into this ballad; "Its You" is a cover of David's same song released on his critically acclaimed "Voyeur" album (released in 1980), which also shared the same fame with Marcus Miller, who also was involved on that project. With Mr. James's contributions to the remake, "It's You" sounded REAL good! Yes!! Although I will have to admit, Its hard to distinguish which one sounded better than the other. That question goes out to the hard nosed David Sanborn fans out there. Where are y'all at?
Then you get into "Never Enough" & then you have a solitude, sentimental favorite on your hands. With enough composure to help with the evening arrangements or midday relaxation. Backed right up with the last track "You Don't Know Me", a surely exceptional way to end the project from where it started.
Bob, David & the rest of the players from "Double Vision" had set a standard, apart from just about any other contemporary jazz album released from the 80's or the 90's. Not since the days when mega jazz label CTI (Creed Taylor) had released favorite contributions for jazz music. And to know they were part of that growth period & were involved in numerous projects from the legendary CTI label as well. Its no wonder why the album sounded that spectacular. Good enough for a remastered, re-release of the "Double Vision" album at the very start of this year (2008) on the Rhino/Wea UK record label.
If you own the LP, please do yourself a favor & play the vinyl back. Be ready though. Don't think its just going to simply remind you of the past decades of great contemporary jazz music. But you may come to grips & feel this project can be replayed all year long in this current generation!
Loving the Vinyl, as always...
Terrill J. Hanna
The Urban Music Scene
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