Gerald Albright - New Beginnings (2006)

Make no mistake; Gerald Albright has chops - serious chops - not to mention strong improvisational skills (on both tenor and alto sax) and a healthy amount of gritty, down-home soulfulness. But having a lot of positive attributes and actually making the most of them are two different things - and while the saxman has excelled at times, he has also delivered his share of forgettable, knee-jerk fluff. Drawing on both soul-jazz and smooth jazz, New Beginnings is a mixed bag, but is still one of his more worthwhile commercial outings. There are some weak tracks, to be sure, but when Albright lets loose, New Beginnings becomes a treat that brings to mind Grover Washington, Jr. and early Ronnie Laws. Albright really soars on a gospel-drenched performance of Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia on My Mind," and he has some enjoyably funky moments on "Big Shoes" and "We Got the Groove" (both of which keyboardist Jeff Lorber co-wrote with the saxman) as well as the title track (which features Patrice Rushen on acoustic piano). This 2006 release has more pluses than minuses. ~ Extract by Alex Henderson, AMG. 

Concord Records, PKD-8540-2, 2006
Castle Oaks Studio, Calabasa, California
JHL Sound, Pacific Palisades, California
Riverphlo Studio, Anaheim, California
KAR Studio, Sherman Oaks, California
Dacrib Studio, Los Angeles, California 

Personnel: [See Text for Details]
Gerald Albright - Alto, Tenor & Baritone Saxophones, Flute, Bass Guitar, Drum Programming
Jeff Lorber - Keyboards, Drum Programming, Guitar
Chuckii Booker - Keyboards, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals
Rex Rideout - Keyboards, Drum Programming
Patrice Rushen - Acoustic Piano
Luther "Mano" Hanes - Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Tracy Carter - Keyboards
Chris Botti - Trumpet
John "Jubu" Smith - Guitar
Ricky Watford - Guitar
Paul Jackson Jr. - Guitar
Darrell Crooks - Guitar
Melvin Davis - Bass Guitar
Teddy Campbell - Drums
Tony Moore - Drums
Walter Scott & Wallace Scott - Vocals 

Tracks:
01. We Got The Groove {Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber} (4:07)
02. New Beginnings {Gerald Albright} (5:10)
03. Deep Into My Soul {Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber} (4:04)
04. And The Beat Goes On {Sylvers III, Preston Shockley, Shelby} (4:36)
05. Georgia On My Mind {Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell} (5:23)
06. Take Your Time {Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber} (4:35)
07. I Want Somebody {Chuckii Booker, Gerald Albright} (4:28)
08. You Are My Love {Gerald Albright, Luther "Mano" Hanes} (5:15)
09. Last But Not Least {Gerald Albright} (4:38)
10. I Need You {Chuckii Booker, Gerald Albright} (3:53)
11. Big Shoes {Gerald Albright, Jeff Lorber, Marlon McClain} (5:09)
12. Georgia On My Mind [Reprise] {Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell} (3:52) 

Total Time: 55:19

Credits:
Producer (#2,5,9,12), Engineer (#1,3,4,6,7,9-11), Arranger (#2,5,9,12) - Gerald Albright
Producer, Arranger (#1,3,6,11), Engineer (#1,3,6,11) - Jeff Lorber
Producer, Engineer, Arranger - Chuckii Booker (#7,10)
Producer, Engineer, Arranger - Rex Rideout (#4)
Producer, Arranger - Luther "Mano" Hanes (#8)
Executive-Producer - Andi Howard, Mark Wexler
Engineer - Anthony Jeffries (#2,5,12), Dave Rideau (#1,3,6,11), Tracy Carter (#9)
Arranger - Tracy Carter (#2,5,9,12)
Art Direction - MAD Design/Photography, Sonny Mediana
Photography - Carl Studna
Liner Notes - Phil Collins