Eric Marienthal - Voices Of The Heart (1988)

Altoist Eric Marienthal's debut as a leader has four notable guest appearances by his employer, keyboardist Chick Corea, and one spot for guitarist Frank Gambale. Otherwise, he is generally joined by a quintet also including keyboardist Jim Cox, the great bassist John Patitucci, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, and guitarist Pat Kelley. The ten obscure songs (only two by the leader) are worthwhile, if not overly memorable, but Marienthal's soulful solos are always fun to hear. ~ Scott Yanow, AMG. 

GRP Records, GRP-9563, 1988
Recorded December, 1987 at Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles, California 

Personnel:
Eric Marienthal - Alto Saxophone, Yamaha Wx7 (#5), Arranger (#1,2,5,7,9,11,12)
Chick Corea - Acoustic Piano (#3-6), Synthesizers (#3,6,12), Arranger (#1-4,6,9)
Jim Cox - Synthesizers, Acoustic Piano (#10)
Pat Kelley - Guitar (#1,2,5,6,8-12), Arranger (#8,10)
Frank Gambale - Guitar (#7)
John Patitucci - Bass, Arranger (#11)
Vinnie Colaiuta - Drums
Luis Conte - Percussion (#2,3)
Joe Curiale - Arranger (#5,7,11,12) 

Tracks:
01. Voices Of The Heart {Judd Miller; Arr. Eric Marienthal} (3:59)
02. Your Eyes {Joe Curiale, Bobby Caldwell; Arr. Eric Marienthal, Chick Corea} (4:19)
03. Blue Space {Chick Corea; Arr. Chick Corea} (4:12)
04. Brazilian Dream {John Patitucci; Arr. Chick Corea} (2:49)
05. Premonition {Eric Marienthal, Joe Curiale} (5:04)
06. Tippin' {Tim Landers, Eric Marientha; Arr. Chick Corea} (4:48)
07. Being With You {Eric Marienthal, Joe Curiale} (3:55)
08. Harvest Dance {Pat Kelley; Arr. Pat Kelley} (4:46)
09. Written In The Wind {Joe Curiale; Arr. Eric Marienthal, Chick Corea} (4:17)
10. Walk Like An Emu {Pat Kelley; Arr. Pat Kelley} (4:28)
11. Someone Said {Eric Marienthal, Joe Curiale, John Patitucci} (4:31)
12. Backstep {Eric Marienthal, Joe Curiale} (4:49) 

Total Time: 52:04 

Credits:
Producer, Mixing - Chick Corea
Assistant Producer, Mixing - Eric Marienthal
Executive Album Producer - Ron Moss
Executive Producer - Dave Grusin, Larry Rosen
Engineer, Mixing - Bernie Kirsh
Assistant Engineer - Ira Rubnitz
Mastering - Bernie Grundman
Photography [Covers] - Glen Wexler
Photography [B&W] = Jeffrey Mayer
Album Design - Andy Baltimore, Dan Serrano, David Gibb,
Ivan Salgado, Dave Kunze 

Perfect Debut from an amazing musician soldier from Chick Corea! As a drummer I can't be gladder that Vinnie Colaiuta drumming here and the superb bass player John Patitucci! If you into stuff like David Sanborn, this record if perfect for you, very catchy 80's sax melodies but cheesy without song structure. Some of the tracks sounds like an 80's theme from a sitcom, in the good way with fabulous touch of top-notch musicians. For the prog fans, I recommend to listen to track "Blue Space", and "Harvest Dance" is the best catchy tune on the album, for die hard 80's fusion lovers. ~ Doron Harati, Amazon.com. 

Blue Space

Anita Baker - My Everything (2004)

Anita Baker's My Everything is her first studio outing in a decade. Family life seems to have claimed most of that time, as the album's last cut, "Men in My Life," seems to indicate. Baker co-wrote seven of the album's nine songs (one is a reprise of the title track), authored the aforementioned tune, and assisted producer Barry J. Eastmond in the arrangements. The disc's first single, "You're My Everything," is indicative of the album's sound: finely wrought and executed urban adult soul. Most of the set falls into this category, too, with the exception of "Like You Used to Do," a duet with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds that walks a line between it and new-school groove. Another cut, the stellar "I Can't Sleep," offers Baker in full-on jazz mode, careening through a skittering and swinging arrangement with a full horn section pushing the groove; it showcases Baker's ability to croon, and she comes very close to Betty Carter's scat. Some may be frustrated that, after such a long time, Baker doesn't push the envelope more stylistically. This may be true in terms of the material itself, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Right down the line, Baker delivers on what she does best. But in one sense she has expanded her palette. On these cuts, most of the rhythm section's tracks were cut live from the floor, and on three, the vocals were as well. This gives the album a reedy immediacy that contrasts sharply with the rest of her studio catalog. This is a worthy return, qualitatively standing head and shoulders above most everything else in its class. ~ by Thom Jurek, AMG. 

Blue Note, 7243 5 77102 2 0, 2004 

Recording Locations:
Brandon's Way Recording, Hollywood, CA
Conway Studios, Hollywood, CA
East Bay Music Studios, Tarrytown, NY
Le Gonks West Studios, Hollywood, CA
Record One Studios, Sherman Oaks, CA
Soup Can Studios, Detroit, MI
Village Recorders, Los Angeles, CA 

Personnel:
Anita Baker - Vocals, Backing Vocals, Arranger (#1-5,7-10)
Gary Grant - Trumpet (#1-5,7-10)
Jerry Hey - Trumpet, Horn Arrangement (#1-5,7-10)
Reggie Young - Trombone (#1-5,7-10)
Eric Marienthal - Alto Saxophone (#9)
Dan Higgins - Tenor & Baritone Saxophones (#1-5,7-10)
Gary Bias - Tenor Saxophone (#1-5,7-10)
Barry J. Eastmond - Keyboards, Percussion, Horn Arranger, Backing Vocals (#1-5,7-10)
George Duke - Synthesizer [Additional], Percussion (#1-5,7-10)
Eric Rehl, Leo Colon - Synthesizer [Additional] (#1-5,7-10)
Russell Ferrante - Piano (#9)
Paul Jackson Jr., Phil Hamilton, Robert Randolph - Guitar (#1-5,7-10)
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds - Guitar, Backing Vocals (#1-5,7-10)
Al Turner, Alex Al, Gerald Albright, Jimmy Haslip, Nathan East, Reggie Hamilton, Ron Jenkins - Bass (#1-5,7-10)
Bernard Davis, Ricky Lawson, Steve Ferrone, William Kennedy - Drums (#1-5,7-10)
Bashiri Johnson - Percussion (#1-5,7-10)
Rafael Padilla - Percussion (#6)
Esther Ridgeway, Gloria Ridgeway, Gordon Chambers, Gracie Ridgeway - Backing Vocals (#1-5,7-10)
Kenya Ivey - Backing Vocals (#6) 

Tracks:
01. You're My Everything {Anita Baker} (5:03)
02. How Could You {Anita Baker, Barry J. Eastmond} (4:21)
03. In My Heart {Anita Baker} (5:07)
04. Serious {Dawn Thomas} (5:26)
05. How Does It Feel {Anita Baker, Barry J. Eastmond} (4:42)
06. Like You Used To Do {Anita Baker, Barry J. Eastmond} (5:12)
07. Close Your Eyes {Anita Baker, Barry J. Eastmond} (4:43)
08. You're My Everything [Revisited] {Anita Baker} (1:12)
09. I Can't Sleep {Anita Baker, Russell Ferrante, W. Kennedy} (5:08)
10. Men In My Life {Anita Baker} (3:37) 

Total Time: 44:31

Credits:
Producer, Engineer - Anita Baker
Producer, Engineer - Barry J. Eastmond
Producer, Arranger - Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds (#6)
Engineer - Alan Sides, Dylan Dresdow, Ghian Wright
Recording - Paul Boutin (#6)
Engineer [Assistant] - Greg Burns, Jared Nugent, Tom Wilber
Engineer, Engineer [Assistant] - Kevin Szymanski
Mixing - Jon Gass (#6)
Mixing [Assistant] - Edward Quesada (#6)
Mixing - Erik Zobler
Mixing [Assistant] - Stefaniah McGowan
Mixing, Engineer - George Duke
Photography - Andrew Eccles