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
