Bryan Savage - Soul Temptation (1998)

Fellow multi-reedsman Nelson Rangell could learn a valuable lesson from Bryan Savage, who takes the risk of switching off between flute and saxes on his Higher Octave debut Soul Temptation. Equally adept at being a classically influenced postmodern Tim Weisberg and edging robustly on alto and tenor towards the steamy Gato Barbieri sound, Savage offers a little spunky something for everyone: a rich, improvisational fireball of "Georgia on My Mind"; a disco-minded slappiness on "Party Line"; and a flashy Tower of Power-type vibe on the catchy "Kaleidoscope." Written by Rick Braun (who also adds Savage to his production resume here), that tune finds Savage like a kid in the proverbial music store carrying the slamming melody by tripling flute, alto, and tenor and wrapping that brew around Braun's punchy flügelhorn. Everyone wants the Braun horn sound on their recordings, and it's to Savage's credit that the trumpet only shows up on two cuts as harmony; Braun, however, does lay some slick grooves via his underappreciated skills as a keyboardist/programmer. ~ by Jonathan Widran, AMG. 

Higher Octave Jazz, HOJCD 45623, 1998
Recorded at: Auravision, Brauntosoarus Studios, Megatracks,
Savage Studios, Studio City, California 

Musicians:
Bryan Savage - Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Flute, Keyboards, Programming, Synthesizer
Rick Braun - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Keyboards, Programming, Synthesizer
Bob Carpenter - Keyboards
Joel Gaines - Keyboards, Strings
Vin D'Onofrio, Chris Standring, Todd Sharp - Guitar
Larry Antonino, Cliff Hugo, John Menzano - Bass
Joe Finger. Dave Karasony, Dee Palmer - Drums
Scott Breadman - Percussion 

Tracks:
01. Soul Temptation {Rick Braun, Bryan Savage} (4:46)
02. Mulholland Drive {Rick Braun, Bob Carpenter, Bryan Savage} (4:48)
03. Last Summer {Joe Gaines, Keith Rouster} (4:44)
04. Party Line {Bryan Savage} (4:18)
05. Saturday Night {Rick Braun, John Mahon, John Menzano} (4:05)
06. River Of Dreams {Rick Braun, Bryan Savage} (4:36)
07. Two Cool {Vin D'Onofrio} (4:53)
08. Kaleidoscope {Rick Bruan} (3:57)
09. We Have It All {Bryan Savage} (4:21)
10. Georgia On My Mind {Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell} (5:43) 

Total Time: 45:46 

Credits:
Producer - Bryan Savage, Rick Braun
Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Editing - William Aura
Executive Producer - Matt Marshall, Dan Selene
Production Director - Maria Ehrenreich
Engineer, Mixing - Eddie King
Mastering - Stephen Marcussen
Art Direction, Design - Robert Fisher 

Soul Temptation

Thom Rotella - Can't Stop (1997)

Even as the smooth jazz format has grown over the past ten years, its annals are unfortunately littered with many artists whose promise fell victim to poor promotion, folding labels, and unending label limbo. While many (i.e. Chris Boardman, Gary Herbig, Bill Bergman) seemed to give up the fight to focus on more lucrative side endeavors, Thom Rotella - who faced six years of this musical purgatory after three hit albums on DMP from 1987 to 1990, chose to struggle through the bleak period of turn-downs from seemingly every label in the genre. The title of his comeback album, Can't Stop reflects this brazen spirit in the face of all those rejection letters. But Rotella realized that the type of lightweight acoustic guitar music that launched his career was no longer en vogue and might not stand out among the competition in 1997; to get back in the game, he needed more substance, more grit. While Rotella fans from way back might think the crackling, electric Wes Montgomery-flavored licks on Can't Stop are a departure, the guitarist is simply reverting back to the style he intended to begin his solo career with all along. It's notable not only for Rotella's thicker production values and bolder sense of improvisation, but also for the pointed conversations he has with the horns of Rick Braun (trumpet and flugelhorn) and Gerald Albright (sax); none of his old albums had sax embellishment at all. On "Belly Up," he textures Land Richards' live drums with shuffling loops, blending his own fluid electric lines with a wah-wah guitar track, and weaving Albright's tenor through a veil of appearing, then disappearing bluesy keyboard lines by Jim Studer. On the feisty title track, Rotella starts with a groove foundation of Richards, percussionist Vail Johnson and percussionist Arno Lucas. Above this, Rotella's fluid lines gallop along, each verse culminating in a dual flourish of muted trumpet and guitar; Braun takes a solo, and then backs off so Rotella can wail away. ~ by Jonathan Widran, AMG.

Telarc Jazz Zone, CD 83416, 1997
Recorded 1997 At JAM Studio, Phat Cat Studio & Twin Sons Studio 

Musicians:
Thom Rotella - Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass, Drum Programming, Percussion Programming
Chris Tedesco - Flugelhorn, Trumpet, Trumpet [Muted]
Joe Turano - Soprano Saxophone
Jim Studer - Keyboards, Synthesizer, Drum & Percussion Programming
Larry Cohn - Keyboards, Piano [Electric]
Chris Rhyne - Keyboards, Synthesizer
Land Richards - Drums, Drum & Percussion Programming, Synthesizer Bass
Arno Lucas - Percussion 

Guests:
Gerald Albright - Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Rick Braun - Flugelhorn, Trumpet [Muted]
Mitchel Forman - Piano [Electric], Synthesizer
Vail Johnson - Bass 

Tracks:
01. What's The Story? {Thom Rotella} (4:35)
02. Mood {Thom Rotella} (4:29)
03. Dance The Night Away {Thom Rotella} (4:47)
04. Lights Out {Thom Rotella} (4:45)
05. Can't Stop {Thom Rotella} (5:12)
06. As Close As We Can Get {Thom Rotella} (5:02)
07. The Thought Of You {Thom Rotella} (5:11)
08. Belly Up {Thom Rotella} (5:01)
09. If Only {Land Richards, Thom Rotella} (4:47)
10. Stay The Night {Thom Rotella} (4:35) 

Total Time: 48:24

Credits:
Producer, Engineer - Thom Rotella
Executive Producer - Robert Woods
Engineer, Mixing - Matt Hyde
Mastering - Geoff Sykes