Sergio Salvatore - Point of Presence (1997)

Sergio Salvatore has the odd fortune of resembling child actor Fred Savage from TV's "The Wonder Years, " and that could have plagued the public's openmindedness towards taking him seriously as a major jazz talent, rather than just a cute novelty. Fortunately, deep talent has won out and the prodigy, now a teenager, has bloomed into a multi-faceted composer/performer. A true product of the 90's, he not only named his shift towards contemporary pop/funk oriented jazz after an internet term (Point of Presence being the point from which one leaps onto the world wide web), but he's sharp enough to figure out that he's bound to gain a larger audience by stretching beyond his straight ahead beginnings. Guitarist Chuck Loeb is the perfect producer to bring out Salvatore's more pop-rock oriented leanings, which find Salvatore's lovely piano more along the lines of David Benoit than Chick Corea. Though jams like "Out of Nowhere" hold up the best in terms of artistic challenge, "So You Said," a cool ballad featuring Michael Brecker is Salvatore's very appealing entry into smooth jazzdom. And yet, happily, Salvatore doesn't forget his jazz chops, or their roots - he employs John Patitucci's shuffling acoustic basslines to complement some of his best ivory work on "Norwegian Wood" and a poignant original, "Antonio J." No longer just a great jazz prodigy, Salvatore seems poised here for great crossover acceptance.