Nils Gessinger - Ducks 'N' Cookies (1995)

In the 1990s, smooth jazz was the whipping boy of the jazz world -- everyone from hard boppers to Dixieland revivalists to fusion guitarists railed against the schlock that filled NAC play lists. And their anger was often justifiable; elevator versions of Michael Bolton hits shouldn't be described as jazz. However, commercial pop-jazz doesn't have to be bloodless elevator Muzak, and the German keyboardist/organist Nils Gessinger was obviously well-aware of that fact when he recorded 1995's Ducks 'N' Cookies for GRP. Make no mistake: Ducks 'N' Cookies is commercial music. The pop-jazz instrumentals that dominate the CD are meant to be accessible and groove-oriented, and when Gessinger features a vocalist on occasion, he tends to favor soul-influenced pop/rock melodies along the lines of Steely Dan (but minus the cryptic, abstract lyrics that Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were known for). In fact, Ducks 'N' Cookies often sounds like it could have been recorded in the late '70s or early '80s instead of 1995 -- the CD recalls a time when artists like David Sanborn, the Crusaders, Ronnie Laws, and the late Grover Washington, Jr. were providing commercial pop-jazz that had some meat on its bones. Not a masterpiece but generally respectable, Ducks 'N' Cookies could easily be described as "smooth jazz with a difference." ~ Alex Henderson