Bob Baldwin - Standing Tall (2002)

Following Bobbaldwin.com, this underrated keyboardist returns with a breezy star-studded effort that's one of the best smooth-jazz albums of the year. He frames his tracks in the classic '70s contemporary jazz style of the Crusaders or Roy Ayers, while never losing the sonic quality of the quintessential '90s smooth-jazz sound. In addition, he has a solid grasp of how to mix in hip-hop grooves without overplaying his hand, except perhaps on the boy-group-like "Too Late," featuring vocalist Phil Perry. Baldwin's not shy about wearing his influences on his sleeves. He could fool many die-hard fans of ex-Crusader Joe Sample on the first two tracks, and obviously so on "Mr. Sample." His arrangement of Ayers's classic anthem "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" is superb, and features the composer on vibes. Marion Meadows on sax and Chieli Minucci on guitar also make solid contributions, but Baldwin is the prevailing and most inventive soloist here, as well as being an absolute magician with changing up grooves. The track "Neo-Soul" really defines the whole album, as this is a forward-looking musician repeating a cycle by mixing neo-soul and smooth jazz. ~ Mark Ruffin