Gerald Veasley - Love Letters (1999)

On his Heads Up recordings of the 1990s, Gerald Veasley set out to have his cake and eat it too--he wanted to record melodic, accessible pop-jazz that had commercial appeal and didn't frighten away NAC radio stations, but he also wanted to record music that had some substance. And up to a point, he was successful. Love Letters, like his previous Heads Up dates, isn't the five-star gem he's quite capable of recording, but it's more substantial than 90% of the instrumental pop that NAC stations were playing at the time. Love Letters' greatest flaw lies in the production--Veasley and Richard Walters III tend to overproduce, and it's regrettable that a musician of Veasley's caliber doesn't have more room to stretch out and improvise. Nonetheless, the Philadelphian does get in some worthwhile solos here and there, and the sleek melodies he wrote are generally relaxing without being dull or mind-numbing. Although not remarkable, Love Letters is a decent collection of mood music--the thing is that a musician who's capable of winning over the notoriously demanding Joe Zawinul should be recording albums that are outstanding instead of simply decent. ~ Alex Henderson