John Tropea - Short Trip to Space (1977) [2014]

John Tropea is at his best here, with great melodies like Skip Scarborough's "Can't Hide Love," Don Grolnick's "You Can't Have It All," and Tropea's own "Blue Too" and "Short Trip to Space," a fascinating and complex tune that actually sounds like its title. The production is excellent, with a double-drum setup featuring Steve Gadd and Rick Marotta on most of the tunes that adds a lot of depth to the sound.

Tracks:

01. The Funk You See, Is the Funk You Do! (Tropea-Lee-Cartalemi) - 3:13
02. Can't Hide Love (Scarborough) - 4:15
03. Southside (Tropea) - 3:43
04. You Can't Have It All (Grolnick) - 5:19
05. Short Trip to Space (Tropea) - 7:15
06. Blue Too (Tropea) - 6:17
07. Love's Final Moment (Tropea) - 2:06
08. Twist of the Wrist (Tropea-Spinozza) - 4:20

Personnel:

John Tropea - guitar, vocals
Don Grolnick, Leon Pendarvis - keyboards
Mike Mainieri - vibes
Will Lee - bass, vocals
Richard Davis - acoustic bass
Rick Marotta, Steve Gadd - drums
Rubens Bassini, Ralph MacDonald - percussion
Michael Brecker - tenor saxophone solo
Randy Brecker - trumpet solo
Margaret Ross - harp
Ron Cartalemi, Jeffrey Kawalek - vocals
Charlie Blackwell, Duncan Cleary, Brian Drake, Bruce Goldberg, Bill Guerra, Lani Groves, Will Lee - background vocals and hand claps