Bobby Caldwell - Soul Survivor (1995) {Japan 1st Press}

Bobby Caldwell has been a favorite among fans of sophisticated R&B and contemporary jazz since 1978, the year the singer, songwriter, and guitarist hit the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot 100 and R&B charts with "What You Won't Do for Love." Originally from Manhattan and later raised in Miami, Caldwell was exposed to a wide variety of musical influences by his parents, hosts of the television variety show Suppertime. Only a few years after he started studying piano and guitar, he opted to enter the music industry, but it wasn't until the following decade that he signed to the T.K.-distributed Clouds label and broke through with What You Won't Do for Love, his first of several albums. Although Caldwell had a strong following in the U.S., built through continual touring and nine wide-ranging studio albums issued during the '80s and '90s, he also became a superstar in Japan. Throughout the 2000s, he recorded frequently, continued to perform his deep catalog, and starred as Frank Sinatra in the Las Vegas show The Rat Pack Is Back. Several additional albums followed during the 2010s, including sets of standards and big-band numbers, as well as Cool Uncle, a stylistic diversion with admiring producer Jack Splash.

~ Jason Ankeny, All Music