Karl Denson - The Bridge (2002)

The Bridge is a fairly straightforward document of Karl Denson's live performance. Though there are plenty of guests on the disc -- including poet and activist Michael Franti, poet Saul Williams, funk trombonist Fred Wesley, and jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove -- that's not too unusual for Denson and company. Denson himself regularly turns up on others' stages and just as frequently invites guests to sit in with his own Tiny Universe. The music is an eclectic mix of funk and R&B approaches. The playing is straightforward and energetic across the board. The sonically adventurous cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Check out Your Mind," with its multi-layered textures, is a standout track. Pop studio man Russ Elevado mixes the band sympathetically and warmly, with each instrument obvious in the mix without ever being overbearing.~Jesse Jarnow