Cornelius Bumpus - Known Fact (2000)

Studio musicians perform a delicate high-wire act. They're required to play a wide variety of styles and deliver their own musical voice at a moment's notice. For three decades, the Dallas-born, tenor/soprano saxophonist and flutist Cornelius Bumpus has performed that high-wire act with ease. Though not as well-known as David Sanborn and Michael Brecker, Bumpus has laid down some silk-degreed sax lines for Boz Scaggs, Jeff Lorber, and the Doobie Brothers, and on many Steely Dan recordings, including Two Against Nature. On Known Fact, Bumpus spotlights his sparkling and soulful sound, which encompasses the dance bounce of Junior Walker and the fluent jazz phrasings of Joe Henderson. Musical genres are no obstacle to Bumpus. Joined by a combo featuring keyboardist Rob Aries and bassist Paul Adamy, Bumpus brings out the Baptist church on the Staple Singers' hit "I'll Take You There" and on their "Stand Up and Be Counted." He shouts the blues on the Steely Dan ditty from the '70s, "Chained Lightning," and rocks out on the Doobie Brothers' "Takin' It to the Streets." Bumpus's shimmering flute sound swells on the samba track "Abundare," and his romantic side comes through on the title track. The R&B tune "Drown in My Own Tears" features his own down-home vocal, showing another side of this multitalented musician. --Eugene Holley Jr.