The lines between
urban pop music and
hip-hop/
R&B-styled
smooth jazz with cool background vocals become thinner over time, and
Shanachie -- a label that keeps finding creative ways to create all-star concept projects using their roster -- has no problem finding the joys of the gray area here. While a little cheap on the tracking at nine cuts, this disc offers funky
smooth jazz arrangements of
urban chart-toppers by
Aaliyah (the bouncy, hypnotic
"Rock the Boat," featuring vocalist
Maysa Leak),
Jay-Z (a bluesy, moody reworking of
"Izzo (Hova)," led by the
gospel organ excitement of
Moe Daniels),
Usher (
"U Don't Have to Call"), and others like
Shaggy,
Missy Elliot, and
D'Angelo. Although
Ken Navarro (whose balmy guitar smooths out
"After Party") and
Maysa are billed as featured artists, this is most often a showcase for the impressive soprano work of one of the label's most popular saxmen,
Kim Waters. This will be an open door for
smooth jazz fans to embrace some slick street sounds, and it should help
Waters reach a larger audience, which he has long deserved. ~ Jonathan Widran
![Out of Our Heads [UK]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/mimages/0000000000000_p0_v0_s192x300.jpg "Out of Our Heads [UK]")
