Smooth jazz/
NAC music has often been the whipping boy of
jazz's hardcore fans, and in many cases, the attacks are justified -- a lot of
NAC artists do specialize in bloodless, uncreative, insipid dreck. But commercial
pop-jazz doesn't have to be devoid of substance. Like
David Sanborn,
Joe Sample, and the late
Grover Washington, Jr.,
Rob Ryndak realizes that a jazzman can be accessible to
pop and
R&B audiences without prostituting himself and throwing integrity to the wind.
Stay With It,
Ryndak's third
Southport release, often falls into the "
smooth jazz with a difference" category. Congenial, laid-back instrumentals like
"Discovery" (which recalls
George Benson's
"Breezin'"),
"Gentle Gubbio," and the Brazilian-flavored
"Compassion" have a lot of
pop appeal, but without being elevator music or sacrificing a commitment to improvisation. And even though much of
Stay With It is
pop-minded,
Ryndak can also play straight-ahead --
"Spiritual Renewal" and
"Soft Spoken" are essentially straight-ahead
post-bop offerings, despite the fact that the latter finds
Ryndak on electric piano and sideman
Richard Patterson on electric bass. Meanwhile,
"Bliss" is a funky number that successfully combines a
Jazz Messengers-like horn arrangement with a
jazz-rock edge -- if
Art Blakey had invited
Al Di Meola,
John McLaughlin, or
Larry Coryell to sit in with his
Jazz Messengers in the '70s or '80s, the results might have sounded something like guitarist
John Mouler's contributions to
"Bliss." As much as
Stay With It has going for it, the CD is a bit uneven. Some of
Ryndak's material is excellent, and some it is merely decent. But on the whole,
Stay With It paints an attractive picture of the Chicago-based pianist/keyboardist. ~ Alex Henderson
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