MARK ADAMS

THIS IS NEO-SOUL

DownJazz Records

Mark Adams, keyboard; Bill White & John Smith, guitar; Roy Bennett, Emanual Gatewood & Donald Nicks, bass; Chris DeCarmine, drums; Monte Croft, vibes; Kimberly Davis, John Presley & Jonathan Quash, vocals; Dave Mullins, saxophone; Kenyatta Beasley, trumpet.

What do you get when you put fifteen master musicians together from the bands of Roy Ayers, Chic, Lonnie Liston Smith and Chaka Khan?  You get an album called “This is Neo-Soul” under the leadership of Mark Adams.

Mark Adams is a keyboard wizard who was the long-time pianist for the famous “Roy Ayers” band.  “Sweet Tears” is a track that will encourage you to get up and dance. The Funky drums of Chris Decarmine infuse the groove and the bassline is infectious.  The horns punch in between the solid vocals of Jonathan Quash.

This is followed by “Don’t Stop (the feeling)” that is definitely reminiscent of Roy Ayers and how he could squeeze the last bit of smooth jazz funk out of a tune, using his infectious grooves and repeatable lyrics.

The thing about this project is that it’s missing a dynamic lead soloist that pulls these strong tracks together into a cohesive experience.  All these musicians are excellent, including the vocalists, but their common ground is that they played with leaders who excelled above the tracks with their solo talents.  There’s no Roy Ayers here playing vibes and singing along with tunes we know and love.  There’s no Lonnie Liston Smith tearing up the organ or Chaka Khan singing her soul over the funky grooves. That’s what I feel is missing on this mostly instrumental experience.

“Don’t Look Back” reminds me a lot of Stevie Wonder’s style of writing.  On “DayDreaming,” the drum solo is mind-blowing and brilliant. The bass solo is outstanding and the melody is infectious. These compositions have all the possibility of being hit records, but where is the outstanding soloist to lift the songs to the next level?

“Vibrations” adds the soulful vibraphone of Monty Croft and the lovely voice of Kimberly Davis, singing more adlib than melody.

A song called “Dre’s World” takes us back to the 1970s and the Super Fly movie-days.  It’s got that kind of production.  Voices chant on top of the funk-groove and the wah-wah pedal is king during this arrangement. In fact, this album sounds like a film soundtrack. I bet one of those Hollywood studio producers would gobble this project up and slide these impressive songs behind scenes in their movie.

“Lonnie’s Groove” is a tribute arrangement to the great Lonnie Liston Smith. Mark Adams adds his keyboard talents to the song, taking stage center during this arrangement. Adams spent more than twenty years with Roy Ayers in his touring group Ubiquity. He served as the keyboardist, and arranger. This album is a peek into the music that Mark Adams lived for more than two decades.

“It’s a Roy Ayers, 1970 sound, but we authenticated it with the people who played that music and the people were trained by them,” Adams explains in his press package.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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