Undercover by Paul Taylor

18 Jan

Written by Denai Burbank
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Paul Taylor's collection of mood music is quite sensual. It's filled with romance and serenity as well as some upbeat tracks to round it out. You'll find that Taylor is …

Paul Taylor's collection of mood music is quite sensual. It's filled with romance and serenity as well as some upbeat tracks to round it out.

You'll find that Taylor is good at getting to the heart of a composition. He plays with that kind of understanding. His supporting ensemble gives him room to stretch. Cooperative musicianship is the strength here. In the track "My Love," with Portrait featuring Kurt Jackson's smooth vocal signals a cross over to the "urban contemporary" market. Some enticing guitar work by Brian Monroney introduces "Alone With You," which gives this track a slightly different foundation.

The band gets funkier with "Code Blue" with heavier percussion and all-around "get down to business" attitude. "Indigo" is also deeper, but incorporates more of the "smooth and easy" structure.

Taylor knows what's necessary in each track and the power of the soprano and alto saxes and it shows. He's also responsible, along with other co-writers for all, but "Velvet Rope," which was composed by Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Rene Elizondo and company. What's also significant is that Maurice White is in the production seat on several tracks. Ahh yes!

Beauty is central to this disc. You can sense the care Taylor has taken to deliver quality and to communicate the joy of his craft and specifically, this project. With musicians and producers of like mind, true genuine artistry is heard and is something we listeners can truly be grateful for.

Additional Info

Artist / Group Name: Paul Taylor
CD Title: Undercover
Genre: Smooth Jazz
Year Released: 2000
Record Label: N-Coded Music
Musicians: Paul Taylor (soprano and alto sax), D. Monyongo Jackson (percussion), Michael Thompson (electric guitar), Jimi Randolph (keyboard, drum programming), Scott Rammer, Dino Esposito (midi, keyboard and drum programming), Brian Monroney, Russ Freeman (guitars), Oji Pierce (various).
Label Website: http://www.warlockrecords.com
Rating: Five Stars