A-list session keyboardist Rob Whitlock’s second installment of his "Sketchin" solo series is enamored by the black & white/sepia-tinted sketches of Julius Pastorius: Son of the late, great bassist Jaco Pastorius. On this spry jazz-fusion outing, Whitlock summons the assistance of his very well-known associates, bassist Anthony Jackson, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and other luminaries. The all-star cast also features tenor sax titan Michael Brecker who is now in the throes of a serious medical condition. (We pray for his recovery.... )

Whitlock directs his band-mates through an affable course of action, where jazzy funk grooves, soaring horns and a synthesis of cross-genre components coalesce for an enticing set of musical notions. The keyboardist’s sweeping B-3 lines generate a peppery edge within Brazilian-tinged jazz-grooves, and R&B drenched motifs, notably exercised on Eddie Harris’ minor-classic, Cold Duck Time. On the later, West Coast jazz-fusion guitar god, Scott Henderson renders a burning solo, awash with screaming single note licks. Whitlock’s nicely designed textures and groove-laden soloing spots ride atop the fierce horn charts on a reworking of Harris’ "Freedom Jazz Dance," cutely titled, "Freedom Chicken Dance." In addition, the album features smooth-jazz stylizations amid Brecker’s memorable sax and EWI phrasings during a duet with the keyboardist on the instrumental reprise of "The Colours of Life." In contrast to Pastorius’ largely, black & white depictions of the artists involved with the project, Whitlock’s muse is immersed within a multihued musical palate. He injects hard-driving mosaics spanning divergent rhythmic forays, complementing his substantial writing/arranging faculties amid the musicians’ obvious sense of conviction.