Braxton Brothers Both Sides CD

Some independent labels work very hard to establish an identity, and the Concord-distributed Peak Records is obviously such a label. The Peak sound, in a nutshell, is very quiet storm -- NAC/smooth jazz meets urban adult contemporary. Peak is obviously going after the sort of listener who has a lot of Anita Baker and Luther Vandross in his/her collection but also listens to Grover Washington, Jr. and David Sanborn. That isn't to say that all of Peak's releases are as creative as those artists' best work -- the company's releases have ranged from decent to forgettable. Released in 2002, the Braxton Brothers' Both Sides is quite faithful to Peak's quiet storm history. This CD ranges from vocal-oriented urban/adult contemporary tracks to urban-minded NAC/smooth jazz instrumentals along the lines of Najee and the late George Howard. In fact, saxman Wayne Braxton (who is half of the Braxton Brothers) sounds like he has spent a lot of time listening to players like Najee, Howard, Dave Koz, and Kenny G (all of whom were heavily influenced by Washington but have, for the most part, lacked his creativity). Most of the material is forgettable and pedestrian, but there are a few noteworthy tracks here and there. The best track is "Better Than Nothing?," a laid-back urban contemporary item that features female singer Ledisi. The tune is about staying in a relationship with a loser because, after all, isn't a bad relationship better than nothing? The answer, of course, is no, and "Better Than Nothing?" rightly concludes that being alone is preferable to being mistreated. The funky "Do You Like It" is also decent but, for the most part, Both Sides is an album of forgettable background music. ~ Alex Henderson

Additional personnel includes: Seabron, Ledisi, Monet (vocals); Chris Camozzi (electric guitar); Peter Michael Escovedo (percussion).

Engineers include: Paizley Hinton, Tony Mills, Peter Michael Escovedo.

Personnel: Kenny Washington, Ledisi (vocals, background vocals); Legerald Norman, Kisha Griffin (vocals); Michael Herring , Cedricke Dennis (guitar); Nelson Braxton (electric guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, bass synthesizer, fretless bass, hand claps, drum programming, percussion programming, background vocals); Chris Camozzi (electric guitar); Victor Romasevich (violin, viola); Peter Gelfand, Jill Rachuy Brindel (cello); Wayne Braxton (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, hand claps, drum programming, background vocals); Peter Horvath (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Brian Collier, Tommy Bradford (drums); Pete Escovedo (percussion).

Audio Mixers: Wayne Braxton; Nelson Braxton.

Recording information: Barefoot Studio, Hollywood, CA; Blue Cherry Music, San Jose, CA; Choison Studio, Sunnyvale, CA; Gemini Studio, San Francisco, CA; Impact Entertainment, San Mateo, CA; Laughing Tiger, San Rafael, CA; Mozaic Music, Foster City, CA; PM Studio, Thousand Oaks, CA; Spark Interactive, Emeryville, CA; The Back Room, Oakland, CA.

Photographer: Sonny Mediana.

The Braxton Brothers: Nelson Braxton (spoken vocals, arranger, conductor, Fender Rhodes piano, synthesizer, electric guitar, acoustic & electric basses, programming); Wayne Braxton (alto & tenor saxophones, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, programming).