Kirk Whalum Roundtrip CD

Personnel: Kirk Whalum (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, background vocals); Kirk Whalum; Caleb tha Bridge (vocals, rap vocals); Kevin Whalum, Shanice Wilson (vocals); Kim "Blondielocks" Fields (spoken vocals); Mark Jaimes (guitar, guitars, bass guitar); Earl Klugh, Jeff Golub (guitar); Gerald Albright (alto saxophone); Peter Murray (piano, Fender Rhodes piano); Chris Carter (organ); Julian Crampton, Melvin Davis, Alex Al (bass guitar); Michael White , Elijah "DD" Holt (drums); Ekpe Abioto (percussion); Garry Goin, Darrell Crooks (guitar); James McMillan (trumpet, flugelhorn, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, programming); Philippe Saisse, Rex Rideout (keyboards, programming); John Stoddart (keyboards, background vocals); Simon Phillips (drums); Martin Ditcham, Kevin Ricard (percussion); Priscilla Jones Campbell (background vocals).
Additional personnel: Hugh 'Peanuts' Whalum (vocals); Caleb tha Bridge (rap vocals); Jeff Golub (guitars); Kenneth Whalum III (tenor saxophone); Kyle Whalum (bass guitar); Kim "Blondielocks" Fields, Earl Klugh, Gerald Albright, Kevin Whalum, Shanice Wilson.
Liner Note Author: Kirk Whalum.
Recording information: Kar Studios, Sherman Oaks, CA; NU Millennium Productions, St. Louis, MO; Quietmoney Studio, Hastings, East Sussex; Ralph Sutton's House Of Blues Studio, Memphis, TN; Red Tuxedo, Atlanta, GA; Stax Museum Of American Soul Music, Memphis, TN; Synchronicity Music, Sherman Oaks, CA; The Comforter Studio, Memphis, TN; Track Record Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Valerian Studio, New York, NY; White Lightning Studio, Sylmar, CA.
Arrangers: Philippe Saisse; James McMillan.
Smooth jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum reaches back into his own discography on 2007's ROUNDTRIP, re-recording material drawn from his 30 years in the game. Whalum revisits some of the funky stuff that was his stock in trade during his club days in Memphis, but the new versions gleam with the sheen for which the sax man is known. An A-list of guests appear, including the great Earl Klugh, who lends his gorgeous guitar to a new reading of "Ruby Ruby Ruby." As a retrospective, and a sampler of Whalum's seductive crossover sound, ROUNDTRIP is a sure-fire bet.
Contemporary jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum decided to take a little trip back in time on Roundtrip, back to the Memphis club scene that nurtured him early on, and to record some of his earliest compositions -- and ones written expressly for him -- with fresh ears as well as some new ones. Recording in four different places from Memphis to Los Angeles to New York to England, Whalum asked some old pals to pop in, like Earl Klugh, Jeff Golub, Gerald Albright, and Philippe Saisse, as well as some of his stalwart rocksteady bandmates such as Rex Rideout, drummer Michael White, bassist Melvin Davis, guitarist Mark Jaimes, and trumpeter James McMillan. There are a few other surprises as well, such as the appearance of Kim Fields on "In a Whisper," Shanice on "Inside," and sons Kyle, Hugh, and Kevin making appearances as well. Issued on his own Rendezvous Music imprint, this is Whalum at his most relaxed and celebratory. That said, Roundtrip has no less polish than anything recorded over his nearly 30-year career, and the label was his idea. It's a deeply personal offering that is celebratory in nature rather than merely reflective. The pairing with Klugh on "Ruby Ruby Ruby" is on the money. The keen melodic sensibilities both men possess complement one another perfectly, and the mix is skeletal enough to let Klugh's gorgeous guitar playing stand out. Whalum's tenor playing and the light, Latin-kissed composition are sparse and in the pocket. The reading of Nat Adderley, Jr.'s "The Wave" (the original is from 1988's And You Know That LP on Columbia) doesn't work quite so well in that Saisse does all the keyboards and programming and Whalum just blows over the top. The problem is that the synthetic handclaps add nothing; in fact, they detract from what otherwise might have been a nicJazzTimes (p.95) - "The new songs, with their old-but-new style, show the saxophonist at his best, as a purveyor of a pop-jazz with a keen mainstream sensibility."