Per reader request, we increase our jazz coverage by some percentage…
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[5.86]
Megan Harrington: The catch with smooth jazz is that it’s supposed to be relaxing — that’s why it’s for the accountant a handful of years away from retirement and not the college kid who puts on Drake when he wants to get laid. Boney James is an impeccable saxophonist, such that you might not even immediately think “saxophone” when you listen to “Vinyl,” and it’s in that respect that it comes closest to unassertive background music. There is a feeling that dominates “Vinyl,” at once familiar and unplaceable, and as comforting as it is to hear music played so soothingly, it’s also unsettling, something of an uncanny valley. I find “Vinyl” too exciting to wind down the day, too interesting to ignore.
[10]
Jonathan Bogart: When the intro on your Wikipedia page is all like, “no man, he’s not smooth jazz don’t you dare call him smooth jazz,” that’s just an open invitation to haters like me.
[3]
Alfred Soto: There are simply too many notes, that’s all. Just cut a few and it will be perfect..
[3]
Thomas Inskeep: Between titling this single “Vinyl” and opening it with the familiar sound of a needle dropping on a record, James is clearly going for a distinct vibe here, and he gets it. This is an updated version of classic soul, with his sax as the vocal, gliding across a smooth four-plus minutes of Philly Int’l (including a gorgeous, mixed-low chorus of horns in the back). And just because James is a saxman, don’t make the mistake of lumping him in with some other more famous practitioners of the instrument (*cough*KennyG*cough*), because there’s plenty true soul and emotion here; this is the stuff late-night Quiet Storm dreams are made of.
[8]
Micha Cavaseno: I burst out laughing at this, I’m not going to lie to you. Not that this is good. Boney James is clearly doing the Kenny G Soft R&B Masquerading As Jazz trick, but with decently modern neo-soul production aesthetics. But considering I participate in the recreational listening of Wally Badarou singles from the last five years and got REALLY HYPE when “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” started playing in Straight Outta Compton… I’m a mark for this stuff. Boney James is a garbage saxophonist, or at least very eager to sellout for that WBLS money, and I don’t blame him, because jazz is rubbish. And this is going to be so much better than most of the jazz that gets pushed this year, and THAT’S WHAT’S STAGGERING. I would rather listen to a Kenny G than a new record of Wynton’s pandering, or some dork who’s arranging in the “HIP-HOP STYLE.” The absurdity is too much!
[4]
Josh Langhoff: Boney James music, wrote Tom Hull a decade ago, “credits a dozen or more musicians per track yet sounds like nothing at all.” That’s not quite right. This is music of small but satisfying performative pleasures — feeling how the parts fit together, finding pockets, hitting grooves, taking fleeting satisfaction in getting a lick exactly right. It sounds like getting paid or getting laid.
[5]
Brad Shoup: The fear with a new jazz record centered around someone’s sax prowess is that the setting isn’t up to snuff. The vinyl era Boney’s probably thinking of was all about fusion, after all. But he’s got a great melody — so what if his bassist’s not up enough in the mix, or the keyboardist is desperately trying to break off some Patrick Adamsisms. The timbre is thick, he lets the trumpet tease the figure. Keeps your eye to the sky.
[8]