Solid

マルチ・プラチナム・セールスを記録しているサックス奏者ボニー・ジェームスの17枚目のアルバム、2017年『Honestly』以来3年ぶりの作品がリリース。

オリジナル曲11曲を収録、シングル"Be Here"では人気R&Bシンガー、ケニー・ラティモアが参加!

本人曰く「本作は昨今の世の中がいかにストレスにあふれているかということに対するリアクション。音楽はそういった中でも癒しとなり、しかもソリッドで決して私をがっかりはさせないもの。強固な関係というのはあなたの背中を押してくれる人がいてどんなことがあっても味方でいてくれるってこと。音楽はそういうものなんだ。」

Saxophonist Boney James came up in the late 80s backing funky pop and R&B performers like the Isley Brothers, Morris Day, Randy Crawford, and Teena Marie. These early experiences helped shape his own sound as he moved into soulful, instrumental jazz. Its an approach that helped earn him four Grammy nominations, and one he continues to hone almost three decades into his career on his robust 17th album, 2020s Solid, which follows 2017s neo-soul-inflected Honestly (his 11th number one Billboard Contemporary Jazz album). Produced by James, Solid again finds him crafting a handful of lyrical and groove-based tracks that showcase his burnished tone and infectious sense of rhythm. Particularly engaging are cuts like the title track, Full Effect, and Tonic, ebullient and hooky numbers James co-wrote with guitarist Kendall Gilder while they were on tour for Honestly. No less compelling is the celestial tropicalia of Luna, as James spirals harmonically colorful lines against a spacy keyboard and lush backing vocals. He also brings on board vocalist Kenny Lattimore for the sultry, yearning ballad Be Here. Both of these songs were co-written by James and his longtime collaborator writer/producer Jairus J-Mo Mozee. Elsewhere, he draws upon an early-80s soft-soul vibe for Just So, evokes synthy 90s New Jack Swing on Sundance, and settles back into the dusky, Barry White-esque slow jam The Bottom Line. Part of what keeps James music sounding so vital, and makes him stand out among his smooth jazz peers, is his ability to evoke the grind and sweat of old-school R&B; Solid has plenty of that to go around. ~ Matt Collar