Les Sabler - Sweet Drive (2007)

Artist: Les Sabler
Title Of Album: Sweet Drive
Year Of Release: Sep 25, 2007
Label: Music Force Media Group
Genre: Jazz, Smooth Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Guitar
Quality: MP3 / Joint Stereo
Bitrate: VBR kbit/s / 44.1 Khz
Total Time: 60:09 min
Total Size: 87,9 mb
WebSite: http://www.lessabler.com/

TRACKLIST
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1. You've Got It Bad Girl 4:20
2. Sweet Drive 3:35
3. Daydreaming 5:58
4. Club Street 3:48
5. Can You Stop The Rain 5:00
6. I'm Not The Same 4:16
7. Struttin' 4:58
8. Who Am I 5:20
9. Twenty 4:07
10. Biggest Part Of Me 4:44
11. Food Chain 4:03
12. Could You Be 4:18
13. Daydreaming (Instrumental) 5:42

Personnel: Les Sabler (guitar); Richard Jackson (vocals); Gary Meek (flute); Eric Marienthal (saxophone); Dave Ryan, Mark Hollingsworth, Bill Armstrong (horns); Ricky Peterson (Hammond b-3 organ); Jeff Lorber, Allon Sams (keyboards); Brian Bomberg (acoustic bass); Vinnie Colaiuta (drums); Alex Acuna (percussion); Toni Scruggs, Rahsaan Patterson (background vocals).

If there is a magic formula for making top notch smooth jazz then guitarist Les Sabler has surely found it. His brand new CD release ‘Sweet Drive’ not only features his own picture perfect playing but also includes some of the best contemporary jazz talent around. Rather than marvelling at just how Sabler has managed to assemble so many great performers in the same place at the same time, its more than enough to simply delight in the artistry on show. From the solid foundation provided by the percussion of Alex Acuna, drums from Vinnie Colaiuta and acoustic bass from Brian Bromberg (who also produces), to the soulful heart provided by a horn section to die for, everything about ‘Sweet Drive’ is just right. Those horns, billed here as the Seawind Horns, in fact come courtesy of Jerry Hey, Gary Grant, Bill Reichenbach and Dan Higgins. When the flute of Gary Meek is factored in, plus keyboards from Jeff Lorber and guest performances on sax from Mark Hollingsworth and Eric Marienthal, ‘Sweet Drive’ is an album that just can’t fail.

With four choice covers blending with eight originals, this terrific concoction is quickly up and running with the Stevie Wonder composition ‘You’ve Got It Bad Girl’. The velvety tones of the Seawind Horns merge with stunning vocals from Toni Scruggs and Rahsaan Patterson to create a gorgeous backdrop against which Sabler does his mellow thing. Scruggs and Patterson are delightful and recurring features of the whole album and Scruggs is particularly outstanding when combining with Richard Jackson on Aretha Franklin’s ‘Daydreaming’. As dreamy as the title suggests it ought be this wonderful interpretation is blessed with a subtle string arrangement from Tom Zink and when Zink returns with Scruggs and Jackson for ‘Can You Stop The Rain’ the result is a deliciously fresh take on this haunting Peabo Bryson classic... / Read More /