Description
The American jazz fusion group Seawind reunited in 2005 for a Los Angeles concert performance and then began work on a new album, which ultimately took three years to complete. Seawind’s 2009-album Reunion was released initially via Sony Japan, and then independently released by the band domestically, with an improved mix. This 12 song CD includes beautifully performed, updated 2009 arrangements of “Follow Your Road”, “Free” , “Devil Is A Liar” and “He Loves You” (which also features Al Jarreau). The album was produced by band members Larry Williams and Bob Wilson.
In 1976 Seawind released their first album, and went on to become much loved exponents of jazz funk having in Pauline Wilson an affecting lead singer and sporting a horn section which eventually spilt away from the band to hit pay dirt as a mainstream outfit good enough to play on Michael Jackson hits. Seawind broke up in 1982 but their output continued to be highly regarded by jazz funk aficionados (particularly, in of all places, Japan). Finally, the band were persuaded to reform and this is the result. Described as either jazz fusion or smooth jazz, this is recording is clearly a return to the ’70s with four tracks «Follow Your Road», «Free», «Devil Is A Liar» and «He Loves You» being new versions of their 1970s originals. As with many jazz tracks the emphasis is not so much on the song structure but the skills of the musicians jamming together to see what comes out. So instrumental tracks such as «Sunshadow» comprise background ambience for a hotel lobby. It is when Grammy award winner Pauline Wilson sings that the songs return with smooth soulful relaxing tones. Such is Seawind’s status amongst in-the-know musicians that for this project they were able to bring in guests like jazz pop giant Al Jarreau who adds some scatting vocals on «He Loves You». Overall, this album shows that Seawind have lost none of their consummate skill and if you go for jazz fusion this will be a reunion you will want to investigate. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, July 2010]
When a great group gets back together – you know: a group from the good old days when music was played on big black pieces of vinyl with holes in the center – the hope is that they’ll sound as good as they used to sound way back when.
That’s not what happened with Seawind.
They sound better.
You would have thought that, after 30 years, the fabled horn section might have lost some of its precision and power, that the drums might carry less thunder, that the keyboards might have a bit less style and funk, the guitar have less bite, and that – certainly – Pauline Wilson’s voice would have lost some character and range. Nope.
Like fine wine, these masters of jazz/pop/funk have matured, improved with age, and become even more formidable with the passage of decades. Obviously, these people are, and always have been, fine musicians and not ‘pop stars,’ and so have avoided the pitfalls of becoming a sad Spinal Tap-like parody of what they once were.
Not only has the original Seawind line-up re-assembled in fine form, but they’ve produced what just might be the finest project in their entire catalogue. With five of the twelve tracks being Seawind classics, Reunion certainly is the equivalent of a Seawind greatest hits collection but with an important difference: «Hold on to Love», «Follow Your Road», «Free», «He Loves You», and «Devil is a Liar» are played with the original arrangements essentially intact but performed with more matured, well-seasoned chops. Bob Wilson (drums and primary writer), Larry Williams (keyboard, sax and flutes), Bud Nuanez (guitars), Ken Wild (Bass), Kim Hutchcroft (sax and flutes), Larry Hall (trumpet and flugelhorn), and, of course, Pauline Wilson (vocals) have never sounded better or played with more authority and taste. On «Everything Needs Love», for example, the horns (aided on this track by Seawind Horn alumni Gary Grant and Bill Reichenbach) roar with explosive energy, Pauline Wilson sings with enthusiasm and power, the whole rhythm section cooks, and the guitar makes a memorably nasty entrance to a fiery little solo. This is even better than ‘classic’ Seawind.
The remaining seven tracks are pure Seawind perfection – essentially a brand-new Seawind album, with four strong instrumentals («Sunshadow», «Wayne», «Pearl», and «Liquid Spies») and three songs («Kept by Your Power», «You’re My Everything» and «Hold On To Love») with Christian-themed lyrics.
An unexpected treat on «Hold on to Love» is the guest appearance of legendary jazz vocalist Al Jarreau, whose signature scat technique is as much an instrumental element as it is a vocal solo. Jarreau’s lyrical improvisations with Pauline Wilson at the end of the song, as the two sing together about God’s love, is one of those special musical moments that need to be savored each time you hear it.
Of course, this wouldn’t really be a return to form without the instrumentals. Always a highlight to any Seawind album, Reunion offers no less than four stunning examples of the band’s samba/jazz explorations. Somehow managing to keep a cool island vibe while playing decidedly hot jazz licks, the band manages to navigate through the sophisticated funk of Bob Wilson’s «Sunshadow», and three Larry Williams compositions: «Wayne», «Pearl», and «Liquid Spies». The instrumentals highlight the virtuosity of each player as we get articulate solos from Hutchcroft and Hall as they stretch out on sax, flute, trumpet, and flugelhorn. Aside from dealing out some excellent sax soloing, Williams’ elegant keyboard provides inventive chords to play off of, and some dazzling but tasteful solo work, Nuanez’s guitar work is fluid and fiery, featuring stunning melodic runs and tasty, soulful but jazzy licks, while underneath it all Bob Wilson’s drums are powerful and swinging alongside some wonderful fretless electric and acoustic bass by Ken Wild. The whole band gets a workout, particularly on «Liquid Spies», where each section, as well as each player, is featured to good effect.
Reunion shows us that this is a band that perhaps has its best recording days still ahead – it has everything a Seawind fan could possibly want, and certainly leaves this listener with only one more request: more new Seawind recordings, please. [Bert Saraco, The Phantom Tollbooth, 2010]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/reunion/453264528)
CD tracklist:
01. Kept By Your Power – 4:41
02. You’re My Everything – 5:55
03. Sunshadow – 6:53
04. Hold On To Love (feat. Al Jarreau) – 6:40
05. Follow Your Road – 5:30
06. Free – 6:44
07. Wayne – 6:34
08. He Loves You (feat. Al Jarreau) – 5:42
09. Devil Is A Liar – 5:16
10. Pearl – 5:08
11. Everything Needs Love – 4:08
12. Liquid Spies – 6:23
Note: The original Japanese release has a different mix than the subsequent domestic release. The original mix suffers from some overmodulation which was later corrected for the domestic release. They flipped the photo so you can distinguish between the two (on the domestic edition the heading is placed in the left corner of the CD cover).
“Your Love” (2014)
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