I Want You - Love in the Spirit of Marvin

Album review

Since Kim Waters signed with urban jazz mecca Shanachie in the late '90s, genre fans have known where to go when they're in the mood for love. Four of his seven albums have the word in the title, and the others are intensely romantic. Waters' high spirited ride on the love train continues on his eighth Shanachie collection (and 16th overall), which finds him celebrating 20 years as a recording artist by paying homage to one of his biggest all-time influences, legendary soul singer Marvin Gaye. The saxman previously tapped into the Gaye vibe with his vibrant, party-ready cover of "Got to Give It Up." On I Want You, Waters mixes old-school R&B textures and contemporary hip-hop with his trademark, sensual as always playing to fashion a unique kind of tribute. Rather than simply doing a set of Gaye covers, he uses his dreamy, candlelit twist on the title track (featuring the hypnotic vocals of Vivian Green) and a passionate twist on "Distant Lover" as a springboard for nine originals that, as the album subtitle promises, spread true love in the late legend's spirit. Waters can't specifically remember the first Gaye song he ever heard, but he thinks it very well might have been "Let's Get It On." He throws a knowing wink to that romantic benchmark hit -- dubbed one of the "Top Ten Sexy Songs" of all time by Virgin Media -- with his cleverly titled "Let's Get on It," whose catchy, free flowing sax melody rides smoothly over crunchy, handclap percussion. After kickstarting the set with a coolly soulful invitation to "Groove with Me," he goes retro on three key tracks: the candlelit romance "Come with Me," which starts with an old-school Fender Rhodes intro; the bouncy shuffle funk tune "Some Dreams Come True," which mixes a hypnotic clavinet with colorful sax improvisations; and the trippy and playful "Cosmic Love," whose wistful soprano melody is balanced by quirky and spacy old-school keyboard sounds.
© Jonathan Widran /TiVo