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Mindi Abair has been a force in pop and jazz since she moved to Los Angeles. When she signed to GRP she really made her mark as a solo artist. Life Less Ordinary is her fourth recording under her own name since 1999. She has toured tirelessly, played on dozens of sessions, and been a regular on smooth jazz radio and pop stations. Life Less Ordinary is the most diverse things she's issued. There's the taut, sheeny groove jazz she's become famous for on the funky opener "Do You Miss Me," with a vocal chorus and trippy keyboards and programming by producer Michael Hager. "Long Ride Home" is the album's standout track. One can plainly hear the influence of David Sanborn, Tom Scott, and Michael Brecker on her playing. It's a simple vamp that gives way to a slippery chorus. It's more a song than a jazz jam. The piece is tightly composed and arranged, and its groove is undeniable -- especially in the multi-tracked saxophones. The album's first surprise happens in her cover of Rickie Lee Jones' "It Must Be Love," from her Magazine album. Abair's treatment makes it sound like it came off a slick Nashville country version of Ghostyhead! With programmed loops by Hager, very hushed and nocturnal. Abair apes Jones' vocal -- including her phrasing -- but she doesn't have the voice and sounds flat. Michael Landau's guitar playing is utterly tasteful and beautiful and Keb Mo's brief dobro solo are the strongest parts of the cut, though Lalah Hathaway's backing vocals are fine as well and steal the show from Abair. "The Joint" is solid; a tough, blues-influenced groove which, with muddier production, could have appeared on a Blue Note soul-jazz record from the late '60s, or one of the Crusaders early sides with Larry Carlton. "Slinky"'s fractured, slow, sexy funk is in-the-pocket and backbone-slipping. "Ordinary Love," along with the Jones' tune -- both attempts at singles -- is simply awful. The melody, with its Latin undertones, is nowhere, and the vocal would be forgettable if it weren't so in-your-face bad. "Bloom" should have been the album's closer with its infectious, sing-able lyricism and its euphoric choruses and bridge, but the semi-orchestral "Far Away" (not Carole King's tune) gets that honor, and it's a fine piece of new age jazz if that's what moves you. In all, there are great moments here. Abair has a great funky jazz record in her somewhere, but she, her manager, or her producers need to reign her in. She is aware of her strengths, it seems, but not her weaknesses.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Matthew Hager, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist, Bass (Vocal) - John Robinson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paulinho Da Costa, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Landau, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - RICKY PETERSON, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Composer, Producer, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, Bass (Vocal) - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bud Harner, Cymbals, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, Composer, MainArtist - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Lalah Hathaway, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Matthew Hager, Producer, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Rickie Lee Jones, ComposerLyricist - Paulinho Da Costa, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Landau, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - RICKY PETERSON, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, MainArtist - Keb' Mo', Dobro, AssociatedPerformer - Stan Sargeant, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Composer, Producer, Electric Guitar, Percussion, Bass, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - John Robinson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - RICKY PETERSON, Organ, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, Composer, Saxophone, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Composer, Producer, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Drum Programming, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - John Robinson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Landau, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - LARRY KLEIN, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - RICKY PETERSON, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, Composer, MainArtist - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Drum Programming, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist, Bass (Vocal) - John Robinson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paulinho Da Costa, Conga, AssociatedPerformer - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Producer, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Asst. Recording Engineer, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Goffrey Moore, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Stevo Theard, Composer, Producer, Keyboards, Additional Producer, Drum Programming, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Drum Programming, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist, Bass (Vocal) - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bud Harner, Cymbals, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Juan Hercules, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Composer, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Asst. Recording Engineer, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel - John Robinson, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Landau, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - RICKY PETERSON, Organ, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, Composer, MainArtist - Stan Sargeant, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Matthew Hager, Producer, Electric Guitar, Asst. Recording Engineer, Programming, AssociatedPerformer, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Paulinho Da Costa, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Michael Landau, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Julie Rogers, String Arranger, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - LARRY KLEIN, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Aaron Walk, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - RICKY PETERSON, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Alwyn Wright, Violin, AssociatedPerformer - Caroline Buckman, Viola, AssociatedPerformer - Timothy Loo, Cello, AssociatedPerformer - Steve Sykes, Mixer, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Mindi Abair, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Joshua Blanchard, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jamey Tate, Drums, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
Mindi Abair has been a force in pop and jazz since she moved to Los Angeles. When she signed to GRP she really made her mark as a solo artist. Life Less Ordinary is her fourth recording under her own name since 1999. She has toured tirelessly, played on dozens of sessions, and been a regular on smooth jazz radio and pop stations. Life Less Ordinary is the most diverse things she's issued. There's the taut, sheeny groove jazz she's become famous for on the funky opener "Do You Miss Me," with a vocal chorus and trippy keyboards and programming by producer Michael Hager. "Long Ride Home" is the album's standout track. One can plainly hear the influence of David Sanborn, Tom Scott, and Michael Brecker on her playing. It's a simple vamp that gives way to a slippery chorus. It's more a song than a jazz jam. The piece is tightly composed and arranged, and its groove is undeniable -- especially in the multi-tracked saxophones. The album's first surprise happens in her cover of Rickie Lee Jones' "It Must Be Love," from her Magazine album. Abair's treatment makes it sound like it came off a slick Nashville country version of Ghostyhead! With programmed loops by Hager, very hushed and nocturnal. Abair apes Jones' vocal -- including her phrasing -- but she doesn't have the voice and sounds flat. Michael Landau's guitar playing is utterly tasteful and beautiful and Keb Mo's brief dobro solo are the strongest parts of the cut, though Lalah Hathaway's backing vocals are fine as well and steal the show from Abair. "The Joint" is solid; a tough, blues-influenced groove which, with muddier production, could have appeared on a Blue Note soul-jazz record from the late '60s, or one of the Crusaders early sides with Larry Carlton. "Slinky"'s fractured, slow, sexy funk is in-the-pocket and backbone-slipping. "Ordinary Love," along with the Jones' tune -- both attempts at singles -- is simply awful. The melody, with its Latin undertones, is nowhere, and the vocal would be forgettable if it weren't so in-your-face bad. "Bloom" should have been the album's closer with its infectious, sing-able lyricism and its euphoric choruses and bridge, but the semi-orchestral "Far Away" (not Carole King's tune) gets that honor, and it's a fine piece of new age jazz if that's what moves you. In all, there are great moments here. Abair has a great funky jazz record in her somewhere, but she, her manager, or her producers need to reign her in. She is aware of her strengths, it seems, but not her weaknesses.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 10 track(s)
- Total length: 00:44:22
- Main artists: Mindi Abair
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: GRP
- Genre: Jazz
© 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. ℗ 2006 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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