Search - Various Artists :: Best of Smooth Jazz 4

Dim the lights for "Smooth Jazz Volume 4"

John Jones | Chicago IL | 09/27/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The fourth installment in Warner Bros.' "Best of Smooth Jazz" series lives up to its "For Lovers" subtitle, offering up some of the most romantic ballads in the label's catalog. kd lang crooning the standard "Skylark" over a full orchestra is sheer bliss, ditto for Al Jarreau's timeless pop/soul ballad "After All." The sultry rhythms of Bossa Nova shine on George Benson's chestnut "This Masquerade" and Michael Franks' exquisite "Hourglass," while soul reigns supreme on George Duke's "No Rhyme, No Reason." We're also treated to two superior moments from Fourplay: first Phil Collins sits in on his own composition, the hypnotic "Why Can't it Wait Till Morning" (here presented in a slick radio remix); then Chaka Khan lends her one-of-a-kind pipes to a slow-burn reading of the Isley Brothers hit "Between the Sheets."The only possible grievance is length: only forty-eight minutes and eleven tracks long, the set feels a little short. Still, with the likes of George Benson, David Sanborn, and Boney James rounding out the album, you can't really argue with quality over quantity."