Soulful fresh jazz RJ And The Assignment – HYBRID HARMONY: I’ve been a fan of RJ’s (Reginald Johnson’s) stellar keyboard work ever since I first reviewed him in issue # 137… though the performance is a bit old, RJ’s jazz work is timeless, so be sure to watch him in this live video first…
…you can find many of his albums, too… just SUBSCRIBE to the RJ & The Assignment topic channel… I did.
With snippets of humor embedded (Moms Mabley, anyone?), “My Mean Ol’ Aunt“, just KICKS out that jam… at 4:47 length, this RJ original gets right on down & FUNKY, and (I predict) will be getting MAJOR amounts of airplay on stations ’round the globe!
Top-notch vocalists and players make the album an “instant hit” as far as I’m concerned (Vocals – Klaiton Johnson, Bass-Jason Bolden, Drums-Terry Wesley, IIKeyz – RJ, Additional keyz – Tom Schuman)… the vocal magic on the 4:06 opener, “I’m Tryin’” will take you back years & years to the very best of the soul era; I’ve been hitting “replay” on this one often.
From a jazz perspective, “Between Now And Never“, is certainly right up there at the top of my jazz list for 2020… splendid sax work on this one, and RJ’s keyboards are superb!
The beautiful string-like intro on the title track, “Hybrid Harmony“, as well as RJ’s high-energy keyboard work, made it my personal favorite of the ten solid jazz journeys offered up for your aural adventure.
I give RJ and his excellent players a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.99 for this “must-have” album. Get more information at the RJ & the Assignment website. Rotcod Zzaj
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