Bass X
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Bass X is the sort of name one associates with electronic dance, club, or rave music -- perhaps techno, perhaps jungle/drum'n'bass, perhaps trance or tribal. And in fact, the name Bass X has been used in the electronica realm, but that's a different Bass X than the one heard on Vol. 2: Heir Wave. This Bass X -- the same group that gave listeners Vol. 1: The Beginning in 2001 -- focuses on vocal-oriented quiet storm and the more R&B-minded smooth jazz. Think Luther Vandross, Kashif, Anita Baker, and Sade by way of Grover Washington, Jr., David Sanborn, and Joe Sample; in other words, black adult contemporary. And the leaders of this group (producer Larry Hubbard, keyboardist Tim Gant, and singer Michael White) are people one associates with the NAC/smooth jazz world, not techno or drum'n'bass. The term smooth jazz, of course, has a very negative connotation in some hardcore jazz circles -- a lot of bop and post-bop musicians deeply resent it when pop fans think of Kenny G as the epitome of a great jazz artist, and their resentment is certainly understandable. But not all smooth jazz is created equal; if one thinks of Washington's excellent Winelight as part of smooth jazz, it's easy to argue that smooth jazz isn't necessarily the mind-numbing, sleep-inducing elevator music of Kenny G. Thankfully, the instrumentals on Heir Wave will appeal to those who like their smooth jazz with some meat on its bones. The vocal offerings, meanwhile, are equally decent Baker/Sade/Vandross fare -- nothing in a class with Baker's Rapture or Sade's Diamond Life, but pleasant, likable examples of romantic quiet storm tunes. While Heir Wave won't go down in history as a five-star masterpiece, it's easily one of the more respectable NAC-oriented discs of 2003. Alex Henderson, All Music Guide Tracks:
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