Nice & Slow
When, as a teenager, Brian Culbertson released his debut album,Long Night Out, in the early part of the 1990s, it was obvious that he was a child of smooth jazz, with a definite penchant for commercial musical hooks that hang together and shine. Subsequent successes showed that he had that talent in abundance, but those records seemed rushed to strike the smooth-jazz iron while the radio play was hot.Nice & Slowvaries from his recent efforts; as the title suggest, it's a mellower 11-song effort, but it seems Culbertson also used the title as a mantra in putting these songs together, as they are among his best compositions--Culbertson hasn't put out a more complete album since his debut. The evidence abounds, from the delicious ballad withDave Koz, "I Could Get Used to This" to the funky call-and-response Midwest groove on "Get It On." The young keyboardist uses (and gets the best of) his guest stars on this album, among them trumpeterHerb Alpert, fellow keyboardistJeff Lorber, and R&B; starKenny Lattimore.--Mark Ruffin