Flow
Miles Davis is evident in more literal terms on guitarist richard smith's Flow (Heads Up). Covering the familiar "Milestones," Smith sets up a blues shuffle with a hip-hop flavor to it, as he plays tug-of-war with a zigzagging brass chorus section. A similarly unlikely cover - Kenny G's "Pastels" - turns out to be the best illustration of Smith's mixture of subtle, nylon-string work and breezy electric playing. As colorful as these two tunes are, however, instantly memorable originals like the balmy title track (which blends a laid-back guitar lead with skittery electronic percussion), the sly, throbbing bass-driven blues of "Drive Time," and the easygoing ballad "Love Looks Without Eyes" are testaments to the straight-to-the-point writing style that's made Smith one of smooth jazz's most bankable composers. Of course, he's shown that promise from the beginning. And with a thick and hypnotic reworking of the gorgeous "The Great North" (from his 1987 debut, Puma Creek), he reminds us what a smooth-jazz guitar-sax ballad is all about.--- JAZZIZ MagazineCopyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.--From Jazziz