The Jazz Channel Presents Bobby Womack (BET on Jazz)
Though he's widely considered one of pop music's most influential artists (working with the likes of Sam Cooke, Jimi Hendrix, Wilson Pickett, and Sly and the Family Stone, and being covered by the Rolling Stones, James Taylor, and J. Geils Band), Bobby Womack was relatively unknown to younger audiences until the late '90s. When pop-culture champion Quentin Tarantino used Womack's blaxploitation hit "Across 110th Street" forJackie Brown, a whole new audience opened up for Womack. For fans both old and new,  this 90-minute live performance showcases the work of a man with some of the silkiest, most powerful vocal cords in the business. And even though Womack is getting up there in years, he still looks like a bad ass, sporting a black leather baseball cap and dark shades that would make Shaft proud. This 18-song performance often comes across like an essential R&B-soul; history lesson. Womack croons beautifully on such classic ballads as "That's the Way I Feel About 'Cha" and "Woman's Gotta Have It" and shows off his grittiness on "Lookin' for a Love" and "Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out." If there's a flaw with the performance, it's the arrangements; Womack's backup band is a bit too slick. "Across 110th Street" is watered-down funk,  almost redone as adult contemporary gloss. Still, it's an essential for any Womack fan's collection.--Dave McCoy