Urban Knights Presents: The Chicago Project
The most surprising aspect of this CD and its focus on three Windy City musicians is the ease in which critically acclaimed jazz and world-music guitaristFareed Haqueslips into the smooth-jazz genre. Like French guitaristMarc Antoine, Haque adds a definite international flair to this date, including sitar sounds over hip-hop grooves on "Bombay Streets," and monster flamenco chops on "Myths and Legends" and "A Place in Time." Two of the best things about theUrban Knights IValbum, trumpeter Ron Haynes and keyboard wiz Kevin Randolph, are the other soloists here, with the latter having a firmer stamp on these proceedings. Cut out of theRamsey Lewis/Jeff Lorber'70s keyboard mode, Randolph's playing highlights the funky mix of old-school style with 21st-century beats that sets the contemporary jazz scene in Chicago apart from other sounds. His groove is always steady and he stands out even when the spotlight is on his band mates. Haynes, best known for his stint with the Chicago acid-jazz groupLiquid Soul, is much more subdued with this group, which is just the right speed for smooth jazz and this heavily sequenced but enjoyable production.--Mark Ruffin