NEWS & REVIEWS

With his move to Shanachie Records in 2006, Harp found a new creative freedom, to let his jazz chops shine right along with his soul and funk grooves. Harp brought in a bunch of old friends for this date, George Duke is here, as is Jeff Lorber and James K. Lloyd from Pieces of a Dream, but he's done that before. What really gets it here is that the band he put together on this set is tight, sympathetic, and ready to punch it up a notch. Harp wrote seven of these ten tunes, with one each by Lloyd and Lorber, and there's a nice little cover of "Don't Look Any Further." Lloyd's "Juke Joint" opens the set, and it's pure funky J.B.'s funk all slicked up with a slippery backing groove, punched up horns, and a melody that exists because the groove is so pronounced. The Rhodes solo by Lloyd is smokin' but it's Alex Al's rubbery bassline and Harp leading off a three-piece horn line that makes it pop. The production on this tune is a bit compressed, but there are enough raw edges to really make it pop. Harp's "All Jazzed Up (And Nowhere to Go)" comes right out of the '70s CTI catalog . This could have appeared on either Washington's Feels So Good or Mister Magic LPs, and that's a very high compliment. The composition is seamless with an elegant soulful melody line, and the keyboard work by Rex Rideout and Harp is perfect, moving like a snaky Bob James in his prime, with Harp finding the right solo for the groove. The doubling of A. Ray Fuller's guitar, Teddy Campbell's neat cowbell touches on the drums, and percussion by Lenny Castro all over the sound is superb, but it's the larger horn section that's pushing Harp out front in his solo, and he goes for it without ever leaving the tough yet romantic funky party line. This is one of the hippest tunes Harp has ever written or cut. The ballads are fine, too, as "In My Time" illustrates; its lithe Rhodes lines by Rideout and Harp's melodic invention and vamping on the melody move the tune into a spacious groove. The guitar fills by Fuller are simply superb. "Old School" is exactly what it claims to be: pure, funky, silky soul-jazz that emerges from the late-'70s/early-'80s school complete with CTI-style synth-string arrangements. Lorber and Harp's "Funky Palisades" is in the pocket, tough, lean and mean with startling breaks by Campbell on the drum kit. "Wait 4 U" is a beautiful little stepper of a mid-tempo ballad with nice interaction between Dwight Sills and Harp. The tight percussion on "Don't Look Any Further" is another neat little Washington-Creed Taylor touch. Lenny Castro kicks in the groove, and Harp handles melody, dynamics, and the unique texturing of the tune with some neat wordless backing vocals and an elegant nylon string guitar solo by guest Doc Powell. The set closes with the title tune, a ballad that one assumes was written for Harp's father, who passed away earlier in 2007. It's a vocal tune with Harp singing, and it's heartfelt even if it comes off as an odd choice on this kind of a groove-fest. It's one of those tunes he just had to do, and he should be respected for it. It's tacked on at the end of the album. Someone with a larger ego and less taste would have made it first. It's a quiet thank you and tribute even if it departs significantly from the rest of the material here. It's pleasant, but doesn't need to be heard more than once or twice -- unlike the rest of the set, which is addictive. Make no mistake, this is the one where all the previous bonds come off and Harp emerges full of ideas, his trademark chops intact, and despite his obvious nods to his heroes, he's a player, composer, and producer firmly in his own right. Great!! Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

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I think the surprise of the night was Kenny's true jazz appreciation and talent for it. Kenny Loggins is a man making music on many different creative fronts. He is a superb singer whose voice is an instrument, and this was realized on many occasions throughout his performance but especially during the middle portion of the show. After Kenny had the crowd dancing to "This is it", I don't think anyone took their seat again for the rest of the night. During this portion of the show the band really lets loose as he and his saxman Mr. Harp take off into the crowd as Kenny scats back and forth with Everette Harp in an avalanche of jazz sax heaven. Before that though Kenny stepped off the stage and let his sax player tear into the best saxophone solo I've ever heard. After the superb solo, Loggins and his saxman took off into the crowd in separate directions. Playing and singing and just wowing the crowd, Kenny jumped onto a seat at the back of the crowd and gave the crowd so much more then they could have ever expected. That's the remark I heard over and over again and that was "Gee I knew Kenny was going to be good, but never imagined he would be this great". I think we all know Kenny Loggins' stuff from his many hits through the years and thought we knew what to expect. I don't think anyone was prepared for this musical mastery, unless you've seen Loggins' live performance before.

Now if this wasn't enough to get the crowd into frenzy, next Kenny took the stage again with his band and just continued on and on displaying his vocal prowess and putting the audience into a blissful happy state. After having played now for over an hour and a half and receiving a thunderous applause Kenny thanked the crowd for the wonderful evening and left the stage. Not only did Kenny Loggins and his band take the stage again for an encore but he came back for two encores, and that is rare for any musician or group. Kenny Loggins is known for giving it his all in his live performances, and that was certainly the case on both nights at Viejas. It's plain to see that Kenny loves his audience as much as they love him.

Well at this point it was time for the third portion of the show, and when Kenny grabbed his electric guitar and said are you ready to rock and roll everyone had an idea of what was next to come. Kenny and his band ended the night with a bang, two encores lasting almost as long as some performers entire show lasts. Kenny ripped into his rock and roll hits like "Danger Zone", "I'm Alright", and "Footloose". Normally an encore would consist of one or two songs, but two encores with hit after hit! This is the way to perform in concert and make the adoring fans happy and gain new fans as well. And for the long time Kenny Loggins fan it was good to hear Kenny announce that there may be collaboration in the near future with his one time fellow singer songwriter partner Jim Messina. To see and hear a reunion of Loggins and Messina would be as big of a reuniting as any in the music industry. It's becoming the norm at The Concerts in the Park at Viejas rather then the exception that each show exceeds expectations. It is a special place for the musicians as well as the audience, and many more special moments are ahead at Viejas.

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