Grand Piano Canyon
Grand Piano Canyon is the 22nd solo album by Bob James. It was released on June 28, 1990. The cover art is reproduced from an original painting by David Grath entitled "Grand Piano Canyon." The title for the seventh track, "Xraxse" is the planet inhabited by Blue People in a story written by James' daughter, Hilary, at age 6. Critical reception Scott Yanow of AllMusic writes, "This CD is more jazz-oriented than most of Bob James' recordings and even takes chances in a few spots. The tunes, mostly by James, contain several strong melodies, including a tribute piece for Sarah Vaughan; among the sidemen are guitarist Lee Ritenour, Kirk Whalum on tenor and soprano, and (in a guest spot) tenor great Michael Brecker." Stanton Zeff of Audioholics gives the album a rating of 5 overall and says, "This CD had a little bit of everything: big-band ( "Bare Bones" ), smooth jazz ( "Restoration" ), fusion ( "…stop that!" ), and ballads ( "Just Listen" )." He also writes, "It's this last collaboration that led to the creation of one of the great jazz super-groups of the last decade: Fourplay, featuring Harvey Mason on drums and Nathan East on bass, Lee Ritenour on guitars, and Bob James on keyboards." Track listing Personnel All songs written by Bob James, except where noted. 1 – "Bare Bones" (Bob James, Max Risenhoover) - 4:44 Bob James – acoustic piano, horn arrangements Dean Brown – guitar Nathan East – bass Harvey Mason – drums Chris Hunter – alto saxophone Andy Snitzer – tenor saxophone Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone Jim Pugh – trombone Jon Faddis – trumpet Randy Brecker – trumpet Mixed by Bill Schnee Recorded by Gene Curtis, Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt. 2 – "Restoration" - 5:44 Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements Lee Ritenour – guitar Nathan East – bass Harvey Mason – drums Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion Mixed by Bill Schnee Recorded by Al Schmitt and Bill Schnee. 3 – "Wings For Sarah" - 5:34 Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements Lee Ritenour – guitar Nathan East – bass Harvey Mason – drums Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion Mixed by Bill Schnee Recorded by Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt 4 – "Svengali" - 4:48 Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements Eric Gale – guitar Gary King – bass Harvey Mason – drums Paulinho da Costa – percussion Kirk Whalum – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone Mixed by Bill Schnee Recorded by Hank Cicalo, Steve Holroyd, Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt. 5 – "Worlds Apart" - 4:30 Bob James – acoustic piano, synthesizers, arrangements Dean Brown – guitar Abraham Laboriel – bass Harvey Mason – drums Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion Mixed by Max Risenhoover Recorded by Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt. 6 – "…Stop That!" (James, Risenhoover) - 4:43 Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements Dean Brown – guitar Nathan East – bass Max Risenhoover – drums, recording, mixing Chris Hunter – alto saxophone Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone Michael