VARIOUS ARTISTS
Blue Note Plays Stevie Wonder

The music of Stevie Wonder crosses many musical boundaries, so it seems only natural that Blue Note Plays Stevie Wonder should feature many artists who made their names as fusion or smooth jazz artists. Many of these performances are more like modern instrumental R&B than jazz, but they do mostly remain true to Wonder’s spirit.

Saxophonist Najee, who plays in a smooth jazz style but is generally a better player with more depth than many of his pop instrumental saxophonist contemporaries, contributes no less than three tracks to this collection, all from his 1995 release Najee Plays Songs in the Key of Life. That album was a tribute to Stevie’s monumental two-album set Songs In the Key of Life. Here Najee tackles “I Wish,” “Summer Soft,” and “Black Man,” with all performances produced by the inimitable George Duke, who also plays on “I Wish” and “Black Man.” The saxophonist is in great company on these tracks, with bassists Byron Miller and Chuck Rainey, drummer Michael White, and percussionist Sheila E. playing on the first two tracks, with bassist Stanley Clarke and guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. checking in on “Black Man.” On “Summer Soft” Najee plays flute and is joined by Herbie Hancock, who takes the piano solo on the track. Najee is smooth, with structured arrangements and high production quality, but these George Duke-arranged tracks are never dull and do a good job of capturing the spirit of the songs in an instrumental fashion, even though they do stick pretty closely to the original versions in feel and concept.

Noel Pointer was a classically-trained violinist who signed with Blue Note in the late 1970s. He recorded two albums that are sampled here, Hold On and Phantazia, in 1977. Phantazia featured Pointer’s version of “Living For the City” along with a tight band composed of Dave Valentin, Dave Grusin, Will Lee, Steve Gadd, and Ralph MacDonald. “Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) is from Hold On, and features a stellar supporting case that includes Grusin, Eric Gale, Anthony Jackson, Gadd, MacDonald, and Patti Austin on backgound vocals. Pointer recorded a few albums in the early 80s and did extensive session work, resurfacing in 1993 with the album Never Lose Your Heart. Unfortunately, he died following a stroke at the end of 1994. These performances demonstrate his talent.

Stanley Turrentine, with his affinity for both ballads and the blues, seems like a natural musician to cover Stevie Wonder tunes, and in 1986 he did just that, releasing the album Wonderland. Turrentine contributes three strong tracks to this collection as well. The first, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” features strong playing from Mr. T, with Ronnie Foster on keyboards, Abe Laboriel on bass, Harvey Mason on drums, and Paulinho da Costa contributing a Latin touch on percussion. Even stronger is “Boogie On Reggae Woman on which the group is augmented by Don Grusin’s piano work and a harmonica solo from Stevie Wonder himself! The track loses some of the greasy slipperiness of the original’s squelchy bass line, but makes up for it with funky sass on the topside.

Rounding out Blue Note Plays Stevie Wonder are a trio of recent performances. The most recent in Paul Jackson, Jr.’s take on “It’s a Shame” from his 2002 album Still Small Voice. It’s very, very smooth, but has a nice horn arrangement by trumpeter Ray Brown. Pieces of a Dream has a go at the Motown classic “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” as the quartet eases its way through the song’s groove buoyed by a trio of background singers. It’s an irresistible pop presentation, and one that will have almost any listener tapping his or her foot in approval. The disc’s final track, and perhaps its most artistically interesting, is a trio performance of “Too High” featuring Pat Martino, 8-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, and drummer Scott Amendola. Hunter provides backing that often sounds like a Hammond organ, and takes a nice solo of his own. This performance, from Martino’s 1996 album All Sides Now, ends this collection of Stevie Wonder songs on a high note (no pun intended).