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 Berklee
graduated guitarist Bennett Brandeis is since many years a constant
factor in the smooth jazz genre. He started his career with the album
Jazz Guitar (1995), followed by The View From Above
(2001), Storytelling (2006) and Groove Time (2014).Now he returns in 2016 with Midnight Passion. The new album is produced like the previous one by guitarist Paul Brown. In addition Brandeis is supported on selected tracks by Gordon Campbell, Joel Taylor (drums), Jervonny Collier, Steve Billman and Robert Vally (bass), DW3 (vocals), Marco Basci (keys, piano), Andy Suzuki (sax), Lee Thornberg and Jason Rahn (horns), Lenny Castro (percussion), and Darren Rahn (sax). The best at first. With this motto starts the album presenting the title song Midnight Passion. The liner notes doesn't reveal the sax player on this song. But he and guitarist Brandeis put the icing on the cake. By the way the secret sax player is Andy Suzuki. The love ballad Lost In Your Eyes combines the finest of two worlds, R&B and smooth jazz. The vocal group DW3 unites with Bennett's guitar sound to a perfect whole. When Push Comes To Shove shows some Soft Rock elements, where guitar music is equally at home. Around The World is of melodic bliss, consistent and of pregnant brevity. There is a flair of Latin in the air. On Buenos Aires Bennett's carefully targeted guitar playing is mildly surrounded by Lee Thornberg's flowery horn arrangement. Selfie is the self-centered visual self-presentation. The title is actually inappropriate for Bennett's performance, because he sees himself as a team player. Together We Stand fits there more. Although the formation testifies amazing synergy with a Latin flow, is Bennett on guitar the first among the parts. The adjective Muriesque eludes the word interpretation. Let's consider it as a word-painting of the intended mood. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face, a song from the 1956 musical My Fair Lady, is interpreted in a wonderful way on guitar. The combination of subtle metered guitar and airy keyboard sound makes it to a special listening experience. The James Brown exclamation Get On Up! specifically implies to get up on the dance floor. A simple meaning we certainly follow in view of this encouraging melody from his previous album Groove Time. Bennett Brandeis' album Midnight Passion goes stylistically its own way. Regardless of fashionable contemporary phenomena Brandeis has only committed himself to good music.
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