Jarez - On Top Of The World

Saxophonist Jarez (born Jarel Posey) is inspired by John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. In 2001 Jarez started touring around the world with Grammy Award winning rapper Coolio. While he still has a strong connection to this rapper, Jarez is now working on his own solo career.

His solo albums are To The Top (2007), Saxoholic (2009), and this year On Top Of The World. His recording was supported by AJ Luke (guitar, vocals), and Keenan Holloway (bass). In view of the minimal cast as a trio, the result is nevertheless striking.

The starting song Can't Let Go is beefed up in the overdub process. Jarez arranges around the catching lead sax a blowing horn arrangement. This is a proper way to win the favor of the audience.

The emotional song True Love is a contest between saxophone and singer to gain the attention of the listener. Feels So Right presents a package that sounds in parts overloaded in the instrumentation. What Pro Tools 9 allows, is not always pleasant for the ear. On the other hand, excels Jarez on Make It Better with creative song ideas.

The title song On Top Of The World excites with an enthralling melody with vocals and instrumentation complement each other perfectly. The arrangement is flawless too. Never Going To Stop offers an unstable harmony image that irritates the listener something.

I'm Leaving has a strong melancholy vibration, which is reinforced by the overt repetition. The Way features anew AJ Luke as singer on the footsteps of Luther Vandross. When I Look At You puts Jarez again in the spotlight. Final piece of this album is Treasure. This song is currently placed as a single release and can be listen on YouTube.

Jarez declares that his greatest desire is to be the "Tiger Woods of jazz." To explain, he says, "Tiger made an old man's game exciting and real for kids. I want to do the same for jazz, make it cool again."

Jarez shows in his new album good approaches to realize this goal in near future.