Album Review: Imaginary Worl from Randal Clark

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Album:  Imaginary World
Artist:  Randal Clark
Label:  Blue Hour Productions
Website:  http://randalclarkmusic.com

As a debut effort, Imaginary World from saxophonist, keyboardist, composer, and bandleader, Randal Clark is an exciting addition to the smooth jazz catalog.  Contributing to his outing are several seasoned artists including keyboardists Jeff Lorber and Scott Kinsey, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Jimmy Haslip, and trumpet player Randy Brecker.  His support system is a dream team of jazz pop sophisticates and practitioners of the smooth jazz style, making Clark's first step as a solo artist offering the best he can.

Shepherding his crew to channel positive energy from start to finish, Clark achieves delivering an uplifting spirit that is entrancing.  His track "Discovery," composed by himself and Lorber, is studded in synth-pop shimmers with Clark's saxophone flickering and tweeting like sparkling crystals set in a field of sand dunes.  The R&B grooves of "Boulevard East" has its composer, David Mann, playing the keyboards and horns, and trading solos with guitarist Jon Herington, spinning scintillating licks in the seams.  The uplifting atmosphere of the track is penetrative.

"Tiger Lily," a Jeff Lorber original, has a cinematic appeal reminiscent of soundtracks for TV crime dramas like "Hunter" and "Blue Bloods."  The track is compact with moving parts from Lorber's trickling keys to Clark's crisp saxophone toots and Michael Thompson's glistening guitar riffs.  Clark whips up a creamy ballad with "Looking Back," garbed in the crackling ripples of his soprano sax as Jimmy Haslip's bass and Jimmy Branly's drums fasten silky furls along the melodic seams.  The title track has Clark working with keyboardist Scott Kinsey, tailoring an agreeable blend of slow paced grooves fashioned from a smooth jazz palette.

Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Randall Clark demonstrates the melodic elocution often attributed to devoted practitioners of the smooth jazz phrasing.  He has appeared at numerous jazz festivals and in concerts as a featured performer.  His first outing as a solo artist shows him putting the best he has to offer forward, and proving his mettle as a jazz pop sophisticate.

Musicians:
Randal Clark - alto sax, soprano sax, keys
Jeff Lorber, Scott Kinsey - keyboards
Gary Novak, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Branly, Sonny Emory - drums
Michael Thompson, Mike Miller, Jon Herington - guitar
Jimmy Haslip, Gerald Albright, MonoNeon - bass
David Mann, keyboards and horns
Melanie Shore - organ
Randy Brecker - trumpet

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