Earth, Wind and Fire's Ralph Johnson comes forth with his smooth jazz solo project, aided by Morris Pleasure on piano and bass (Earth,Wind and Fire, Janet Jackson, Boney James) and Steen Kyed on acoustic guitar. Special guests include George Duke, Philip Bailey, Howard Hewett and Jonathan Butler. Smooth Jazz with an R&B edge and World Music diversity. TRANSOCEANIC is an expansive, deep album of premium-quality tracks from Earth, Wind and Fire drummer/vocalist Ralph Johnson, keyboardist/bassist Morris Pleasure, and Danish guitarist Steen Kyed, together known as Audio Caviar. Now those key points alone should be enough to pique your interest in this fascinating and extremely satisfying musical odyssey. Add Philip Bailey's exquisite voicing on the beautiful and sensuous "Dominique" (the first radio single), George Duke's incredible performance on the lush "The Island," Jonathan Butler's superb vocal work on the entrancing "Legends of Ratava," and Howard Hewett's soulful reading of "Love Comes in Time" and the result is an amazingly warm and exciting package of music. The ties to Earth, Wind and Fire are unmistakable and bring a comfort level and familiarity to the whole sound and feel of this project. You can probably tell that I'm impressed with this recording. I love the depth and richness of Audio Caviar's music, but I'm also totally into the positive, spiritual vibe that comes through clearly in every performance. The group came about from Ralph's and Morris' April, 2000 meeting in Copenhagen to begin a new conceptual jazz project. TRANSOCEANIC (recorded in both Copenhagen and Los Angeles) is Audio Caviar's first release, and brings with it the promise of much more to come from this emerging super group. Their music has been described as "Smooth Jazz with an R&B edge and World Music Diversity." I call it simply "superb." When you hear it, I think you'll agree!
- Scott O´Brien, smoothjazz.com
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