All for You

by Paula EdelsteinMulti-instrumentalist Everette Harp is a bright light on the Los Angeles music scene. On All for You he brings in smooth jazz guitarists Earl Klugh, Norman Brown, and Paul Jackson, Jr., along with the dynamic George Duke and others, for a record that is filled with sensuous grooves and lush ballads. The participants have combined their diverse influences to bring listeners one of Harp's best recordings since his watershed 1997 tribute to Marvin Gaye. "Kisses Don't Lie" is a funky upbeat piece that features Harp combining smooth jazz with avant funk on the melody line while Tessa Harp reasserts the theme on background vocals. The first single from the CD, "Can You Hear Me?" features Harp on flute and his trademark alto saxophone. This is smooth urban groove at its finest. The swift swapping of musical ideas with guitarist Jackson further adds to the listening pleasure. Harp is a one-man show on Babyface's emotional ballad "When Can I See You Again?" He plays all of the instrumentation and sings background vocals on this track, while creatively bringing this R&B classic into a new era. The closing song, "In the Blink of an Eye," is filled with impressionistic musings and adventurous improvisations that draw from the stylistic influences of Harp's gospel upbringing. The CD also includes contributions from such players as Lil' John Roberts, Rex Rideout, and Dwight Sills, and each of these world-class instrumentalists has helped to advance the techniques inherent in smooth jazz to new heights of inventive collaboration.