Brian Culbertson Is In The Mood - You Will Be, Too

Brian Culberton
It's On Tonight
(GRP/Verve)

Smooth jazz pianist Brian Culbertson wants you to make love to his music. So he crafted 12 songs for you to get your groove on with an almost-perfect collection of smooth jazz chill-out music. The results are ecstatic, as its consistency over the course of a dozen songs makes it the best of the eight CDs he’s recorded over 11 years.

Culbertson gets an assist from top-drawer musicians who have over the years certainly created a few babies with their own music. But it’s not that Culbertson really needed them – the versatile pianist also plays trumpet, trombone, synth bass, drum programming and percussion on the CD. And you won’t find one cover song, which today passes as a daring move in a smooth jazz world where at least one cover nod to the past seems to be a mandate.

Far from simply a sleepy collection of ballads, It’s On Tonight offers chill-music energy combined with Culbertson’s amazing songwriting abilities. Culbertson’s bass drives several songs – the funk-filled synth bass line in “Forbidden Love” transforms a slow, sexy song into something you can dance to. A slithering bass on “Wear It Out” imparts a European chill flavor, and Marc Nelson’s sexy vocals give it added punch. And on “Secret Affair,” the chill vibe is enhanced by Chris Botti’s mysterious and sexy trumpet lines.

Like saxophonist Boney James, Culbertson thankfully is expert at including vocal tunes that fit with a predominantly instrumental album without alienating his fans. The title track with Will Downing once again proves this. It also proves that Downing’s got the sexiest voice of any male vocalist in the smooth-jazz genre. On “Love Will Never Let You Down,” Patti Austin’s voice has never sounded better. Kirk Whalum plays sax on the tune, with Ricky Peterson giving it a bluesy touch with chilled organ work.

The CD’s first single, “Hookin’ Up,” is a midtempo track that bookends nicely with “Sensuality,” which turns the tempo down a bit and is, of course, very sensual. Both have nice guitar arrangements, to boot. “The Way You Feel” is another pretty ballad, which stands out with its insistent, knocking-on-the-door drum loops and Boney’s guest sax appearance.

Since It’s On Tonight is a CD with a theme, a rarity in iTunes’ mad, mad world, the CD certainly works as a whole. Still, two songs manage to stand out. “Let’s Get Started” is an uptempo treat kicking off the CD and offering a looping piano chorus and the da-da-da scatting of R&B vocalist Ledisi. Like Culbertson’s big hit on last album, “Come on Up,” it’s the kind of song that makes you go “yeah!”

And “Dreaming of You,” with some beautiful violin work by Culbertson’s wife, Michelle, may be the most beautiful song on this whole collection of beautiful songs. The spine-tingling melody is like something you’d hear on a heartbreaking movie soundtrack. It’ll give you an afterglow, for sure, as will the whole project.