Smooth (Gerald Albright album)
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- Aire L.A. (Glendale, California)
- Bright Music (Moorpark, California)
| Smooth | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1994 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:42 | |||
| Label | Atlantic[1] | |||
| Producer |
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| Gerald Albright chronology | ||||
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Smooth is the fourth studio album by the American musician Gerald Albright, released in 1994 on Atlantic Records.[2][3] The album peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart and No. 2 on both the Billboard Jazz Albums and Contemporary Jazz Albums charts.[4]
Albright strove to create an R&B album; in addition to saxophone, he also played flute and keyboards.[5][6] Vesta Williams, Lalah Hathaway, and Will Downing are among the many vocalists on the album.[7][8][9] Howard Hewett sang on the cover of "This Is for the Lover in You".[10] Stanley Clarke played bass on "Sedona".[11] The liner notes were written by Magic Johnson.[12]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| The Charlotte Observer | [14] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [15] |
| Los Angeles Times | [9] |
| MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide | [11] |
The Los Angeles Times wrote that "Albright offers predictably melodic, safe solos that, for the most part, fail to engage the listener."[9] The Daily Breeze determined that Albright "turns in softly percussive, overly slick readings of soul-jazz mood pieces... He ignores chances to improvise or offer inventive ideas."[16] The Charlotte Observer deemed the album "Albright's breakthrough work," writing that "it's obvious Albright has put a lot of energy into this effort."[14] The Buffalo News considered the music "full of slinky rhythms, gossamer textures and sensuous, lazy melodies."[12]
AllMusic called the album "a tasty if somewhat typical journey through the land of quiet storm and light funk."[13]
Accolades
Smooth was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for "Best Jazz Album".[17]