::ALBUM REVIEW::

The impact of gospel music has influenced many musicians over the years and it amazes most music historians when they observe how the spiritual oasis found in gospel music has touched individuals in various genres. From rock 'n roll to soul, from pop to blues, from classical to even jazz. Kevin Turner, an upcoming solo guitarist and keyboardist whom proudly mentions a lineage of jazz greats as his inspirations, emerges to the scene with a relaxing set of gospel jazz; taking favorite hymns and classic gospel songs and rearranges them into affectionate modern interpretations aiming to please. The voyage is topped with some neat appearances from some respected names in the industry including jazz great Kirk Whalum and killer organist Ralph Lofton.

The album launches off with a relaxing take of "Blessed Assurance"; which uses a George Benson vibe, tasteful "after midnight" jazzy gestures and a sprinkle of blue cool. Towards the closing minutes of the song, Turner chooses to repeat the closing bars with exquisite bounce and musical charm with acoustic bassist Chuck Webb and Turner taking turns with their graceful ad-libbing style. "I Surrender All" plays around with several elaborate chord shifts - giving the listener an earful of aphrodisiacs to marinate in. Excellently delivered is Kirk Whalum's passionate tenor sax solo that interplay with the peaceful arrangement. Whalum also guests on the oddly constructed "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" - which Turner breaks down the surrounding walls of the original structures and makes haste for multiple polyrhythms within the classic melody. Not much singing is here, it's purely an instrumental journey fixated on improvised variations of simple melodies, but "O, How I Love Jesus", delivered in the affectionate tone of the traditional tune, contains jazzy background vocals from Tramaine Davis with Cynthia Turner and Heartspeak. With a few aggressive touch on the rhythms and a couple of surprising chord add-ins opening things up, the song glides into a closing vamp that features highlights from Sekou Bunch on electric bass and the background vocals delivering soulful harmonies. "No Not One", another highlight that shies away from the traditional arrangement, is a moving take with Turner bringing in some relaxed keyboard work and Bunch's deep bass spicing up matters. The track is committed to rich jazz traditions while incorporating a enthusiastic contemporary vibe that will alert the attention of jazz purists.

Ralph Lofton, noted organist on projects from the Mississippi Mass Choir to contributions on the Harborwood "In His Presence" series, appears on the traditional-composed "At The Cross".

Much of the album flows in a nice cool, contemporary smooth jazz setting; almost as if it was primed and prepared for a jazz hall. The album, only presenting eleven tracks in all, kinda disappoints on the last two cuts and flows like album fillers or potential interludes in between songs. Without those cuts, the album would have still fared pretty well, especially when you add up the quality of production, instrumental proficiency and musical progression; overall achieving a composure of easy-listening. If only some of the tracks were extended a bit longer, even though it would kill the idea of these cuts being aired on gospel radio. Some of the tracks like "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" and "No Not One" would have had a stronger pull on serious jazz gurus that easily recalled the atmospheric nature of long-playing cuts found on Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" or the classic albums from Bob James if they were a big longer. Of course there is a serious lack of gospel jazz these days and because of such a shortage, Kevin Turner's "Him" is promised to satisfy.