there was a time when there was jazz that was smooth, then the producers saw that it was a moneymaker and used cookie cutters to cut each of the albums by the artists that would go along with the idea. i have to admit, it is nice not to die poor as too many jazz musicians have done in the past. Bob Dorough had to resort to self production to survive and not sell out to the smoov jazz machine.

finally i get to the reason for this missive. of course i was drawn to Popsicle Toes from The Art of Tea album and its fine production:

from Wikipedia:
Mixing engineer – Al Schmitt
Recording engineers – Lee Hershbrook, Bruce Botnick, Al Schmitt
Mastering engineer: Doug Sax

it doesn't get much better that that non-musician personnel list. THEN came my first hearing of "In the Eye of the Storm" during the stormy end to my first marriage. as he vocalized the words "and I hear from my EX, on the back of my CHECKS", my life changed as that crystallized the situation. i knew then and there that the end of that relationship was imminent.

Michael's jazz sense and lighthearted comedic bent endeared him to me in a big way. even the smoov oriented issues between 1987 and 1995 had enough draw for me to own them all, mostly on LP, some on cd. it is about time someone recognizes that some of these albums deserve a hi-rez reissue on vinyl, SACD, and digital streaming.

even Kurt Elling covered Michael's "Night Moves", even titling the album it resides on with that tune. listen to his other albums and hear the jazz influences and direct reference to artists like Monk.

THANK YOU John Marks, for elevating Michael Franks to a level he deserves.

...hifitommy