''Grand Piano Canyon'' is the 22nd solo album by Bob James. It was released on June 28, 1990. The cover art is reproduced from an original painting by David Grath entitled "Grand Piano Canyon." The title for the seventh track, "Xraxse" is the planet inhabited by Blue People in a story written by James' daughter, Hilary, at age 6.

Critical reception

Scott Yanow of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

writes, "This CD is more jazz-oriented than most of Bob James' recordings and even takes chances in a few spots. The tunes, mostly by James, contain several strong melodies, including a tribute piece for

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

; among the sidemen are guitarist

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

, Kirk Whalum on tenor and soprano, and (in a guest spot) tenor great Michael Brecker." Stanton Zeff of ''Audioholics'' gives the album a rating of 5 overall and says, "This CD had a little bit of everything: big-band ( "Bare Bones" ), smooth jazz ( "Restoration" ), fusion ( "…stop that!" ), and ballads ( "Just Listen" )." He also writes, "It's this last collaboration that led to the creation of one of the great jazz super-groups of the last decade: Fourplay, featuring

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. Mason, who attended Berklee in the 1960s, received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony for ...

on drums and

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

on bass, Lee Ritenour on guitars, and Bob James on keyboards."

Track listing

Personnel

All songs written by Bob James, except where noted. 1 – "Bare Bones" (Bob James, Max Risenhoover) - 4:44 * Bob James – acoustic piano, horn arrangements *

Dean Brown Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

– guitar *

– bass *

– drums * Chris Hunter – alto saxophone * Andy Snitzer – tenor saxophone * Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone * Jim Pugh – trombone *

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

– trumpet * Randy Brecker – trumpet * Mixed by Bill Schnee * Recorded by Gene Curtis, Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt. 2 – "Restoration" - 5:44 * Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements * Lee Ritenour – guitar * Nathan East – bass * Harvey Mason – drums * Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion * Mixed by Bill Schnee * Recorded by Al Schmitt and Bill Schnee. 3 – "Wings For Sarah" - 5:34 * Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements * Lee Ritenour – guitar * Nathan East – bass * Harvey Mason – drums * Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion * Mixed by Bill Schnee * Recorded by Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt 4 – "Svengali" - 4:48 * Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements *

Eric Gale Eric Gale (September 20, 1938 – May 25, 1994) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. ''Early life and career'' Born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, Gale grew up in a diverse household. His paternal grandfather was from Yorksh ...

– guitar * Gary King – bass * Harvey Mason – drums * Paulinho da Costa – percussion * Kirk Whalum – tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone * Mixed by Bill Schnee * Recorded by

Hank Cicalo Hank Cicalo (born June 25, 1932) is an American recording engineer whose career has spanned over fifty years. Among the artists recorded by Cicalo are The Monkees, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, and George Harrison. Early career In 1957, Cical ...

, Steve Holroyd, Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt. 5 – "Worlds Apart" - 4:30 * Bob James – acoustic piano, synthesizers, arrangements * Dean Brown – guitar * Abraham Laboriel – bass * Harvey Mason – drums * Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion * Mixed by Max Risenhoover * Recorded by Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt. 6 – "…Stop That!" (James, Risenhoover) - 4:43 * Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements * Dean Brown – guitar * Nathan East – bass * Max Risenhoover – drums, recording, mixing * Chris Hunter – alto saxophone * Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone * Michael Brecker – tenor sax solo * Andy Snitzer – tenor saxophone * Jim Pugh – trombone * Jon Faddis – trumpet * Randy Brecker – trumpet 7 – "Xraxse" - 4:29 * Bob James – acoustic piano, synthesizers, arrangements * Max Risenhoover – drums, percussion sequencing, recording, mixing 8 – "Just Listen" (Lee Ritenour) - 7:11 * Bob James – acoustic piano, electric piano * Lee Ritenour – Takamine classical guitar synthesizer, rhythm arrangements * Nathan East – Clavenger bass * Harvey Mason – drums, percussion sequencing * Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion * Recorded by Max Risenhoove and Al Schmitt. * Mixed by Bill Schnee 9 – "Far From Turtle" (Risenhoover) - 6:28 * Bob James – acoustic piano * Max Risenhoover – synthesizers, percussion, arrangements, recording, mixing * Nathan East – Clevenger bass * Mary Benander – Japanese phrases Track information and credits adapted the album's liner notes.

Production

* Bob James – producer * Max Risenhoover – associate producer, E-mu Emulator III programming, Opcode Vision programming *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City, NY).

Charts

References

External links

Bob James Official SiteWarner Records Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Piano Canyon 1990 albums Bob James (musician) albums Albums produced by Bob James (musician) Warner Records albums