Like Lou Rawls fronting Tower of Power

14 MP3 Songs
URBAN/R&B: Smooth Soul, JAZZ: Jazz-Funk

Details:
A Review By: Edward Blanco, Ejazznews

Bay area vocalist Tony Adamo garnished a five star rating from Smoothjazz.com for his latest release, "Straight Up Deal." However, there's a lot more to the smooth jazz sound found on this recording than what they would have you believe. Tony Adamo, equipped with a deep baritone voice, belts out some real gyrating funk, R&B;and soulful jazz tunes on this fourteen piece CD, which also includes a selection of straight ahead beautiful contemporary jazz vocals.

Adamo records the album with nineteen players among them, funk bassist Paul Jackson, saxophone great Ernie Watts and trumpeter Eddie Henderson. He also enlists the help of The Tower of Power Horns which appear on five tracks.

As I previously alluded to, the music is quite varied with three of the first four tracks firmly grounded in the funk genre ("No Strings," "Passport," and "Up In It"). Ernie Watts showcases his sax on the R&B;-shaded "In The Winelight," while Adamo gets jazzy on the first straight jazz number in "Milestones," with the trumpet voice of Eddie Henderson setting the pace.

Tunes like "Autumn Leaves," "Wouldn't You," "Stolen Moments," and "Speak Low" fall in the smooth jazz side of the music where Adamo shines singing beautiful lyrics from some great standards. One of my favorite numbers is the spunky and lively "Lolita" featuring the Tower of Power Horns.

"Straight Up Deal" reveals the vocal talents of a superior singer who is able to convey the essence of different musical styles with ease and grace. An album that will obviously appeal to a broad audience considering the varied selection of music on this disc. I enjoyed the album; it was truly a "Straight Up Deal" from Tony Adamo.


A Review By: Sandy Shore, smoothjazz.com
TONY ADAMO Straight Up Deal Urbanzone Records - GETS FIVE STARS

For those who haven't experienced it...there's a mystique to the San Francisco bay area at night. It's unique to the 'City by the Bay.' Over the years many artists have captured this vibrant, earthy electricity and stuck it in the middle of their music regardless of genre.

Santana, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Tower of Power come to mind...and a whole handful of jazz greats. Bay area singer/songwriter Tony Adamo fits perfectly in this fray with his deep, sultry, commanding voice and grasp for groove. Think Lou Reed but funkified. Tony began writing during his tour of duty in the Gulf War (the first one). The 15-hour workdays were exhausting, but the artist found the exotic scenery enticing and incorporated his poetry writing skills into song ideas by writing about the desert. A poet at heart, Tony Adamo presents some beautiful originals here. He writes with his long time collaborator Jerry Stucker who is also responsible for producing Tony's recordings. Jerry actually has an original on this recording as well, a cool sensual tune called "Midnight Cafe." Another Adamo/Stucker original is the anthem to Tower of Power's Doc Kupka (who is featured on bari sax) "Groove Therapy." You'll also find some really intriguing covers such as "In The Winelight," the late Joe Zawinul's "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and the Miles Davis penned "Milestones." First call musicians are on board making for a sonically stellar recording including Ernie Watts, Paul Jackson, James Gadson and Neil Larsen. STRAIGHT UP DEAL is just that!

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