Curtis Haywood

Brian McKnight’s “Anytime” receives another covering, although Curtis’ version may stick around well after you hear the rest of the project. If you are not familiar with the success of the original, then take a listen; “Monet” drifts the soft, outer spiritual overtones of his sax right over a simple melody & it easily sets into motion a possibility that this composition may have been crafted for radio airplay.

The same goes for “Rain Song (A Prayer For Ethiopia)”. Although it sounds much near in comparison to “Monet”, Curtis soothes the track spiritually in dedication to his style of play. And for his direct expression to the native land of Ethiopia.; Stevie Wonder’s “Creepin'” opens the door to romance, eloquently & well sequenced along the track listing arrangements. His rendition was rather sultry & relaxed. Not too hard hittin’ on bass line production, but much on a softer scale sort of touching on a piece of tissue.
Really smooth I must say!

But it doesn’t mean Curtis can’t groove folks. It just means his music was well balanced. If it came time to get down, then slide on “Just Friends (Sunny)” & turn the notch up a little bit. That urban jazz sound comes breaking through, highlighting Curtis’ ability to shine in any given arena.

The songs pretty much complimented each other & was well arranged & produced.

And for the big recommendation? I would say yes. But in the future, since It was made known that Kenny Garrett was one of his influences, was part of a jazz fusion group called Jordan & to his namesake, the legendary R&B Sax master King Curtis, I would love to see Curtis Haywood go into some more challenging jazz compositions adjacent to the ordinary contemporary game & simple smooth tunes. I’m sure it will come & I WILL be on the lookout.