Jackiem Joyner – Lil’ Man Soul

The opener “Take Me There” snaps into the beat & easily flows into a gentle groove, laying out the platform for Jackiem to come inside & stretch the sax marquee a little bit.; A cover of “Lost Without You” was typical, although rather soothing in comparison to the last track.; The funk that was meant to come finally arrived for “J Street” – a much edgier, hard bumpin’ song, It does slow down, however, when “Where’s The Love Gone” creeps into the picture.

Next, The title track, “Lil’ Man Soul” settles into the mix with a romantic overtone, while everything picks back up, exclusively for the Chicago & Abroad Steppers out there, still steppin’ to Jackiem’s “Step With Me”.; Mr. Joyner revisits a hit single by urban R&B singer Mario in “Let Me Love You”, where I was 50/50 in considering if Jackiem outdid the original. That was a hard decision to make.

“I’m Waiting For You” explores the outer regions of his horn & the slow jam dept receives another dose of love in “Say I Do”. Big Jazz producer Paul Brown slides into play with the hip jammin’ “When The Time Is Right”. This song had a nice melody & sticky harmonies that may leave you hooked from beginning to end.

The overall album was grand. A nice stand for Mr. Jackiem Joyner, especially since this being only his 2nd offering. Having toured with names like bassist Wayman Tisdale, saxophonist Gerald Albright, & Piano Supreme Joe Sample, plus many others, can have an everlasting influential effect on his stage & horn prowess. I hope he continues down the right path. This Cd is recommended.