Gerald Albright's New CD, Kickin It Up Goes Beyond Smooth Ja

 

Doug Levine

Saxophonist Gerald Albright has been a leading force in smooth jazz for years. He's recorded a string of best-selling albums and is a top draw at concerts and festivals around the world. Ironically, Albright earned a degree in business management with dreams of some day owning his own company. Albright put those dreams on hold while he pursued another longtime passion, leading his own band.
Gerald Albright claims his early interest in business was purely¹ practical. He says getting a business degree was more about having "something to fall back on." As it happened, he never had to "fall back" on anything but playing music.
Gerald Albright grew up in the South Central section of Los Angeles. He grew tired of piano lessons but was thrilled when his music teacher brought him an old saxophone to play. The sax, while it's the instrument he's most associated with, is one of several Albright learned to play over the years. A saxophonist and bassist in his college jazz band, Albright was invited to tour with singing sensation Anita Baker². Of course, that led to other touring and recording³ dates, including session work with Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones, Phil Collins, The Temptations and Jeff Lorber.
Gerald Albright rose from sideman to bandleader when he signed with Atlantic Records in 1987. He also added flute⁴, keyboard, drum programming and vocals⁶ to his repertoire⁷, while maintaining a delicate balance between contemporary and traditional jazz styles.
His latest album, Kickin' It Up, goes beyond jazz altogether, incorporating classic pop and R&B, jazz funk and swing into his varied⁸ instrumental tracks.
The release of Albright's new album coincides with his concert tour Groovin' For Grover, a tribute to the late jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Junior. Musicians Richard Elliot, Paul Taylor and Jeff Lorber will join Albright on the upcoming tour.
Another great saxophonist who had an impact on Gerald Albright was the late Junior Walker of Junior Walker and The All-Stars fame. On Kickin' It Up, Albright dedicated⁹ his self-penned Walker's Theme to the memory of Junior Walker.

注释：
saxophonist [sAk5sCfEnIst] n. 萨克斯演奏家
smooth jazz 抒情爵士，一种爵士乐风格
draw [drC:] n. 吸引
ironically [aiE5rCnikElli] adv. 讽刺地
passion [5pAFEn] n. 激情
fall back on v. 求助于
thrill [Wril] v. 发抖
sax [sAks] n. 萨克斯管
associate with 联合，紧密联系
bassist [5beisist] n. 低音歌手
sensation [sen5seiFEn] n. 轰动一时的人物
session [5seFEn] n. 这里特指录音
sideman [5saIdmAn] n. 伴奏者
bandleader [5bAnd9li:dE(r)] n. 伴奏乐队的指挥
flute [flu:t] n. 长笛
keyboard [5ki:bC:d] n. 键盘，指电子琴或钢琴伴奏
vocal⁵ [5vEukl] n. 人声歌唱
delicate [5delikit] adj. 精巧的，精致的
incorporate [in5kC:pEreit] v. 混合
coincide [7kEuin5said] vi. 一致，符合
self-penned 自己编写的

1 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

2 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

5 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

6 vocals   

（乐曲中的）歌唱部份，声乐部份( vocal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Also look out for soaring vocals on The Right Man. 另外，也可留意一下《意中人》中的那高亢的唱腔。
• Lazy bass line, lazier drums, lush violins, great piano and incomparable vocals. 懒惰的低音线，较懒惰的鼓，饮小提琴，棒的钢琴和无比的声音。

7 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

8 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。