Chris Greene's New Perspective: On The Verge

In the words of the one and only "GodFather of Soul" himself James Brown, Chris Greene's New Perspective truly "Makes it funky!" on his new cd On The Verge. It becomes quite apparent when listening to the recording how Greene received his jazz and funk roots. Born in Evanston, Illinois; it was his exposure to the sounds of his parents' record collection from the 50's Hard Bop influences with greats such as Charlie Parker, to funk, soul, and blues of the 70's with the aforementioned J.B. and and his killer horn-man Maceo Parker. Channel these roots with Greene's own talent, drive, and credentials, and it's easy to see and even better to hear a new and rising jazz groove-meister.

The compositions were written, arranged, and produced by Greene and demonstrates that he and his multi-talented group New Perspective can go toe to toe with any of today's contemporary smooth jazz musicians. In fact, the term "smooth jazz" which has been overused and abused, reflects little in the way New Perspective approaches their music. Those with the prestigious medal of truly knowing "Old School" Funk, will vibe on the opening selection "Mister Congeniality" which is very reminiscent of Herbie Hancock's Moog synthesizer work on his classic recording Head Hunter. Greene's saxophone comes across distinctively strong and clear and is never excessive or watered down. His horn arrangements are hip and contain nice rhythms like the solid cut "More of Vitality". The other members of New Perspective are right on cue with nice bass work from Kohki Ohno, and tight drum and percussion beats by Ron Lambert. Keybordist Charles B. Bayne adds some highly skilled musicianship with a variety of sounds from the piano, smooth Fender Rhodes, to down and dirty B3 organ. There's some serious party music going on here and even a nice slow jam entitled "Another Lonely Saturday Night" to mellow things out a bit. All in all, if you want to get your music "Groove Vibe" on, On The Verge will surely fit the bill.

Check out his website for information and some nice sound samples at: Chris Greene Jazz