'Cruzin' the Music Highway, Wavelength, no label, 2003

I don't know why I like this CD so much, especially since it is classified as smooth jazz. It might be because it transcends boundaries. The front sleeve picture shows road signs saying 'Jazz, 'Funk, 'Rock, 'Latin, and 'R&B, and this CD hits all of them along the road.
Or maybe I like the back cover, with its appealingly goofy graphic showing the four main musicians leaning over and holding out their thumbs as if hitchhiking. Most likely, it is because it actually has energy and great songs, unlike its limp smooth jazz competitors.
There is some smooth jazz sound here with Ferdinand Magallanes using string emulators and  Oscar Estrella using synths on his guitar. Most of the instrumentals
are 'real jazz though, and they actually do mix in funk, rock, and Latin elements without making them sound out of place.
Magallanes and Estrella are quite adept in different styles. The rhythm always keeps moving, too, with Marcus Lopez on bass, Bobby Gaviola on drums, and imaginative use of Latin percussion by guest artists. 
The ballads do not slow things down. Jim Starr's powerful vocals lift up 'From Now On, while Joy DeLeon's singing adds a soulful touch to 'My Only One and 'Two of us Together.
It is worth taking a trip down this CD highway.

- Dave Howell

http://wavelength.fmcompserve.com