Urban Knights: The Chicago Preject (2002)

The Urban Knights is an all-star smooth jazz band which features one of the jazz greats, pianist Ramsey Lewis. Their first self-titled debut album in 1995 included prominent musicians Grover Washington, Jr., Omar Hakim, Victor Bailey and the Emotions to name a few. Other great musicians have collaborated throughout the years with the Urban Knights such as Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire), Gerald Albright, Najee, Jonathan Butler, Norman Brown, Dave Koz, Fareed Haque, and Earl Klugh. In 2000, Urban Knights III, was the supergroup's first album for the Narada label out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The most surprising aspect of this CD and its focus on three Windy City musicians is the ease in which critically acclaimed jazz and world-music guitarist Fareed Haque slips into the smooth-jazz genre. Like French guitarist Marc Antoine, Haque adds a definite international flair to this date, including sitar sounds over hip-hop grooves on "Bombay Streets," and monster flamenco chops on "Myths and Legends" and "A Place in Time." Two of the best things about the Urban Knights IV album, trumpeter Ron Haynes and keyboard wiz Kevin Randolph, are the other soloists here, with the latter having a firmer stamp on these proceedings. Cut out of the Ramsey Lewis/Jeff Lorber '70s keyboard mode, Randolph's playing highlights the funky mix of old-school style with 21st-century beats that sets the contemporary jazz scene in Chicago apart from other sounds. His groove is always steady and he stands out even when the spotlight is on his band mates. Haynes, best known for his stint with the Chicago acid-jazz group Liquid Soul, is much more subdued with this group, which is just the right speed for smooth jazz and this heavily sequenced but enjoyable production. --Mark Ruffin

Personnel

Keith Henderson - guitar

Buddy Fambro - guitar

Calvin Rogers - drums

Sharay Reed - bass

Alejo Poveda - percussion

John Janowiak - trumpet

Mars Williams - saxophone

Devo from Da-lema - rap on Always

Lambert Waldrip - programming

Brian Sledge - background vocals
Scooter - background vocals
Tracklist
1. That Girl
2. A Place In Time
3. All The Way
4. Three's Company
5. Myths And Legends
6. On The Block
7. Always (Instrumental)
8. Bombay Streets
9. Tight Rope
10. Keep It Real
11. Always
Urban Knights Presents: The Chicago Project
Hotfile / Uploading @ 320K