Jeff Golub: Do It Again (2002)

Guitarist Jeff Golub's previous outing, Dangerous Curves, edged away from the R&B format toward a more rock approach. Do It Again revisits the soulful sound that Golub has made his own. The former Rod Stewart sideman has taken a break from composing this time out and chosen a batch of classic covers, displaying the same exquisite taste evidenced in his playing. Having had a hit with the Average White Band's instrumental "Pick Up the Pieces," he returns to the well for "Cut the Cake," and while he's at it, grabs their underappreciated "If I Ever Lose this Heaven." To inform anyone wondering where he garnered his influences, Golub gives us tunes by the masters: James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson. As always, his playing demonstrates the three Ts of all great musicians: the aforementioned taste, as well as in-the-pocket time and distinctive tone. If the record doesn't "rawk," it certainly grooves, and the solo on Eddie Harris's "Cold Duck Time" definitely pushes the boundaries of polite. Do It Again offers a great listen for fans of guitar and/or great soul tunes. --Michael Ross

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Jeff Golub: Blues for You (2009)

Guitarist Jeff Golub has long mixed his soulful crossover jazz with a healthy dose of modern electric blues. However, he's never devoted a whole album to the kind of greasy rocking blues that makes up his 2009 effort Blues for You. An assured fret-wiz with a knack for juicy, well-tempered jazz licks, here we find Golub going for more of a laid-back shuffle and rocking twang that is more Stevie Ray Vaughan than George Benson. Joining Golub are a bevy of unexpected, but no-less blues familiars, guest vocalists most likely culled from Golub's time in the pop world backing Rod Stewart. Included are such names as Tom Waits, Marc Cohn, and even '80s rocker Billy Squier who shows up here to help Golub rework his classic hit "Everybody Wants You" into funky, Southern-blues drawl. The result works surprisingly well and overall brings to mind the earthy late-career efforts of Bob Dylan. Golub-himself has never sounded as muscular and assured as he does on such tracks as the shuffling jump-blues "Rooster Blues" which also features Peter Wolf sounding as inspired and back-alley slippery as ever.

Philippe Saisse: At World's Edge (2009)

Phillippe Saisse is a jazz piano master who has recorded, written and/or produced with such notables as The Rolling Stones, Kirk Whalum, Richard Elliott, Rick Braun, Warren Hill, Dave Koz, Paul Brown & Marc Antoine among others. A blend of smooth lyrical vibes with rock solid jazz-funk, At World's Edge goes much deeper and weaves together a rich melodic tapestry of progressive, impressionistic, and global threads. With guests: Angelique Kidjo, Kirk Whalum, Rick Braun, and Jeff Golub, this album plays easy on the ear but deep into the imagination.