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August 2007 TOM BRAXTON ~ IMAGINE THIS By Scott O'Brien
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He impressed me with his debut album “Bounce” in 2005, he impressed me with his sparkling sax work on Wayman Tisdale’s Smooth Jazz Cruise last winter, but he absolutely blows me away with his second solo album, IMAGINE THIS. I’m imagining that this will be the big breakout release for a career that is really kicking into high gear. It’s a total fit for today’s Smooth Jazz with superb playing and production, a compelling choice of material, and some all-star friends (Kirk and Kevin Whalum, Brian Simpson, and Tim Bowman) making special guest appearances. Loads of airplay potential among these 11 tracks with the first single being an absolutely killer cover of Steely Dan’s “Peg,” featuring Kevin Whalum on the sizzling vocal refrain. Tom’s got one other cover on this disc… a flavorful version of the Patrice Rushen hit, “Haven’t You Heard?” which features some knockout vocal work by Andrea Wallace. The other nine tracks on the project are originals written either by Mr. Braxton or by members of his band. They’re all good. I’m especially attracted to “Escape,” which features Brian Simpson; the title track, featuring Kirk Whalum; “Evening Drive,” featuring Tim Bowman; and the Bossa-flavored “Kaanapali Beach.” For a West Texas guy with some impressive credentials, not the least of which is as a member of Wayman Tisdale’s touring band for over a decade, it was inevitable that this amazing sax player would achieve major success on his own. The time has clearly arrived!