| Back Roads | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Jazz, jazz fusion | |||
| Label | Denon | |||
| Producer | Jim Beard | |||
| Bob Berg chronology | ||||
| ||||
Back Roads is an album by the American saxophonist Bob Berg, released in 1991. [1] [2] It peaked at No. 8 on Billboard 's Jazz Albums chart. [3] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Jazz Performance". [4]
The album was produced by Jim Beard, who also contributed on keyboards. [5] Its title was inspired by Berg's travels around his East End home. [6] Berg was backed by Mike Stern on guitar, Dennis Chambers on drums, and Lincoln Goines on bass. [7] Berg decided to focus less on technique and fast tempos, instead concentrating on the tunefulness of his playing. [8] Some of the tracks were influenced by the music of Steely Dan. [9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Boston Herald | C+ [11] |
| DownBeat | [12] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [13] |
| MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide |  [14] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette | [15] |
The Boston Herald called the album a "calculated crossover affair", stating that "it features the breezy blowing and bright melodies favored by fans of the Quiet Storm radio format." [11] The Philadelphia Daily News said that the musicians "function in the vein of the ECM label's most accessible, tuneful sessions fronted by Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny." [16] The Globe and Mail stated that "most of Back Roads is lighter, softer and indeed more produced than has been Berg's fashion... Chambers firms up a couple of pieces, but the rest comes perilously close to the pop-jazz of someone like Grover Washington". [5] The Chicago Tribune noted that Berg "can sound as lite as they come one minute and like Michael Brecker the next." [17] The Toronto Star opined that most of the tracks "are classy but typical synthesizer-inspired fusion exercises, jazz-tinged energetic rock at best and modish musing at worst". [18]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Back Roads" | |
| 2. | "Travellin' Man" | |
| 3. | "Silverado" | |
| 4. | "When I Fall in Love" | |
| 5. | "American Gothic" | |
| 6. | "Dreamer" | |
| 7. | "Nighthawks" |
Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion band founded in 1977 in Los Angeles, California.
Roy Owen Haynes was an American jazz drummer. In the 1950s he was given the nickname "Snap Crackle" for his distinctive snare drum sound and musical vocabulary. He was among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career spanning over eight decades, he played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, and avant-garde jazz. He is considered to have been a pioneer of jazz drumming.
Infidels were a Canadian funk rock band in the 1990s. The band won a Juno Award as Most Promising Group in 1992.
Robert Berg was an American jazz saxophonist.
Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, releasing more than twenty albums.
Joey DeFrancesco was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz performers as trumpeter Miles Davis, saxophonist Houston Person, and guitarist John McLaughlin.
Soul Station is an album by American jazz saxophonist Hank Mobley recorded on February 7, 1960, and released on Blue Note later that year. Mobley's quartet features rhythm section Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Art Blakey.
Lenox Avenue Breakdown is an album by jazz saxophonist Arthur Blythe. It was released by Columbia Records in 1979 and reissued by Koch Jazz in 1998. The album reached No. 35 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart in 1979.
Play is an album by the American jazz guitarist Mike Stern, released in 1999 through Atlantic Records.
Run for Your Life is an album by the American jazz group Yellowjackets, released in 1994. The album reached a peak position of number eight on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best Contemporary Jazz Performance" category.
Bele Bele en la Habana is an album by the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés, released in 1998. Valdés supported the album with a North American tour.
Da-Da is an album by the American saxophonist Arthur Blythe, released in 1986. Its title came from Blythe's son.
Royal Garden Blues is an album by the American saxophonist Branford Marsalis, released in 1986. Marsalis promoted it with a North American tour.
Testimonial is an album by the American drummer Carl Allen, released in 1995. It combines the musical styles of jazz and gospel. Allen supported the album with a North American tour.
Qué Pasa is an album by the Argentine musician Gato Barbieri, released in 1997. It was his first studio album in more than a decade. Barbieri supported it with a North American tour. The album was a hit on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album chart.
Renaissance is an album by the American musician Branford Marsalis, released in 1987. It peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Traditional Jazz Albums chart. Marsalis supported the album with a North American tour.
Another Standard is an album by the American musician Bob Berg, released in 1997. Recorded for Stretch Records, it was Berg's first album of standards. Berg supported the album with UK and North American tours.
Every One of Us is an album by the American musician Ray Anderson, released in 1992. He supported the album with a North American tour. The album is dedicated to John Coltrane and includes a version of his composition "Dear Lord".
Signs of Life is an album by the American musician Peter Apfelbaum, released in 1991. He is credited with his band the Hieroglyphics Ensemble. "Candles and Stone" was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Arrangement on an Instrumental". The album was nominated for a Bammie Award for "Outstanding Jazz Album".
Put Sunshine in It is an album by the American saxophonist Arthur Blythe, released in 1985. The album was regarded as an attempt, at the behest of Blythe's label, Columbia Records, to woo a crossover fusion audience, although Blythe claimed that he was interested in trying a different style of music. Blythe supported the album with live dates, backed by his longtime band.