Straight Up (Bob James album)

Straight Up
Studio album by Bob James
Released	May 18, 1996 (1996-05-18)
Recorded	December 20 & 21, 1995
Studio	Power Station (New York City) Hit Factory (New York City) [1]
Genre	Jazz
Length	54:27
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Producer	Matt Pierson
Bob James chronology
Restless (1994) Straight Up (1996) Playin' Hooky (1997)

Straight Up is Bob James' 24th album. It was recorded on December 20 and 21, 1995, and released on May 28, 1996.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[2]

Scott Yanow of AllMusic concludes, "With (Christian) McBride and (Brian) Blade contributing consistently stimulating interplay, Bob James has recorded what is certainly the finest jazz album of his career."

Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times gives this album 2 out of a possible 4 stars and concludes his review with, "this is still not the jazz outing that, somewhere, somehow, he is capable of making." ^[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bob James, unless otherwise noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nightcrawler"		4:42
2.	"Ambrosia"		6:29
3.	"James"	Pat Metheny Lyle Mays	4:53
4.	"The Jody Grind"	Horace Silver	7:09
5.	"Lost April"	Eddie DeLange Hubert Spencer Emil Newman	5:38
6.	"Three Mice Blind"		7:19
7.	"Hockney"		6:10
8.	"Shooting Stars"		6:21
9.	"Quiet Now"	Denny Zeitlin	5:46
Total length:			54:27

Musicians

• Bob James – grand piano
• Christian McBride – bass
• Brian Blade – drums

Production

• Matt Pierson – producer
• James Farber – recording, mixing
• Ken Freeman – additional engineer
• Glen Marchese – assistant engineer
• Rory Romano – assistant engineer
• Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York, NY)
• Dana Watson – production coordinator
• Linda Cobb – art direction, design
• Bob James – art direction, design
• Herman Leonard – photography
• Jeffrey Scales – photography

Track information and credits adapted the album's liner notes. ^[3]

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Traditional Jazz Albums (Billboard) [4]	6
Jazz Albums (Billboard) [5]	20

References

1. Yanow, Scott. Bob James - Straight Up at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
2. Heckman, Don (July 5, 1996). "Bob James Trio "Straight Up" Warner Bros". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 14, 2020.
3. Straight Up (liner notes). Bob James. Warner Records. 1996. 9 45956-2.
4. "Bob James Chart History – Traditional Jazz Albums)". Billboard. August 16, 1996. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
5. "Bob James Chart History – Jazz Albums)". Billboard. June 21, 1996. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

External links

• Bob James Official Site
• Warner Records Official Site