Turning Point (Kevin Eubanks album)

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Turning Point
Studio album by
Kevin Eubanks
Released1992
RecordedDecember 1991, January 1992
Genre Jazz
Label Blue Note
Producer Kevin Eubanks
Kevin Eubanks chronology
Promise of Tomorrow
(1990)		Turning Point
(1992)		Spirit Talk
(1993)

Turning Point is an album by the American musician Kevin Eubanks, released in 1992. [1] [2] Its release coincided with the beginning of his tenure on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . [3] The album peaked in the top five on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart. [4]

Contents

Production

Turning Point was recorded in December 1991 and January 1992. [5] Eubanks was backed by two quartets, which included Dave Holland and Charnett Moffett on bass, Marvin "Smitty" Smith and Mark Mondesir on drums, and Kent Jordan on alto flute. [6] The album begins with a three-part suite. [7] "Lingering Destiny" is a solo acoustic guitar composition. [8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
All Music Guide to Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [5]
Detroit Free Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Indianapolis Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [10]
MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The News & Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [14]

Many critics considered Turning Point to be a less fusion- and pop-oriented album than Eubanks's previous work, a conclusion that annoyed the musician. [15]

The Indianapolis Star stated that "Eubanks has lots of facility, but he husbands his resources wisely... His playing is angular, crisply accented and loaded with funky hooks". [10] The Gazette advised, "Imagine Wes Montgomery on speed, or John McLaughlin with soul"; the paper later listed Turning Point as one of the best jazz albums of 1992. [16] [17] The Ottawa Citizen said, "On the pivotal 'Spiral Ways' the trio builds an ascending, tension-filled Eubanks melody to a Mahavishnu-style boil, with Holland and Smith prodding the guitarist to the finest playing of his career." [18]

The Birmingham Post praised the "exotic soundscapes and driving rhythms." [19] LA Weekly noted that Eubanks's "filing cabinet of technique [allows] him to be funky ratchet or classical gas." [20] The Philadelphia Inquirer said that Eubanks "endows 'Colors of One' with a sweet, dreamy sense of drift." [13]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Turning Point (Part I)" 
2."Aftermath (Part II)" 
3."Initiation (Part III)" 
4."New World Order" 
5."Colors of One" 
6."Spiral Days" 
7."Freedom Child" 
8."On My Way to Paradise" 
9."Lingering Destiny" 

References

  1. ↑ Williamson, Kathy (June 17, 2004). "Kevin Eubanks: Musician and Bandleader". Los Angeles Sentinel. p. B3.
  2. ↑ Smith, Will (September 6, 1992). "Jazz Sounds". Entertainment. Omaha World-Herald. p. 11.
  3. ↑ Martin, Michel (June 28, 2010). "Kevin Eubanks on Life After Leno". Tell Me More. NPR.
  4. ↑ "Contemporary jazz". Muncie Evening Press. Radio & Records Inc. September 3, 1992. p. 15.
  5. 1 2 All Music Guide to Jazz. Miller Freeman Books. 1998. p. 351.
  6. ↑ Point, Michael (July 30, 1992). "Summer fun". Onward. Austin American-Statesman. p. 15.
  7. 1 2 Johnson, Lawrence B. (February 20, 1993). "Jazz". Detroit Free Press. p. 6D.
  8. 1 2 Cordle, Owen (September 20, 1992). "On the record". The News & Observer. p. 2G.
  9. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 1785.
  10. 1 2 Harvey, Jay (April 2, 1993). "Kevin Eubanks 'Turning Point'". The Indianapolis Star. p. D9.
  11. ↑ MusicHound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 383.
  12. ↑ The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, LP & Cassette. Penguin Books. 1994. p. 421.
  13. 1 2 Stark, Karl (July 23, 1992). "Jazz". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. C9.
  14. ↑ The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. 1999. p. 229.
  15. ↑ Moon, Tom (January 4, 1993). "Upbeat All the Way". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. E1.
  16. ↑ Wells, Paul (September 17, 1992). "Kevin Eubanks Turning Point". The Gazette. p. E6.
  17. ↑ Wells, Paul (January 2, 1993). "The best jazz albums of 1992?". The Gazette. p. D8.
  18. ↑ Hale, James (November 7, 1992). "Eubanks' acoustic trio among the best". The Ottawa Citizen. p. H3.
  19. ↑ Hadsley, Neville (July 4, 1992). "Jazz". The Birmingham Post. p. 31.
  20. ↑ Burk, Greg (July 23, 1992). "Jazz Pick of the Week". LA Weekly. Vol. 14, no. 33. p. 109.
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