Gerald Veasley is a contemporary jazz bassist who likens music to
chess. Not being a player of the game, I can only wonder if it’s as
sedate as Veasley’s album is, musically. It’s not all terrible: there
are engaging melodies, in cuts such as “So Close to the Sun” and “Slip
‘N’ Slide.” The “smooth jazz” quotient of the LP comes to a head with a
bassist’s performance orgy: Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You.”
It’s canny, and I can guarantee your body will not move at all while
listening to it. – forrest green III
