Grand Piano Canyon


Grand Piano Canyon is the 22nd solo album by Bob James. It was released on June 28, 1990. The cover art is reproduced from an original painting by David Grath entitled "Grand Piano Canyon." The title for the seventh track, "Xraxse" is the planet inhabited by Blue People in a story written by James' daughter, Hilary, at age 6.

Critical reception

Scott Yanow of AllMusic writes, "This CD is more jazz-oriented than most of Bob James' recordings and even takes chances in a few spots. The tunes, mostly by James, contain several strong melodies, including a tribute piece for Sarah Vaughan; among the sidemen are guitarist Lee Ritenour, Kirk Whalum on tenor and soprano, and tenor great Michael Brecker."
Stanton Zeff of Audioholics gives the album a rating of 5 overall and says, "This CD had a little bit of everything: big-band, smooth jazz, fusion, and ballads." He also writes, "It's this last collaboration that led to the creation of one of the great jazz super-groups of the last decade: Fourplay, featuring Harvey Mason on drums and Nathan East on bass, Lee Ritenour on guitars, and Bob James on keyboards."

Personnel

All songs written by Bob James, except where noted.
1 – "Bare Bones" - 4:44
2 – "Restoration" - 5:44
3 – "Wings For Sarah" - 5:34
  • Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements
  • Lee Ritenour – guitar
  • Nathan East – bass
  • Harvey Mason – drums
  • Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion
  • Mixed by Bill Schnee
  • Recorded by Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt
4 – "Svengali" - 4:48
5 – "Worlds Apart" - 4:30
  • Bob James – acoustic piano, synthesizers, arrangements
  • Dean Brown – guitar
  • Abraham Laboriel – bass
  • Harvey Mason – drums
  • Leonard "Doc" Gibbs – percussion
  • Mixed by Max Risenhoover
  • Recorded by Max Risenhoover and Al Schmitt.
6 – "…Stop That!" - 4:43
  • Bob James – acoustic piano, arrangements
  • Dean Brown – guitar
  • Nathan East – bass
  • Max Risenhoover – drums, recording, mixing
  • Chris Hunter – alto saxophone
  • Roger Rosenberg – baritone saxophone
  • Michael Brecker – tenor sax solo
  • Andy Snitzer – tenor saxophone
  • Jim Pugh – trombone
  • Jon Faddis – trumpet
  • Randy Brecker – trumpet
7 – "Xraxse" - 4:29
  • Bob James – acoustic piano, synthesizers, arrangements
  • Max Risenhoover – drums, percussion sequencing, recording, mixing
8 – "Just Listen" - 7:11
9 – "Far From Turtle" - 6:28
  • Bob James – acoustic piano
  • Max Risenhoover – synthesizers, percussion, arrangements, recording, mixing
  • Nathan East – Clevenger bass
  • Mary Benander – Japanese phrases
Track information and credits adapted the album's liner notes.

Production