Pianist and keyboard player Eddie Gip Noble has recorded with everyone from Randy Crawford to Womack & Womack. As a performer he has shared the stage with Gerald Albright, Pamela Williams, Pattie Austin, Gladys Knight and Etta James yet perhaps his biggest claim to fame is as the creator of the tune 'Love TKO' that he co-wrote with Cecil Womack and which served to define the career of Teddy Pendergrass. Now Noble is using the track that has been variously covered or sampled by a host of artists including Hall & Oates, Boz Scaggs and Eric Darius, as the centre piece and title track for his debut solo album. It is a collection with massive cross over appeal that fuses soul and contemporary jazz to sensational effect and, although it includes several quality covers, is always at its best when showcasing Noble's own compositions.
Noble sets the scene quickly with his own 'Noble Cause'. This terrifically in control slice of funky smooth jazz has a kicking beat laced with a pleasing melody while just as funky is another Noble original, the mid tempo 'Desert BC'. It has all the rhythm and groove you will ever need and when Noble turns to the Burt Bacharach classic 'Trains & Boats & Planes' he delivers a seven minute odyssey that, from mellow beginnings, builds with melodic intensity to a stunning climax. Jon Barnes makes a significant contribution on trumpet and when the track is later reprised as a 'radio edit' the effect is just as good. Noble's mainly instrumental take on the Christopher Cross hit 'Sailing' features a splash of vocals from Zuri and Mona Raye Campbell. They fit perfectly and, when the mood changes to a deliciously romantic urban vibe, Campbell's dulcet tones makes 'Nite Song' all her own.
Noble provides the jazzy 'Gip Hop' with a wonderfully retro feeling. It's a tune that contrasts nicely with the light and melodic 'Carousel' and he uses the big and funky 'Cristo Redentor' to pay homage to one of his all time inspirations. Donald Byrd's version of this Duke Pearson composition was a hit as far back as 1963 and featured the piano of Herbie Hancock. Noble grew up listening to Hancock and, at the time, this led him to seek out the other jazz greats. It was these influences along with his love for Motown that moulded his style and which years later brought him to 'Love TKO'. Here, as a sax driven smoker and with the familiar melody in the capable hands of Louis Taylor, Noble makes sparing use of outstanding vocals from Zuri and Campbell to produce a tune of hugely atmospheric proportions. It is clearly one of the albums standout tracks and another personal favourite is the edgy 'Reggae Man'. With just a hint of a reggae beat, and a foundation from Andre Berry on bass that is colossal, this rhythm drenched foot tapper checks all the right boxes.
It might have taken Gip Noble three decades to get around to releasing his first album but now its here it is something to savour.
This review was written by Denis Poole at Smooth Jazz Therapy. For additional information visit their website at: smoothjazztherapy.com