01 - Moonlight
02 - You Can Close Your Eyes
03 – I’m afraid the masquerade is over
04 - Undun
05 - Angel
06 - You Don’t Know Me
07 - Cry Me a River
08 - The Look of Love
09 - The Long and Winding Road

Steve Cole - tenor & soprano saxes
Russell Ferrante - piano
Mike Logan - piano,programming
Steve Rodby - acoustic bass
Dale Prasco - guitar
David Hiltebrand - electric bass
Tom Hipskind - drums
Dede Sampaio - percussion
David Mann - tenor,alto and baritone saxes,flute
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The Millennium Chamber Players of Chicago
Conducted by Robert Katkov-Trevino

And now for something completely different but not at all unexpected. Windy City saxophonist Steve Cole, who released his debut CD in 1998, has been a steady force on the smooth-jazz charts and touring scene for more than a decade. He’s also a member of the Sax Pack, an in-the-pocket trio with fellow saxophonists Jeff Kashiwa and Kim Waters. It seemed about time for Cole to attempt something different, and he’s done it here with a rich collection of old and new American standards backed by the lush sounds of the Millennium Chamber Players of Chicago.

Mixing traditional standards like “Moonlight” and the close-your-eyes beautiful “(I’m Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over” with new versions of the Guess Who’s “Undun” and James Taylor’s “You Can Close Your Eyes” was the right move. (The latter is an album highlight and features Cole’s soprano and a folksy guitar arrangement.) Although I’m not sure if another arrangement of “The Look of Love” was necessary, listening to Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and the Beatles “The Long and Winding Road” in fresh ways is a delight.

In addition to the strings, the arrangements on this compelling CD include harp, woodwinds and tempered brass. The supporting rhythm section consists of Mike Logan on keyboards, Russell Ferrante on piano and Steve Rodby on bass. The string arrangements are provided by Michael Cunningham. --- Brian Soergel, jazztimes.com

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1. Fallin' For You 3:33
2. The Sax Pack 3:36
3. All I Really Want 4:26
4. The World Is A Ghetto
5:28 5. Tequilla 6:17
6. You Are My Starship 4:47
7. A Little Bit Closer 4:40
8. Maceo 5:59
9. Goin' Home 5:31

Kim Waters - alto and soprano sax
Steve Cole - tenor sax
Jeff Kashiwa -tenor sax
David Mann: -synths, drum and bass programming
Bernd Schoenhart – guitar
Wayne Bruce - guitar (4)
Chris "Big Dog" Davis - keyboards (4, 6)
Jeff Golub - guitar (5)
Randy Bowland - guitar (6)
Gerey Johnson - guitar (8) 
Mike Ricchiuti - keyboard (9)

"The Sax Pack," huh? Wonder how long it took to dream up that name?

As soon as you see who The Sax Pack is you're either interested or you're not. Between Kim Waters, Jeff Kashiwa and Steve Cole, you have three guys who have been staples of smooth jazz radio for years. They're all seasoned veterans who can be expected to deliver the goods if your idea of "good" is bland background music that isn't going to challenge, surprise or require anything from you.

Let's face it: You're not exactly getting A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1965) out of these guys.

The album starts off with "Fallin' For You," a pleasantly bland offering that is probably getting more airplay than it deserves, and ends with an original called "Goin' Home." Sandwiched in between are seven other tunes that neither excite nor offend. The music of The Sax Pack is the sonic equivalent of the carpet in your dentist's waiting room. You know it's there, but you have no particular reason to pay any attention to it.

Cole and Kashiwa trade off tenor sax toots while Waters noodles along on his alto and soprano saxophones. Every so often a guitarist plays a little riff, but otherwise this is pretty much painting-by-numbers stuff. There isn't a single spontaneous or ad-libbed moment on this album. These guys are too much the consummate pros to have an unplanned incident.

You could go to your record collection---not your CD collection---and pull out some dusty old album from 25 years ago and it would still be hotter and hipper than The Sax Pack. This is a collaboration born of calculation, not inspiration.

Trying to blame Waters, Cole and Kashiwa for cold proficiency is like blaming Domino's for bland pizza. The job is not to raise the art form. It's to move product and product is what The Sax Pack is. ---Jeff Winbush, allaboutjazz.com

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