~ Jason
Ankeny, All Music Guide
Body Rhythm (1995)
Review and Biography
With each of his three previous albums for
RCA Records, acclaimed saxophonist Marion Meadows has been building a
strong and loyal audience among music lovers both at home and abroad.
Destined to take the popular musician to a new level of recognition and
success, Marion's latest album, BODY RHYTHM, reflects his development
as a creative and multi-faceted artist.
"I don't take a contrived approach
to recording" says the genial Meadows. "There has been a progression
with each album. I've acquired a certain audience that likes what I do:
I'm always searching for compositions that will be pleasing to them.
This latest record has a lot of what I'm known for, and I'd say it's
more accessible. It was certainly a great album to record...effortless
and a lot of fun." Certainly, BODY RHYTHM exudes energy and excitement,
from Marion's finger-snappin', exuberant take on Stevie Wonder's 1969
classic My Cherie Amour, through the groove-oriented Get Involved
(featuring Marion's wife Asha on lead vocals) to the Latin funk of
Marion's Theme. In a more reflective vein, the mellow ballad Be With
You, One More Chance (a quiet storm-flavored duet featuring Asha and
vocalist Blake), the hypnotic Deep Waters and the album's sensuous
title track all showcase the talented saxman's versatility.
Comments Marion, who co-wrote eight of the
albums thirteen cuts and served as the set's co-executive producer with
keyboard/musician Yasha, "I've always loved My Cherie Amour.
I did some research and found that not
many jazz players had covered the song, so I was able to pull it off
without worrying if someone else had done it recently. Then, Get
Involved is pretty funky - it's a tune that I created on the spot in
the studio and that was a lot of fun. Like Marion's Theme, the track
South Beach has a Latin feel: Bobby Allende played percussion on both
tunes and it has a very infectious melody." Aside from Marion's own
involvement as a producer, BODY RHYTHM also includes production work by
Yasha, Bob Baldwin, Jacques Burvick and Roy Machado. Musicians on the
album include guitarist Rohn Lawrence (on Marion's Theme), Porter
Carroll (vocals and drum programming on Wanna Be Loved By You), pianist
Dave Schappert (on Later On), Dennis Johnson (drum programming on Get
Involved, and Summer's Over), Li'l John Roberts (drums on Get
Involved), Duke Jones (trumpet and flugelhorn on Deep Waters) and
Kennan Wylie (percussion on Body Rhythm). Known collectively as Lip
Sevice, Fred Vigdor (sax), John Fumasoli (trombone) and Tony Kadleck
(trumpet) provide the horn section for South Beach and Marion's Theme;
while Marion's touring band (Jay Rowe on keyboards, Dave Anderson on
bass, Paul Mills on drums) recorded on the album's upbeat closing
track, The Lift, "live" with the saxophonist.
A Connecticut resident since the age of
six, West Virginia-born Marion began his musical odyssey playing
classical clarinet at the age of nine.
He started exploring jazz after he
acquired his first sax during his teens, playing, studying arranging
and composition at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston,
and studying orchestration at the New York State University for the
Arts at Purchase. Marion's musical resume includes work with a
diversity of artists including James "Blood" Ulmer, Angela Bofill, Bob
James, the Aboriginal Music Society, Jean Carne, Phyliss Hyman, The
Temptations, and the late Brook Benton. He had a long-standing gig with
Norman Connors' Starship Orchestra, co-producing the musician's
well-known Passion album. Marion's recording career with RCA began with
FOR LOVERS ONLY and continued with KEEP IT RIGHT THERE.
His 1994 set, FORBIDDEN FRUIT, kept the
momentum going and in the past two years, Marion has toured extensively
throughout the U.S. A popular performer in the U.K. and Japan, Marion
added Brazil to his growing list of international touring stops in 1994
and he notes, "I was overwhelmed by the response we got from the
audiences there. I also got the chance to jam with some of the
musicians there and since I'm a big fan of Brazilian music, it was
really great." With an ever-growing and expanding global audience,
Marion considers, "my career is in a building process. I became a
musician and got into this business because playing music is a
spiritual, uplifting thing for me. With BODY RHYTHM, I feel like I've
arrived at a new creative plateau that feels good musically,
artistically and spiritually."
