Description
David Benoit – Urban Daydreams – Vinyl Record
David Benoit’s Urban Daydreams is an album that exemplifies his smooth approach to jazz and his ability to blend various musical styles into a cohesive sound. Released in 1989, this album is a standout work in Benoit’s extensive discography, showcasing his skills as a pianist and composer in the jazz and fusion scenes.
Urban Daydreams is often categorized within the smooth jazz genre, but it also incorporates elements of pop and orchestral music, reflecting Benoit’s diverse musical influences and his classical training. The album features both instrumental tracks and collaborations with guest artists, creating a rich, textured sound that appeals to a broad audience.
The album includes several standout tracks that highlight Benoit’s melodic sensibility and sophisticated arrangements. Some notable tracks include:
“Sailing Through the City” – This track exemplifies Benoit’s ability to paint a vivid auditory landscape, merging soothing melodies with a rhythmic undercurrent that suggests the ebb and flow of urban life.
“Urban Daydreams” – The title track captures the essence of the album with its intricate piano work and smooth, flowing vibe, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that invites listeners to drift along with the music.
David Benoit’s style on “Urban Daydreams” is characterized by his lyrical piano playing, which serves as the focal point of most tracks. His compositions often feature a blend of acoustic and electronic instruments, with arrangements that build on jazz foundations while incorporating pop sensibilities to create a wider appeal. The orchestration in several pieces adds a cinematic quality, enhancing the emotive and atmospheric aspects of the album.
Urban Daydreams received positive reviews for its polished production and creative compositions, cementing Benoit’s reputation as a leading figure in the smooth jazz genre. The album’s success helped to popularize smooth jazz in the late 1980s and early 1990s, contributing to the genre’s evolution by demonstrating how jazz elements could be blended with pop and orchestral influences to create music that was both accessible and artistically rewarding.
David Benoit’s contributions through albums like Urban Daydreams have had a lasting impact on jazz, particularly in how the genre can intersect with other musical styles to reach a broader audience. His work continues to be influential for musicians who seek to explore the intersections of jazz, pop, and classical music in their own compositions.
Should there be any doubt as to why over the course of a few short years in the mid- to late ’80s David Benoit shot from relative obscurity to certifiable contemporary jazz superstardom, this diverse outing will quickly put it to rest. With Benoit’s assistance, producer Don Grusin perfectly layers the many adventurous synthesizer riffs and lush orchestration here with Benoit’s elegant acoustic piano. Grusin penned the most exciting track (if not one of the best cuts of Benoit’s early career), the funky and melodic “Sailing Through the City,” which features the high flying sax work of Eric Marienthal.
Benoit either wrote or co-wrote the other eight tunes, ranging from the introspective “Looking Back” to the playful “Snow Dancing,” but he really strikes pay-dirt on the title track, which has that unmistakable Benoit trademark, a mellow beginning and a rousingly upbeat finish. Also a lot of fun is the perky, spirited “Wild Kids,” which he wrote with Grusin for a Charlie Brown TV special. With each new album,
Benoit began taking new and inspired chances in the format’s early days. On his previous album Every Step of the Way, it was the classically tinged “Rebach” and here it’s “Sailing…” Fortunately, he knows just how to please, and so sticks for the most part to the magic touch he has displayed so formidably on the acoustic piano. When you hear a Benoit tune, you can instantly identify it. Such definition characterized his even greater output of the ’90s.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic seal with jacket slit
GRP GR-9587 1989
Track Listing
1. Sailing Through The City
2. Cloud Break
3. Urban Daydreams
4. When The Winter’s Gone (Song For A Stranger)
5. Snow Dancing
6. Safari
7. Wild Kids
8. Looking Back
9. Seattle Morning
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