Having quit his longtime gig with
the Rippingtons in early 1999 to focus on his own career, saxman
Jeff Kashiwa's Native Language debut,
Another Door Opens, is a true sink or swim proposition. Fortunately, he's not totally a babe in the woods; he has a legion of loyal Rippingtons fans who might be curious to check out his new stuff, as well as the smaller following of his own band, Coastal Access, built over preceding years while doing numerous gigs in Southern California. More importantly, the saxman brings two crucial legacies from his tenure with the Ripps: first, the tutelage of mentor
Russ Freeman and, second, the forging of an amazing creative partnership with Ripps keyboardist
Dave Kochanski, who co-produced
Another Door Opens and wrote four songs, including the brassy, swaying retro-funk-flavored "Hyde Park (The 'Ah, Ooh' Song)" on which
Kashiwa winds a catchy lead melody over flowing brass embellishments, an infectious, soaring female backing vocals, and reoccurring snappy acoustic guitar licks from
Marc Antoine.
While he's becoming a better sax player on all three saxes across the board, the real test of his solo future lies in his ability to compose strong melodies over today's popular urban shuffle grooves. On "Power of Midnight," he floats an emotional and wistful soprano melody over the thick, throbbing bass of
Melvin Davis and clicking drums of
Ricky Lawson. While most of his and Kochanski's writing here is pop-oriented and in the pocket (witness the enjoyable MOR ballad "Back to Love," composed with
Brian Bromberg), the irresistible, simmering, and ominous blues vamp of
Kashiwa's "Dream Within a Dream" makes a perfect bed for his tenor to fly off of. More impressively, the gently percussive soprano melody of the title track -- while nothing innovative -- rings with the kind of beauty Freeman brought to the Ripps' best ballads. Longtime
Kashiwa guitarist
Allen Hinds wrote the laid-back sashaying closer, "Best of Times," on which
Kashiwa plays a
Toots Thielemans-like "harmonica" on the EWI. ~ Jonathan Widran