It’s very difficult to find intelligent popular music this day, but here’s a guy that can deliver modern sounds that don’t insult your mind or soul. Will Lee has a day job as bassist with the Late Show with David Letterman band as well as an ongoing gig with the Beatles tribute band Fab Faux. Here, he goes through his iphone and got some of the bigger names around like Pat Metheny, Leni Stern, Allen Toussaint, Chuck Loeb, Steve Gadd and Bob James to mix pop that rivals the cleverness of Steely Dan and jazz that hints at George Duke.
A thoughtful “Gratitude” includes Stern and Metheny on guitar, while a moody organ hovers around Lee’s earthy and relaxed voice. A feisty “Get Out of My Life, Woman” has him growling over Toussaint’s piano, while he tells a hilariously convincing story on “Miss Understood.” He demonstrates some gravitas singing and playing along with Oz Noy and Steve Gadd on “Natives” and all throughout, his delivery and subject matter is the stuff of someone who seems to care about the mystery and idiosyncrasies of this thing called life. He also demonstrates his sonic sensibilities on a slick groove with James on “Papounet’s Ride” and closes the album with a haunting display of his fretful life with a bass/guitar duet with Loeb on a “Smile” that will get one on your face by the time this disc ends. Impressive on many levels.