Forever Love

Amazon.com
Mark Whitfield is a gifted guitarist with a quick-fingered but elegant knack for phrasing. Unfortunately, this gift has been sabotaged by a weakness for sentimentality that dominates Forever Love. Nine of the 10 selections were inspired by a famous jazz vocal by the likes of Dinah Washington, Tony Bennett, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Only two have actual vocals (by guest Diana Krall), but Whitfield always supplies the lead voice, whether playing electric guitar with a combo or orchestra or playing acoustic guitar alone. Unlike his famous models, though, Whitfield never undercuts the mushy melodrama with a sobering dose of realism, and becomes as cloying as Earl Klugh or George Benson. --Geoffrey Himes

From Jazziz
On Take the Ride (Verve Forecast), Mark Whitfield underpins his guitar's robust tone and clean, crisp delivery with bubbling funk and R&B rhythms. It's a clear move away from the more tradition-oriented albums he's recorded in the past. "I had gotten far enough with my guitar playing to concentrate on aspects of the music beyond technical execution," Whitfield explains. "I'm not going to do the same thing every year. If I can apply my musicality to what's happening today, I can come up with something interesting and, more important, something that people can enjoy."

Forever Love,Mark Whitfield,Polygram Records,Hard Bop,Jazz,Jazz Music,Pop,Soul-Jazz

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