by Jonathan Widran
The title track of veteran saxman Walter Beasley's latest jaunt into funky, groovy, and super-sensuous territory -- and his debut on Heads Up International -- has a brilliant and amusing anecdote attached. When he started making the album, he had just started seeing a new special someone, so it made sense to call the album For Her (and sing &I would give my life for her& on the graceful, soprano-driven title track) as a tribute. Halfway through the recording process, however, he broke up with &her& -- but because this &her& inspired the emotional ups and downs of the rest of the project, he kept the title. First, Beasley really digs her (the bouncy, disco-fied jam &She's All That,& produced with sizzle by Chuck Loeb). Then they're getting down to the throbbing &Coolness,& and waking up to a gentle &Good Morning.& Later, he's wistfully nostalgic (the seductive &Remember When&) and needs a bit of &Grace& to get through the heartache before acknowledging, as soulfully as can be, that &Things Change.& Aside from wonderful rhythmic diversity, strong as ever emotional playing, and solid production (including several tracks by Pieces of a Dream's James Lloyd), this disc is unique in smooth jazz for actually attempting to tell a story through music -- rather than just throwing together a fun hodgepodge of new tracks. Beasley doesn't get the festival dates and ink that some of the younger, supposedly hipper smooth saxmen get, but this disc proves he's still a lead player in the game.