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Ray Obiedo - Sweet Summer Days (1997)

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Tracklist

01. Casserra
02. Blue Cactus
03. Sweet Summer Days
04. Cha La Island
05. Juliet
06. Current State
07. Macondo
08. What In The World
09. Coco
10. One Wish

It would be easy to peg Ray Obiedo's Sweet Summer Days in the lazy title category, but in this case, the Bay Area guitarist's easygoing approach applies perfectly. That's not to say he's dogging it; this is a tightly produced mix of memorable ballads and gentle, mid-tempo melodies, with subtle hints of the Latin fusion punch that is Obiedo's trademark. It's more like a well-planned vacation from the usual sense of polyrhythmic, Latin-meets-African busyness that previous efforts like Iguana had. While his usual angle is breaking off the predictable melodic path towards odd metered explorations before returning, here he focuses on getting from A to B with minimal fuss. Less exotic and unique, sure, but the zip in his electric string style (which compares favorably to Steve Laury) is still center stage, and he still enjoys shading in the harmonies with splashes of Latin piano (Peter Horvath), trombone (Jeff Cressman) and sax, EWI and flute (the versatile Norbert Stachel). The title track, a foray into the smooth urban sound sung by Peabo Bryson, doesn't tax Obiedo's chops but is amiable enough. Which seems to be the point of the whole album. ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide

Personel: Ray Obiedo (guitar, electric guitar, nylon-string guitar, Fender Rhodes piano, keyboards, programming); Sheila E. (vocals, percussion); Bonnie Boyer, Jenny Meltzer, Ester Godinez, Peabo Bryson, Sandy Cressman (vocals); Norbert Stachel (flute, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, EWI); Marc Russo (alto saxophone); Jeff Cressman (trombone); David Matthews, David Matthews (piano, keyboards); Peter Horvath (piano); Peter Michael (drums, congas, bongos, timbales, percussion); Michael Spiro (drums, congas, shekere, timbales, percussion); Paul VanWageningen (cymbals); Pete Escovedo (guiro); Joanne B. (shaker); Karl Perazzo (percussion).