Personnel : Bob James - Piano | David Sanborn - Sax | Robbie Kilgore - Synth Programming | Paul Jackson Jr. - Guitar | Eric Gale - Guitar | Marcus Miller - Bass | Steve Gadd - Drums | Paulinho Da Costa - Percusion | Bob Riley - Drum Programming | Al Jarreau - Vocals
I don't write too many album reviews these days about the current jazz artists, having spent 30 years plus doing so for various magazines and websites I focus on the ' old school mainstream albums ' nowadays to introduce today's jazz fans to the legacy left by our forepersons.
However for the past 28 years of producing the JazzNet247 Project I have bought, played and been serviced with tens of thousands of albums and ' Double Vision ' stands out ' head and shoulders ' above all of them.
My personal recipe for an outstanding album is quite simple, Great Musicians, Great Songs and a Great Production, sounds simple, but the most important ingredient in my opinion for a great song is that ' you can remember something about it after just one listen '. With a vocal it could be a catchy chorus, or with an instrumental, a hook or riff which stands out.
Incidentally one of David Sanborn's other tracks is my ' All Time ' favourite, i.e. ' Chicago Song ', after just one play from his ' A Change Of Heart (1987) ' set and it was engrained in my memory, and until this day I never tire of hearing that song and still get goosebumps whenever I hear it.
' Double Vision ' was fronted by two of the all time greats in modern Fusion Jazz / R'n'B, namely keyboard maestro Bob James and saxophonist extraordinaire David Sanborn, both of whom had released many albums, and indeed other collaborations beforehand, but Warner Brothers released the album to rapturous acclaims from critics, press, artists and jazz fans alike and the album spent 63 weeks on the Billboard Charts and peaked at No.16 on the R'n'B Albums Chart.
Another key ingredient was the personnel on the album, Al Jarreau is one of the most recognized vocalists of this era and his song ' Moonlighting ' was the theme tune for the ABC Comedy-Drama of the same name starring Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd which aired between 1985 - 1989. Al joins Bob and David on the sensational ballad ' Since I Fell For You ', the only vocal on the set of 7 outstanding tracks. ( LP's were the format of choice in 1986, albums were limited to circa 20 minutes per side. )
However the track which starts the album off is ' Maputo ' which is a haunting ballad with outstanding basswork from Marcus Miller and the much in demand drummer of the day Steve Gadd, both solos are a delight and the interplay superb. Drum units and sequencers will never replace real musicians for the intricacy of their Interpretation and Touch and personally, I just don't like them on jazz recordings, listen to the maestros i.e. Buddy Rich, Gene Kuppa, Philly Joe Jones or Art Blakey to understand why. | 
