Eddie Gip Noble
Love T.K.O.
(Sonido Noble’ Records – 2006)
by Ray Redmond
Pianist and keyboardist Eddie Gip Noble has been a veteran of both the jazz and rhythm n blues scenes for the past three decades. His debut album, Love T.K.O. is titled after the huge hit he wrote for a Teddy Pendergrass Platinum album. This CD will definitely appeal to smooth jazz enthusiasts with its unique blending of R&B / funk rhythms with acoustic and electric jazz piano soloing.
A fan of Herbie Hancock’s keyboard work, Noble attempted to capture that historic jazz-funk fusion sound, although updated with his own contemporary embellishments. Noble’s own version of the mega-hit Love T.K.O. is mostly instrumental and gives you a slightly different feel on the familiar theme. Noble wrote a half-dozen other tunes for this recording including the opening jammer Noble Cause , smooth and sleek vocal-infusedNite Song, the goodtimey Carousel and the urban tinged Gip Hop.
Noble does a seven-minute-plus version of Burt Bacharach s Trains & Boats & Planes (made famous by Dionne Warwick) full of piano soloing, and a smooth jazz version of the Christopher Cross hit Sailing. This is a great infusion of good old fashioned soul into the Smooth Jazz cartridge. A refreshing and enjoyable release.