On Higher Plane, the third album rad. delivers ten songs with the charm and attitude. rad. keeps pursuing her very own style of meshing funky grooves with solid songwriting and unconventional arrangements. It also marks her return to California, drawing upon her r&b roots and love for West Coast latin jazz. Intentionally reducing the instrumentation to a minimum, rad. creates an intimate and wonderfully inviting atmosphere. From the opening track Never Stop, a light and breezy foray in 7/8 tempo to Layin' Low, a romping vocalese track not unlike a brazilian afoxe' with a twist of Oakland, to Guarabe Love, classic rad. with a dash of Soul Sauce, to E.L.B.O.Y., a bolero-esque soul ballad, to tunes like Natural, Days Gone By and the title track Higher Plane. And not to forget grooveneck tunes like the reflective Emily's Garden and upbeat Be With You. A feeling of bright lights, big city comes to mind in the closing track Veils, an alto sax laden shuffle with quotes of James Brown thrown in for good measure. This album will ease you from a loud Saturday night into a sunny Sunday morning, and still allow you to be painfully hip.
Higher Plane showcases the development of rad.'s unique vocalist-pianist style, as well as the talents of a team of highly respected musicians and friends. Drummer David Garibaldi and guitarist Ray Obiedo compliment her arrangements perfectly, notwithstanding the fact that all three stem from the same geographical area. Fans of early Tower of Power (DG!) recordings will be delighted to hear David's ever so crisp technique again, and perhaps a newness in his playing as David has been studying world rhythms intensively since then. Ray's impeccable taste and time enhance rad's keyboard playing (E.L.B.O.Y., Guarabe Love), a talent that his previous keyboard partners including Herbie Hancock and George Duke have taken advantage of in the past. Check out the beautiful and melodic bass playing of Marc van Wageningen (Sheila E.) on Never Stop and the ever attitudinous smack of bass Bobby Vega (Sly Stone) on the title track, among others. Veils, the album's most elusive track, is given a good dose of West Coast with some lascivious blowing by saxophonist and former Yellowjacket Mark Russo. rad.'s dirty left hand Hammond organ bass lays it all down on Guarabe Love, check out her funky vocalese solos on Layin' Low (Grand Piano) and Be With You (B3 organ), and a gorgeously haunting moog solo on Higher Plane.
Higher Plane is a music-first enhanced CD. For those with computer access, the CD-Rom enables the user/listener to obtain information about the artist and album. It includes a press packet with high quality scans of press photos, reducing unnecessary paper and transport waste. Unlike other CD Roms, Higher Plane directly connects to rad. Online with the rad. launcher, connecting the user to actual updated information at any time about upcoming rad. concerts and events, obtain info on the musicians or previous albums or drop an e-mail.
Higher Plane was produced by Michael Kirsch for 7 Bridges Recordings, CA
Recorded and mixed at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, USA
