I have never been a big fan of covers, as a matter of fact when I open my inbox and see a press release for a cover oriented album I cringe. It's a conditioned reflex induced by the smooth jazz radio format as it faded on a wave of too many rote recreations of songs that weren't very interesting in the first place and a fear of the song “Lovely Day,” which seems to invade at least one album a month. But, long before smooth radio updated elevator music by replacing violins with saxes, interpretation of popular songs was one of jazz music's cornerstones. Coltrane did it, Miles Davis did it. CTI, one of the most influential labels during the formative years of contemporary jazz, practically made it a cottage industry with high profile jazz artists like Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Hubert Laws, Herbie Mann, and Milt Jackson including covers of everything from Broadway show tunes to top 40 hits. The difference is that these artists didn't recite the songs they covered; they interpreted them, sometimes bending them and shaping them to a point far beyond instant recognition. That is the artistry of the jazz cover and that is what BWB have done on this album.

It takes a lot of guts to do a whole album of Michael Jackson covers. We all grew up with them and many of them were so beautifully written, performed, and arranged that even after three or four decades they haven't lost their mojo. For those of us who loved them, especially the big ones – Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad - they have become a part of our musical DNA. Perhaps that is how Brown, Whalum, and Braun can dig into these songs that have been in their hearts and minds for so long and come up with such original reimaginations. Their jazz sensibilities also allowed them to find references Jackson, producer Quincy Jones, and the session musicians were undoubtedly aware of that those of us on the dance floor did not get. In the accompanying press release Braun notes that you can play Miles Davis' “Milestones” over the chord patter of “Billie Jean.” Their take of the song is explicitly jazzed, from the rephrasing of parts of the melody to the instrumentation used on that instantly recognizable four note pattern that anchors the song. It takes a few minutes to recognize the opening track, “Another Part Of Me” because BWB have stamped their identities all over the musical framework of the song to the point it sounds like something they recently wrote and recorded. Then the chorus kicks in and recognition hits. It's a perfect opening statement with each artist getting to strut their solos and veer in and out of the melody. They have even managed to bring a fresh perspective to “Human Nature,” a lovely but over-recorded song. A few shifts in phrasing and perspective, subtle instrumentation, Braun's trumpet solo, and Shelea's emotional but understated vocal are just perfect. They downshift segments of “Beat It” into a reggae rhythm, kick the chorus into overdrive, then solo and play as a trio over a driving back beat and take “Shake Your Body Down To The Ground” to South Beach for a Latin jazz makeover. The ballads are represented here too. “She's Out of My Life” is understated and lyrical, with each of them taking a verse and their seven minute take on “I Can't Help It” is a pure late night jazz groove with some gospel swing.

All these songs feature spectacular moments from the three musicians. Braun plays with power and flirts with distortion on “Beat It,” Brown speed-scats in “Billie Jean” and Whalum digs deep into the blues on “Who's Lovin' You.” Every song has heavy doses of no-holds-barred playing by all three as they solo and interact in that way that only musicians who are also longtime friends can. Yes, you can grab this album because you know the songs or because you know the players but what is going to keep you returning to it is the fact that they have turned these Michael Jackson songs into BWB songs. Michael was all about that type of musicality and most of all, about being inventive and never settling for safe and easy. I think he would love what these guys have done with these songs if he heard it. Perhaps he already has.