What is the difference between a contemporary/smooth vocal album and a pop or R&B vocal? That's a question that has been debated a lot for the almost 20 years since a consultant decided to add a large dose of Adult Contemporary ballads to the smooth jazz radio format. Do those James Ingram and Whitney Houston ballads belong? What about the guys who tip their inspirational hat toward Billy Joel? What about artists like Phil Perry who straddle the line and play both sides of it well? My feeling – pop is good but if it's pop call it pop, for it to qualify as either jazzy or adult alternative it has to visit some places that are going to keep it off the hit radio charts. There is a sense of originality, a style of singing, and a type of instrumentation that pulls a vocalist into this realm. Not every artist who is marketed as “contemporary or smooth jazz” has it. Bluey has it all over the place, in his work with Incognito, Maysa, his work on Sun -the new release by Italian star Mario Biondi - and now as a solo artist. These projects define it just when we needed that clarification and more of this music!

Jean-Paul “Bluey” Maunick has been making music for around 30 years, mostly pushing the boundaries with Incognito and mentoring gifted vocalists like Maysa Leak but this is the first time he has stepped into the solo spotlight as a vocalist. He mentioned in some of the promotional material that he was not at all sure of his ability to hold up as a singer. No reason for worries, his straightforward unaffected style is extremely refreshing at a time when lots of singers overwhelm their material with melisma, runs, and other vocal overkill tactics. He sings with authority and uses nuance and range to deliver each song exactly the way it needs to be delivered. He drops into a low range growl on the “tell-off” songs, uses spoken word very effectively, adds a light touch to the breezy tracks and even flies into a falsetto once or twice.

There is a sound that has become timeless. It has roots in the progressive part of the Motown catalog and those wonderful Warner Bros releases that came out in the late 70's from artists like Michael Franks, Randy Crawford, Al Jarreau, and Flora Purim. Artists have been evolving this craft over the last few decades but when radio rejected it, it became more of a cult phenom. This is the essence that evolution; purely contemporary with big props to heritage. “Take a Chance On Me” has a little bit of classic Bobby Caldwell groove with some EWF harmonies and keyboard/bass lines that remind me of early 80's Jarreau. “Sky,” has that breezy samba flavor that never goes out of style. “Let My Feelings Show” is bright and bouncy with a deeply funky backbeat. “Ain't Nobody's Business” tells somebody to mind their own with a darker dance-house driven energy that finds him in the lower vocal range with a touch of a growl for emphasis. The album starts with motivation and wraps up with inspiration. “Stronger,” swirls the message over a chorus line derived from Johnny Bristol's 70's soul classic “Hang On In There” and sizzles into an Ernie Isley-ish guitar line. The title track is a spoken word narrative about having faith and taking that leap that recalls historical figures and evokes present circumstances, all over layers of keyboard and deep bass grooves. This is largely a two man production with Bluey and longtime collaborator Richard Bull handling the songwriting, instrumentation, production, and mixing. They are both superlative and their collaborative energy is perfect. The sound of the album is gorgeous, the arrangements are multi-layered and the vocals are spot-on.

There are a lot of “if you like that you'll like this” pathways that could lead you into this album. If you love Incognito and Maysa Leak this has to be in your collection. Maysa even wrote her own rave review of it on Amazon.com. If you still default to George Benson and Al Jarreau's early 80's releases or find guilty pleasure from Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees and the Doobie Bros. jazzy period grab this one and you'll feel a little more musically in synch with the century we are living in. If you like it danceable and deep or have a soft spot for the progressive side of old school soul this will fit the bill. But don't peg Leap of Faith as retro, revival, or nostalgic. What Bluey has done here is tapped into a part of his musical DNA that a lot of us share and added his cutting edge perspective to bring it straight into 2013. In the process he has delivered an album that brings substance and spirit to music that makes you want to move.