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Buy this CDWhen you put this CD on you're gonna feel it.  There's a presence at work that shows up in the chemistry of a very tight band with spiritual undercurrents running deep.  All done in the context of straight down the center smooth jazz - short, tight songs with infectious melodies, and hooks to spare.  And he's giving it all he's got on every one of them.  What Euge Groove is doing here is bringing big vivid splashes of color to a genre that's mired in washed-out pastels.  That's what sets this project apart, and makes Born2Groove one of the most captivating and significant genre CDs to come along in a long time.

Always searching for new territory to explore, he has jumped from the seventies vibe of his previous release, Just Feels Right, to a sound that comes straight out of church.  With the help of his touring musical director and bass player Cornelius Mims, a church musician himself, Groove put together a group of musicians with credentials that cover the sacred, the secular, and the contemporary gospel music where they intersect.  Keyboardist Tracy Carter, the musical director for a church in California, provides some of the brightest moments on this album with soulful, subtle chordings that just flow.  Guitarist Jubu Smith, drummer Trevor Lawrence Jr., and percussionist Lenny Castro round out the core group.  He wrote and arranged the majority of the tracks himself and is once again working with Paul Brown, who co-produced, mixed, and played guitar. 

Seven of the ten tracks were recorded completely live and the whole project was recorded in High Definition Audio.  Hearing it is like sitting front row center in a venue with a great sound system.  The sound is clear and you can tell these musicians are playing together and interacting.  These guys bring it on every song with Euge upfront just playing his heart out.  Listen to “Slow Jam,” where he improvises over the melodic framework of an elegant R&B groove.  He manages to put just the right nuance on every note and do some flashy runs without getting bombastic or overwhelming the song.  “Religify” is just flat out irresistible - one joyous, hooky burst of energy, the kind of song that gets stuck in your head the first time you hear it and stays there.  “Geez Spot” is gritty, low down, and bluesy.  Ricky Peterson spices it up with some tasty B3 and Paul Brown delivers
the dirtiest guitar solo he's ever thrown down (and I mean that in a really good way.)  “Born2Groove” and “Mr. Groove” have that propulsive funky sound that has become his trademark.  He plays in the low range on “Mr. Groove” and the ensemble jamming at the end of the title track leave you wishing it was about five minutes longer.  “A Summer Night's Dream” is reminiscent of the midtempo jams on his earlier CDs, it's got that trademark circular riff and a melody that just won't stop, plus he manages to play soprano with depth and without shriek or saccharine.  “Movin' On” conveys the wistfulness that comes when things end without needing a lyric to drive the point home.  There are two vocals on Born2Groove.  Ali “Ollie” Woodson's interpretation of “I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know” is stunning – powerful, soulful and just plain off the hook.  This is classic R&B singing at its best, the kind that spans generations and has staying power.  It's just that good.  “Baby, If You Only Knew (What I Could Do)” was co-written by Groove and Jeffrey Osborne, and features Osborne on vocals.  It's one of those songs that is perfectly tailored for the late night Quite Storm shows and hopefully it will get some Urban A/C radio love.

On the surface Born2Groove may seem more the mellow side than last few projects.  That's deceptive.  A lot of these songs build momentum as they go along.  Even the ballads get a lot of power from the way he plays them.  You can smolder with intensity, ignite, and even burn down the house without taking out a few hundred excess acres in the process.  That's what he's done here.  It has fire, it has spirit, and the spirit's gonna move ya!

-Shannon West



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