Some CDs are like a pair of favorite blue jeans. From the funky “Cold Duck” and “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive”, to soft ballads like “The Nearness of You” and “Waltz for Debby,” to the very traditional jazz sounds of “I’m Beginning to See the Light” and “My Foolish Heart,” to the remarkable vocalese in “Groovin’ High”; Accentuate the Positive is a wonderful collection of classics and standards mixed in with some originals by the incomparable Al Jarreau.  And it's just as at home in the car while cruising down the highway as it is in the CD player at home while kicking back and enjoying quiet moments alone with the music. It is jazz, but Jarreau makes it very accessible jazz.

Jarreau teams up again with Tommy LiPuma and Al Schmitt who produced Al’s second and third albums, and with the incredible backup band of Anthony Wilson on guitar, Peter Erskine on drums, and Christian McBride on bass. Larry Goldings also adds some really special moments on the Hammond B-3 organ on “I’m Beginning to See the Light,” and Keith Anderson’s tenor sax is the perfect compliment to Al’s voice in “Cold Duck and “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive.”

All eleven tracks were recorded live in the studio. There are no frills, no overdubs or over-produced tracks. It’s eleven tracks of pure, seamless, timeless music. Whether standards or originals, Jarreau will convince you that this is the way these songs should always be done! Accentuate the Positive is a true vocal classic that belongs in everyone’s CD collection.

Elizabeth Ware