Pianist / keyboardist Bob James is versatile. His new CD "Playin 'hooky" contains all kinds of beautiful compositions of his own as well as compositions written by others. James understands it both to pure jazz and to play more fusion-oriented jazz. He usually makes catchy CDs, which will also appeal to a somewhat wider audience. The first track of "Playin 'hooky" is "Playing with fire" which is
… based on Chopin's "Etude in E major opus 10 No. 3". This track features a brass section, percussionists, bass, drums (Steve Gadd), vibraphone (Dave Samuels) and guitar; this creates a full sound. Other good songs include: "The river returns", the 'groovy', soulful "Hook, line & sinker", the quiet "more