By: Michael Madavi
Artist: Bernie Williams
Title: Moving Forward
Label: REFORM
Genre: Smooth Jazz : Latin Jazz
Release Date: 4.14.09
UPC: 844185087711
Territory: World
Who says jocks can’t play an instrument? Far superior to a Keanu Reeves jam band or John Kerry strumming a few chords, Bernie Williams once again proves himself as a fantastic musician among non-music orientated celebrities on his sophomore release, Moving Forward. Williams, the recently retired long-time Yankee star outfielder and slugger, is a classically trained guitarist with deep Latin roots stemming from his Puerto Rican heritage. His previous album, The Journey Within was released in 2003 to much critical acclaim. It debuted at #3 on Billboard’s Top Contemporary Jazz Album Chart (while Norah Jones long held #1), and #8 on the Heatseekers chart, eventually ranking as the 11th best-selling record in New York that year. Moving Forward continues his Latin-infused, classical playing to a new level, showcasing his talent not only as a guitarist, but also a songwriter.
All too often in contemporary recordings, amateur guitarists over-distort and process their electric guitar sound to smooth out rough edges in their playing and mask their lack of tone in their fingers: Bernie does just the opposite. His classical playing has trained him to play acoustically without distortion, so the addition of gain only serves to accent the finer points in his playing. However, while his technique is unarguable, as well as his mastery of scales and modes, William’s blues numbers are lacking a certain “umph” in his playing (understandable, blues guitar is an entirely different school from classical). Not to worry, his all-star line-up of musicians fills in the parts of music that a long-time star baseball player wouldn’t have had the time to cultivate in the way a full time musician does. This is not to say that his time away from the MLB has not been well spent: the new album shows improvement and features more of William’s original tracks that he wrote since his baseball days winded down. Listening to the variety of sounds and styles on Moving Forward, you can hear that he has committed a significant amount of time to the album and served up stronger compositions. Overall, the album feels layered and warm: each song features many different instruments and tracks on top of each other to give a very full sound without feeling over-processed. The production on this record is nearly flawless: the engineers and producers did great justice to the reputation Williams carries on his shoulders.
Moving Forward contains a myriad of different playing styles and genres, ranging from traditional classical guitar to blues to complex and original smooth jazz numbers: this is more than the Kenny G album your dentist always plays. A particular highlight, “Take Me out to the Ballgame” is a sentimental solo-acoustic number that serves as a farewell to the sport Williams has dedicated so much of his life to. The baseball anthem gets a sweet, classical makeover and truly feels like Williams himself as it is a combination of his two great loves. A number of fantastic studio musicians and performers including Dave Koz, Jon Secada and a special live performance with Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa are all featured as well. The record is set to be released April 14th and in conjunction, Williams will give an April 18 concert (featuring “very special” guest artists) at New York’s Nokia Theatre. For Yankees fans and smooth-jazz enthusiasts alike, Moving Forward is a charming and genuine effort from an unexpected source. While he may not be catching pop-flies or hitting homers, Williams has gracefully transitioned into the musical world and set himself up for further success.
Bernie Williams
“Ritmo De Otono” (mp3)
“Just Another Day” (mp3)
“Go For It” (mp3)
from “Moving Forward”
(REFORM)
Bernie jamming with the Allman Brothers!
Bernie playing an acoustic “Take Me Out To the Ballgame”
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