Kevin Toney - Strut (2001)

Keyboardist Kevin Toney is a superb contemporary jazz instrumentalist and composer who can perform a range of styles - including jazz, blues, and R&B – with equal dexterity, and his album, Strut, is a good example of his remarkable facility. For this collection of primarily upbeat compositions, Toney combined his trademark memorable melodies with a variety of grooves to create an album on which his accomplished jazz and blues stylings are spiced with a strong urban flavor. Generally, this combination works; on "Karizma" Toney layers bright, chirping keyboards over a funky rhythm, and on "Secret Agent" his irresistibly catchy melody rides atop a rapid-fire dance groove.

Tracklist:

01. Strut
02. Karizma
03. Passion Dance (feat. Ronnie Laws)
04. Yearning For Your Love (feat. Evelyn "Champagne" King)
05. Secret Agent
06. Special Occasion
07. Interlude
08. Keeping It Real (feat. Chieli Minucci)
09. After Midnight
10. If I Don't Have Your Love (feat. Jeremy Monroe)
11. All Day Long
12. Aunt Mary
13. Postlude