In the ultra competitive world of smooth jazz saxophone differentiation is the name of the game and that is even more the case when applied to the female of the species. Whether it be Paula Atherton, Candy Dulfer, Jeanette Harris or Pamela Williams, they have all found elements of uniqueness with which they define their musical identity yet when it comes to Mindi Abair she has elevated uniqueness to a whole new level. Just what that represents is about to become clear with her first ‘Best Of’ collection that will be released April 2 on the Pretty Good For A Girl label.
Her earlier albums such as ‘Always And Never The Same’, ‘It Just Happens That Way’ and ‘Come As You Are’ were top-notch smooth jazz collections but then along the way something happened. Maybe it was her appearances as the sax player on American Idol, the fact she toured with rock band Aerosmith or that she shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen but Mindi began to emerge from her contemporary jazz cocoon as something of a rock chick. This was underlined with her 2014 project ‘Wild Heart’ and reconfirmed with the thunderous ‘Mindi Abair & The Boneshakers Live In Seattle’.
‘The Best of Mindi Abair’ is a nineteen-song tour de force harvested from eleven different albums and with eight unique tracks that, before now, have never been available to the public. All her biggest hits, previously unreleased gems, a few of Mindi’s personal favourites and her brand-new song, the spellbinding ‘April’ are all in the mix. Seminal numbers such as ‘Lucy’s’, ‘Bloom’ and ‘Come As You Are’ all appear as radio edits whilst ’Make It Happen’ (written and recorded with legendary soul icon Booker T. Jones) has never previously seen the light of day.
Other tunes to look out for include Mindi’s cool collaboration with Keb Mo, ‘I’ll Be Your Home’, ‘Say When’ that she wrote and recorded with Gregg Allman, and her trademark blues anthem ‘Pretty Good For A Girl’ featuring guitar hero Joe Bonamassa.
‘Be Beautiful’ from her ‘In Hi-Fi Stereo’ CD also makes the cut as does a previously unissued take on the John Lennon classic, ‘Imagine’ while elsewhere ‘I Love To Play The Saxophone’ and ‘Good Day For The Blues’ both originate from albums she recorded as ‘Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers’.
All supported by a sixteen-page booklet of personal liner notes, written by Mindi plus photos spanning her career drawn and taken from her archive, ‘The Best of Mindi Abair’ is a must for Mindi Abair fans everywhere and also those who are discovering her musical magic for the very first time.