Chicago born and Atlanta bred; keyboard player Brian Clay has been a staple of that city’s vibrant music scene since the mid eighties. Over that time he has released a total of seven albums and has just made that eight with the tight, in the pocket, ‘This Is Me’. With a playing style that has been compared to that of Joe Sample, Bob James and George Duke it is fair to say that ‘This Is Me’ is everything smooth jazz aficionados would expect and none more so than the opening number, ’88 Likes’.
This easy grooving cut gets ‘This Is Me’ started in exactly the way it means to continue and continue it does with ‘Into The Deep’ that, despite a smoky sax driven intro, provides the perfect showcase for Clay’s artistry on keys.
The decidedly moody ‘Tiemo (Bahari Beach)’ is another track that is among the best that ‘This Is Me’ has to offer and in this respect it is in the good company of the deliciously mid tempo ‘Honey Grove Lane’ that is enhanced in no small measure by cool interjections of sax.