The contemporary funk-praise music style seems to have taken on derivative elements of Motown, the CTI crossover jazz sound of the '70s, and the so-called "smooth" or "quiet storm" fundamentals of urban life. Saxophonist Tyrone Birkett and his wife/vocalist Paula Ralph-Birkett have adopted these elements and meshed them into a predictable commercial pop sound that should appeal to different levels of the church crowd, if not the contemporary jazz community. The Birketts stick to what they know, never venture out of a comfort zone, comply with God's teachings, and never challenge that norm. On most occasions they will truly "get down," but for the most part you hear a formulaic style that is insular, narrow, and quite populist. The beat-oriented "Awesome God," with its synth horns and Birkett's stylized playing, and the "die for God" lyric on the slow and plodding "With Open Arms" play to both the pious and naïve. A bit more wholesome, "Abundant Life Defined" is at least forthright, as Ms. Birkett declares it's good to be alive, but "Abundant Life" itself comes across as a pop ballad of indulgence. The wordless vocals during the title track show the vocalist in her best light, a good track reminiscent of
Stevie Wonder, while the hottest and fervent cut, "Perseverance," is also the most genuinely joyous in an Afro-Cuban 6/8 beat. Tyrone Birkett's influences of
Hank Crawford,
David Sanborn, and especially
Grover Washington, Jr. are clearly worn on his sleeve throughout, from the funky Jesus riffs of "Testify" and pop-contempo "Brighter Day," with Fender Rhodes keyboard from the excellent Pablo Vergara, to the imitative "Contentment." On this CD of praise, good blessings, self-entitlement, and internal pleasure, the Birketts have produced a one-stop destination of enlightenment that will appeal to the audience they create for themselves, but not within any universal, mainstream, or legitimate jazz purview.
