Dare To Dream is a tour de force of Onaje Allen Gumbs' talents as a composer, producer, arranger and keyboardist. Co-produced by V.Jeffrey Smith of The Family Stand,the opening track,"No Question," is propulsive funk in the style of
The System and
Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon." The mellow Sunday afternoon groove of "Second Thoughts," is led by the tenor sax of
Roger Byam,the engaging interplay of drummer
Buddy Williams,the shaker,tambourine and soft conga of
Steve Thornton and gently,plucked bass of Oscar Carataya as
Gumbs interweaves tasty piano solos and lays down warm,sustained digital piano.Co-written with Benny Russell,"The Look," is solid,midtempo jazz funk that features a unison lead line by Shunzo Ono on flugelhorn,Byam's sax and a sustained guitar figure by
Jef Lee Johnson.
Gumbs spices the mix with blocked acoustic piano riffs and otherworld synthesized horns and voices.Dedicated to the quest for world peace through individual happiness,the title track,"Dare To Dream," is a vocal duet between Gerri Griffin and Dennis Collins.This track is as beautiful as
Gumbs's work on
Phyllis Hyman's "The Answer Is You,."Other highlights are the upbeat "Don't Touch My Heart(Unless You're Serious),,"the samba-flavored "So Nice,,"the soft "For All It's Worth," and the languid "Are They Only Dreams," which features guitarist
Kevin Eubanks of The Tonight Show starring Jay Leno. ~ Ed Hogan