Smooth and sultry keyboardist
Raymond Jones continues to perfect his craft -- a style of smooth jazz he defines as "soul jazz" or "sensual jazz" -- on Intimate, one in a series of his releases on UEG Records. Though
Jones writes most of the album's songs, he collaborates with guest vocalists and musicians: vocalists
Norma Jean Wright,
Eric Gable,
Lori Perry, Alexx Daye, and
Zachary; musicians
Art Webb,
Leslie Drayton, Stephen Baxter,
Fernando Harkless, and
Andre Roberson. In addition, bassist
Del Atkins, guitarist
Fred Clark, and drummer Tony Moore perform throughout the album alongside
Jones, who generally plays keyboards. As mentioned earlier,
Jones continues to perfect his craft on
Intimate. Past albums featured a similar mood and pace, and past songs featured similar lyrics and vocals; however, never has
Jones' music sounded this calculated and honed. A considerable improvement,
Intimate should impress anyone who enjoyed
Jones' earlier releases.