Touchdown

1	Angela Theme from Taxi 5:45
2	Touchdown 5:42
3	I Want to Thank You (Very Much) 7:10
4	Sun Runner 6:19
5	Caribbean Nights 9:20

Barnes & Noble

Bob James is one of the smooth-jazz world's most beloved elder statesmen, a composer/producer/keyboardist with a gift for creating engaging, highly accessible compositions. James certainly scored with TOUCHDOWN, an album that also demonstrates his willingness to share the creative limelight with other performers. James is one artist who really seems to relish collaborative situations: His two duet albums with guitarist Earl Klugh (ONE ON ONE and TWO OF A KIND) and his album with saxophonist David Sanborn (DOUBLE VISION) are well worth checking out; and these days the keyboardist is one quarter of the supergroup Fourplay. Here, as a leader, he presides over an all-star team of top players; Sanborn is onboard to lend his distinctive sax voice to the high-spirited title track, and Klugh and flautist Hubert Laws turn in standout performances on the sprightly "Sun Runner" and the sparkling "Caribbean Nights." TOUCHDOWN also includes the hit "Angela," familiar to millions of TV watchers as the theme from "Taxi." Lucy Tauss

All Music Guide

Bob James' most enduring recording is perhaps one of his least adventurous. Full of simple laid-back melodies, light, airy grooves, and quiet backdrops, it's a smooth jazz "masterpiece." It's an enduring part of his catalog and was the launch pad for many movie and television projects, and for a string of hit recordings for the Warner label in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. In effect, it insured his financial security for the future. The set is notable for its heavyweight cast including David Sanborn, Ron Carter, Idris Muhammad, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale, Hubert Laws, and Earl Klugh. It also netted the monster hit "Angela (Theme from Taxi)," which continued to get airplay on smooth jazz stations into the 21st century. James is a highly developed pianist, arranger, and composer, and while the music here is as safe as milk, it nonetheless spoke to millions. Thom Jurek