With this follow-up to her 2003 hit debut It Just Happens That Way, the young saxophonist firmly establishes herself among the new generation of smooth jazz musicians. What she has over veterans is the impetus of youth. Fi... more »rmly connected to modern-rock sensibilities, Abair can easily draw younger listeners with her 21st century rock-jazz fusion, particularly on the first two tracks and all three vocal tunes. Abair's singing here is head and shoulders above the vocals on her debut. However, she still has yet to find her own voice on saxophone. You can clearly hear the influence of Dave Koz, Boney James, and David Sanborn at various points. On the other hand, she does take more chances than most of her older fellow sax players usually do. There is no obligatory pop cover tune--it's all originals--and, more impressively, she's not afraid to show a young audience her roots with more traditional jazz takes on "New Shoes" and the blistering hidden track, "26 Hemenway," featuring Yellowjackets pianist Russell Ferrante. --Mark Ruffin« less
With this follow-up to her 2003 hit debut It Just Happens That Way, the young saxophonist firmly establishes herself among the new generation of smooth jazz musicians. What she has over veterans is the impetus of youth. Firmly connected to modern-rock sensibilities, Abair can easily draw younger listeners with her 21st century rock-jazz fusion, particularly on the first two tracks and all three vocal tunes. Abair's singing here is head and shoulders above the vocals on her debut. However, she still has yet to find her own voice on saxophone. You can clearly hear the influence of Dave Koz, Boney James, and David Sanborn at various points. On the other hand, she does take more chances than most of her older fellow sax players usually do. There is no obligatory pop cover tune--it's all originals--and, more impressively, she's not afraid to show a young audience her roots with more traditional jazz takes on "New Shoes" and the blistering hidden track, "26 Hemenway," featuring Yellowjackets pianist Russell Ferrante. --Mark Ruffin
S. F. Tye | winter springs, florida United States | 04/30/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The trouble I have with really falling in love with a CD is that I am compelled to buy the follow-up and am almost always disappointed. So I bought 'Come as You Are', the follow-up to the superb 'It Just Happens that Way', listened to it and, sure enough, it just wasn't as good. After all, how could it compare? Imagine my surprise when, at a second listening, I began to realize that it actually compared very nicely, thank you.
'Come as you are'starts out with a number of tracks that carry over the upbeat melodic repertoire of the previous CD as Abair sustains her remarkable feel good quality through each song. She also shows more variety than previously with the funky beat of 'Sticks and Stones', the dreamy quality of "I can Remember' and the Pink Panther like sound of New Shoes [what a great tune!]. She even does the old trick of slipping in an untracked song, allowing her to show off some of her more free flowing talents.
It's a bit of smooth jazz, a bit of pop and a whole lot of feelin' good. When I want to feel blue it's Miles, when I want to feel up, looks like it's Mindi."
A nice follow-up
E. Laway | Temecula, California United States | 02/27/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is pretty much like her debut, except, I'll have to agree with a fellow reviewer who pointed out "New Shoes" Yes, I think in this piece you can see a lot of raw talent. It is very sparse in acompaniment and Mindi's sax really shines thru. She plays more complicated passages and a real pleasant surprise among the smooth jazz tracks. I don't really care much for her vocal endevours. I am not saying that she can't sing, but her talent is in her sax and that's the reason I buy her CD's. So what I did is edited all the vocals from her two CD and put a Mindi- no vocals. It is terrific and really nice to listen to her play the sax alone. I wish she would concentrate more in this area, I think she can achieve the same success as Kenny G, if she keeps it up with her sax because her sound has a wide appeal and very easy to listen to, also she's a petite, pretty bubbly blonde who is a wonderful live performer. Right now there's isn't a standout Saxophonist, Mindi could do it."
Smooth sax sounds and a great voice too.
D. Cheng | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 04/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The follow up to her It Just Happens This Way CD, this disc continue to show the evolution of her performance. After seeing her in concert a couple of years ago, I was totally hooked and when this disc came out, I immediately purchased it. After hearing the tracks, it became clear that she is sounding even better. The title track has a fun feel to to it and the vocal tracks on Every Time combine extremely well with the saxophone. The rest of the tracks are very pleasing as well.
She is going to be on tour later this year with Guitars and Saxes (along with Warren Hill, Wayman Tisdale & Jeff Lorber). I am going to definitely try to catch this combo when they show up in Seattle (I don't think they will be coming to Vancouver)."
Highly recommended!!!
Richard I. Strevey | Michigan | 05/14/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is one of those cd's where the songs get better and better the more you listen to them. Mindi is a unique talent with a smooth, sexy voice and an even better sax. Try this one out, and enjoy an innovative, soulful delight."
Every Time
William J. Kuz | Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada | 11/26/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Hi Mindi,
What can I say? Great CD. Every Time is worth the price of the CD alone. You're very talented. Well done!"