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Stephan Philip Haager: Sunday on the Bay (CD, 40:08), Carpet Cat Records CCR 010
On the Bay Productions
2775 South Diamond Bar Blvd., Suite 393
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
CYBERHOME: http://www.otbay.com

No matter how you try and slice it, Stephan Philip Haager's debut release
Sunday on the Bay is a collection of what essentially can be
described as lounge music. Almost all the tracks follow the "smooth jazz"
(VERY smooth) style of composition: pseudo-funky percussion (acoustic and
programmed) and bass work, with the standard soprano sax and piano thrown in
for good measure. Despite its cookie cutter nature, Sunday on the Bay
does contains some nice instrumental work and will definitely calm your
soul; however, it unfortunately doesn't contain quite enough substance to
really sink your teeth into.

What's interesting about this release is despite pianist Haager being the
sole composer of all the tracks, the piano playing is somewhat lacking in
comparison to some of the sax work (especially Doug Webb's work on the track
"Julia") and Ernie Nunez's bass playing. While it is certainly admirable
that Haager leaves plenty of room for the other musicians, I expected a
little more out of the piano bits on the album - I'm sure he is an
accomplished musician, and I'd like to hear him let loose a little more on
future efforts.  Other standout moments on Sunday on the Bay include
the opening nylon guitar/synth work on "Shine On," some nice horn
arrangements on the title cut, and some VERY nice drumming on "Julia".
Given that these folks know how to play their instruments proficiently, I
wondered why so much restraint was shown on the tracks; if Haager and Co.
perhaps would experiment more with faster tempos and more eclectic soloing,
I feel future releases from this group would be much more engaging and
interesting.

Part of the reason that this release fails to impress is that Haager seems
content to stay within the quite limited realm of "smooth jazz." If the
intent of Sunday on the Bay was to create a CD with very relaxing
background music, the Haager has succeeded admirably.  However, if Haager
wished Sunday to be musically challenging and an engaging listen I'm
afraid he's fallen a bit short.  With more robust compositions and more
adventurous playing, I'm sure these guys could improve on their next
release.

- Michael Askounes (michael@gscyclone.com)

CREDITS:
Stephan Philip Haager: Piano & Keyboards
Evan Marks: Guitars
Brian Munroney: Guitars
Ernie Nunez: Bass Guitars
Tom Ravel: Drums and Percussion, Drum Programming
Norman Arnold: Drums and Percussion
J. Wayne Linsey: Drum Programming
Lee Thornberg: Trumpet
Doug Webb: Soprano, Tenor Saxophone
Steve Elliott: Saxophone
John James: Soprano Sax (Track 5)

TRACKLIST:
1. Shine On (4:29)
2. Sunday on the Bay (4:24)
3. Spring Song (4:13)
4. Blue Mix (4:19)
5. Bonham Road (4:30)
6. Julia (4:59)
7. Bright Eyes (4:47)
8. Streetalk (4:08)
9. Journey's End (4:12)


More information on Stephan Philip Haager can be found at
http://www.otbay.com.


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