Just Family

Even though Just Family was produced by Stanley Clarke and employs a lot of musicians who had jazz backgrounds — including Chick Corea, George Duke, Airto Moreira, and Bobby Lyle — this is an R&B album first and foremost. Dee Dee Bridgewater would return to jazz in a major way in the 1980s, but in the late 1970s, she was emphasizing adult-oriented R&B and going after fans of artists like Phyllis Hyman and Minnie Riperton. The strongest tracks on this LP, which was recorded when Bridgewater was 27, range from the playful title song and the Earth, Wind & Fire-ish "Children Are the Spirit (Of the World)" to the dreamy "Sweet Rain" and an emotional cover of Elton John's "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word." Also noteworthy is the Brazilian-influenced "Night Moves," a Michael Franks tune. Those who know Bridgewater for her hard-swinging jazz CDs of the 1980s and 1990s should be warned that Just Family isn't a jazz album at all. It must be judged by R&B standards, not jazz standards — and from an R&B standpoint, Just Family is generally decent, if unspectacular and uneven.