My Friends, My Fam (feat. Fred Hammond)

Gospel star Fred Hammond takes a smooth jazz holiday on My Friends, My Fam, billing himself on bass and a batch of other musicians as Grandad Turner. Hammond leads from the bottom, an unusual approach for jazz, exhibiting obvious influences that he acknowledges in his song titles, such as Marcus Miller ("Marcus My Dude"), the Crusaders ("It's All About the Crusade"), and the Yellowjackets ("Fred's Yellow Jacket"). The George of "I Remember George" may be George Clinton, given the funkiness of the track. Having set up the rhythm pattern, be it propulsive or lightly balladic, Hammond brings in several good musicians and lets them solo extensively, notably Keith Anderson, co-author of "Smiling Face," who gets lots of space for his saxophone; keyboardists Chris Baker, Philip Feaster, Maxx Frank, Bobby Sparks, and Shelton Summons; guitarist Lawrence Jones; and Derrick Horne, who plays both keyboards and guitar. Frank McComb is the silky singer on the inevitable vocal number, "My Love Is for Real." Hammond may only be demonstrating his affection for contemporary jazz while providing a forum for some of his musicians on My Friends, My Fam, but he and they do a creditable job of branching out from their usual gospel activities.