Involved

Drummer Kobie Watkins has recorded with Willie Pickens and Bobby Broom as a sideman, but this is his first effort as a leader. With personnel varying from one track to the next, Watkins attempts to cover a number of different styles, and unfortunately, too much of Involved consists of his own originals or those by his sidemen, with few of them being particularly memorable. The strongest track is the snappy treatment of the late trumpeter Kenny Dorham's hard bop vehicle "Short Story," though saxophonist Jarrard Harris' quirky bop tune "Spastic" is a close second. In spite of guest Bobby Broom's effective guitar solo in the leader's "Expressions," the song itself sounds more like it belongs on a smooth jazz CD. The bland funk tune "Sonny Like," co-written by Watkins and producer Harold Mims, never gathers steam, though Watkins' catchy "Affectious" provides an excellent feature for Harris' delicious soprano. The musicians on this date obviously have the chops; this is just a case in which a producer would have better served the bandleader by suggesting a wider, more interesting repertoire.