Christian Musician Magazine
Adding strong latin elements to his sacred take on smooth jazz, long-time session guitarist, Jay Leach adds to his strong catalogue of instrumental albums with Cleared for Takeoff. The disc is a strong effort featuring guitar lines that put a premium on memorable melodies which will not soon depart from the listeners mind. A who’s who of premium jazz musicians helps Leach achieve his goal of effectively portraying the gospel message through the joy, passion and precision of the musical gifts God has blessed him with. The core band features Abe Laboriel, Alex Acuna, Chester Thompson, Justo Almario, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, Otmorio Ruiz and Tommy Morgan. With a program that contains 9 original compositions, 2 Hillsongs worship tunes and a re-working of the traditional navy hymn, “Eternal Father”, Leach is able to use varied skills to evoke a multitude of moods. His lyrical electric can be heard on the opening track “I Just want to Celebrate” and serves as the melodic foundation of the bouncy “More Than Happy”, while his easy facility on steel string gives “Lovelight” a solid organic vibe easing into the rustic beauty of “Lets Talk it Over” a pensive mid-tempo number that easily evokes the type of thoughtful conversation the title suggests.“All the Heavens” is from the Hillsong catalogue and features Leach on pedal steel, in tandem with Whalum’s soulful sax licks, adding unique texture to the project. Finally, “Simple Things” is a gentle finger-picked number that celebrates the special moments Leach was able to share with an esteemed musical influence who was dying of cancer. A fine example of the power of instrumental music to express ideas and evoke moods, Cleared for Takeoff is also a great place to start if you want to explore Jay Leach’s impressive body of work.
