JAZZIZ

A worship service may seem like an unlikely place to hear smooth jazz, but when guitarist Jay Leach stood at the altar of Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles one recent Sunday morning, playing plucky acoustic melodies to a DAT track, the faithful couldn't help but say "Amen!" Leach gathers a handful of the genre's finest Christian musicians -- Justo Almario, Abe Laboriel, Alex Acuna, and Kirk Whalum -- for an eclectic praise-and-jam session on Beyond Words (Playlist), providing scripture to meditate on in the liner notes as one listens to a blend of electric funk and string-section-enhanced acoustic solos. While Leach's quiet eloquence on hymns like "Amazing Grace" and "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" might make great background music for quiet times (in prayer or peaceful meditation), secular smooth-jazz fans are more likely to dig into the bursts of energy found on the swaying funk of "Holy Holy Holy (Hosanna)." On that track, Leach duets on acoustic with a synth-horn section, then engages in a call-and-response on the electric with Whalum's aggressive sax. On "Walkin' the Walk," Leach (on electric) and Whalum seem to battle over who can praise with the most passion. Leach offers a laid-back Latin vibe on the gently percussive "Festejo," a bright, little opportunity to duet with Almario's fluttering-leaf flute style. Overall, this is more fun than any church service you've ever been to.