lament the fact that the new LP's only scat tongue twister is a lyricized version of Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo a la Turk." But the singer's pop audience should eat up this ear candy as eagerly as George Benson fans embraced Breezin' five years ago, for Jarreau makes a cheerfully romantic pop-soul balladeer, as sweet in spirit as the young Johnny Mathis but with the bonus of jazz chops. And even though there are no Afro-Caribbean riffs here, Al Jarreau's fusion ties are still obvious, both in his Moog-like timbre and preprogrammed attitude of boundless glee. (RS 355)

STEPHEN HOLDEN