"On The Line" is an in-studio concert. Seriously, read the liner notes! Lee fills the recording with big contemporary jazz names including Dave and Don Grusin on keyboards, Anthony Jackson and Nathan East sharing bass duties, and Ernie Watts on sax. This group then plays the entire set live, direct-to-disc. The album is a mixture of slow balladry, smooth-jazzy contemporary styling and a couple of thumping numbers that will have you trying to anticipate what the band will do next. This is a "must have" for any true Rit fan.

Joe Sample returns to the smooth jazz style of his popular albums Rainbow Seeker, Carmel, and Voices in the Rain on 1983's The Hunter. The keyboardist fills up a studio with like-minded session musicians including trumpeter Tom Browne, horn players Chuck Findley, Jerry Hey, and Ernie Watts, guitarists Dean Parks, David Spinozza, and Phil Upchurch, bassists Abraham Laboriel and Marcus Miller, percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, and drummer Steve Gadd, and sets them loose on some rhythmic tracks with a rock/R&B feel.

A strong representation of the jazz fusion scene got together on July 1991 with this sampling of artists from the GRP label, including frequent jazz-rock collaborator Ernie Watts and David Benoit, master ofia "jazz-lite" style. But guitarist Lee Ritenour is key man here: he calls most of the shots and six of the eight pieces are his, including a fine tribute to early inspiration Wes Montgomery on the "24th Street Blues". For the most part, easygoing and mellow are the watchwords on this program - not surprising, since the players tend to be based in Los Angeles. Ritenour's "Etude" stands out for its creation of atmosphere, and so do Dave Valentin's solo melodic meanderings on a selection of wooden flutes backed by his own vocal effects. All elements considered, the bill is a demonstration of top-drawer musicianship, awareness of contemporary styles and versatility.

B.W.B.'s sophomore album, 2013's Human Nature, features the smooth jazz supergroup's reworkings of songs by the late Michael Jackson. Once again showcasing the talents of guitarist Norman Brown, saxophonist Kirk Whalum, and trumpeter Rick Braun, B.W.B. lay down such Jackson favorites as "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "She's Out of My Life," "Man in the Mirror," and others.

Over a succession of outstanding albums, Boney James has differentiated himself not only by his penchant for sumptuous sensual melody but also for his collaborations with some of the hottest R & B performers around. His latest CD, ‘Contact’ (which was released on March 28) delivers on both counts and, in so doing, confirms Boney is the undisputed master of urban contemporary jazz.

A flexible pianist and keyboardist, Bobby Lyle has long straddled the boundaries between straight-ahead and more commercial forms of jazz. In 1988 he began a long association with Atlantic that resulted in the release of six albums between 1989 and 1997, with Pianomagic, a 1991 album of piano solos, being one of the highlights of his career. Bobby Lyle has remained a highly versatile and valuable keyboardist as both leader and sideman during the new millennium.

When Phil Sheeran burst onto the instrumental scene in 1990 with the Top 5 radio smash Breaking Through, his melodic, Brazilian-tinged strings seemed to perfectly capture the subtle intimacies and breezy boisterousness the acoustic guitar is noted for. After a several year layoff following the similar success of his follow-up Standing on Fishes, Sheeran is back for the long haul with the eclectic excitement of It's a Good Thing, a collection that also marks the debut release from the artist-friendly label Passage Records. One of the most identifiable strands running through his first two albums was Sheeran's great love for Brazilian music and rhythms, which were cultivated through years of studying the greats like Luiz Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim, as well as a six-month stint living in the South American country.

Back in 1978 when this set was recorded, fusion (the mixture of jazz improvisation with rock rhythms) was declining. Keyboardist Joe Sample, best-known for his work with the Crusaders, was in the process of being one of the founders of "contemporary jazz," an idiom that has since solidified into smooth jazz. Sample emphasized catchy melodies, light funk rhythms, appealing chord changes and a pop sensibility. For this accessible release, Sample is joined by the late legendary guitarist Billy Rogers, bassist Pops Popwell, his old Crusaders drummer Stix Hooper, a horn section and several guest guitarists. All eight tunes (which include "Fly with the Wings of Love" and "Islands in the Rain") are by the leader, who is heard throughout in melodic form, setting up a variety of light grooves that serve as superior background music.

The Crusaders' follow-up to Street Life did not result in any additional hits (does anyone remember Bill Withers' vocal on "Soul Shadows?") and found the group's R&Bish music sounding closer to a formula. Each of the three remaining original Crusaders (Wilton Felder on tenor, soprano, alto and electric bass, keyboardist Joe Sample and drummer Stix Hooper), who are joined by an expanded rhythm setion, contribute at least one original apiece but the group's concept was starting to sound a bit tired. The Crusaders was an American jazz fusion group that was popular in the 1970s. The group was known as the Jazz Crusaders before shortening its name in 1971.

Polish singer and songwriter Basia became prominent during the 1980s, first for her membership in the polished British pop-jazz vocal outfit Matt Bianco, and later as a solo artist. Her first three wildly successful recordings – which sold by the truckload in the U.S. and U.K. – made her something of a household name during the MTV era. Her Brazilian-influenced jazzy soul helped to create a standard of excellence in adult contemporary on par with peers Everything But the Girl, Swing Out Sister, Level 42, and Sade. She all but disappeared after the '90s, but did take part in a reunion with her former band for 2004's acclaimed Matt's Mood. With Butterflies, her first studio recording since 2009 and debut for Shanachie, she attempts to reclaim her place with her trademark meld of classy, sophisticated Latin- and Brazilian jazz-tinged pop.

Casiopea, also known as Casiopea 3rd (カシオペア Kashiopea, derived from the name of the constellation Cassiopeia), is a Japanese jazz fusion band formed in 1976 by guitarist Issei Noro, bassist Tetsuo Sakurai, and keyboardist Hidehiko Koike…