Saxophonist Pamela Williams continues to demonstrate why she’s one of smooth jazz’s more compelling artists as she stretches her R&B-inflected sound in appealing directions on Sweet Saxations (Shanachie). Williams’ soprano and alto saxes harmonize sweetly on “Amber Skies,” a ballad she dedicated to her adopted daughter. Her soprano sax glides gracefully over a groove on the title track, and then things turn snappy and upbeat on “Tequila Nights.” On her previous album, The Perfect Love, Williams and her labelmate, saxophonist Kim Waters, exhibited an easy rapport, which continues to manifest itself on this album, even though Waters plays keyboards, not sax, throughout the album. “Fly Away With Me,” which was cowritten and produced by Waters, features a dark groove that prowls beneath Williams’ sultry alto, and Williams and Waters engage in some call-and-response on “The Seduction.” I would be curious to hear what a sax duet album featuring these two compatible artists would sound like.
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