Gerald Veasley is a contemporary jazz bassist who likens music to chess. Not being a player of the game, I can only wonder if it’s as sedate as Veasley’s album is, musically. It’s not all terrible: there are engaging melodies, in cuts such as “So Close to the Sun” and “Slip ‘N’ Slide.” The “smooth jazz” quotient of the LP comes to a head with a bassist’s performance orgy: Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You.” It’s canny, and I can guarantee your body will not move at all while listening to it. - forrest green III

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