Music Is My Sanctuary

Even if the Mizells-and-company cohort that drove so much of the ’70s fusion sound would eventually be at least somewhat vindicated by latter-day cratediggers and acid-jazz acolytes, there’s always the lingering complaint that the era’s pop and disco moves might have given lesser players an excuse to just coast. But Gary Bartz was no lesser player, and the sax great’s unexpected transition from incendiary electric Miles sideman in the early ’70s to eventual crossover artist by the end of the decade did nothing to diminish the expressive, nuanced emotion of his sound. Only the most stick-up-the-ass purist would overlook just how well this ostensibly commercial record incorporated everything from MPB (“Carnaval De L’esprit”) to swing (“Swing Thing”) to doo-wop (“Oo Baby Baby”), and how indelibly its R&B flourishes — including the always-welcome presence of Syreeta Wright on vocals — would hold up.