NEW RELEASES : Artistry Overcomes Commercial Helpers

BOB JAMES

“Restless”

Warner Bros.

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When a jazz recording credits three arrangers and prominently showcases the names of the mixing engineers, it can be easy to assume that musical content is not necessarily the No. 1 priority. It is to James’ credit, however, that he manages to survive all the commercial impositions--the unnecessary vocals, the annoying drum machine rhythms, the repetitious harmonic vamps--and keep the emphasis upon sound over substance.

On almost every track here, James not only uncovers an appealing array of colors and images within the limited confines of pop jazz, but he does so while squeezing in a healthy sampling of crisp, articulate, purely jazz-based improvising.

On several tracks, James does more: “Kissing Cross,” “Back to Bali” and the elegant “Serenissma” allow him to stretch out over Fareed Haque’s guitar; “Into the Light” showcases him with Ron Carter’s bass and Harvey Mason’s drums (and, unfortunately, some superfluous synthesizer fills); and on the track that must be James’ personal favorite, “Storm Warning,” his daughter Hillary sings with a familial style and musical grace.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).