Savio Rego “All I Want”
The trouble with specialty genres is that, sooner or later, preconceived notions of what a particular category’s made up of will begin to appear more often than needed. If something works once for the listening audience, it’s brought before the general public until they’re sick of it. This can happen with any type of music and the Smooth Jazz format is no exception. It’s a rare thing these days when an artist can produce an album within a genre that you swear you’ve heard a thousand times before and genuinely stand out above the rest. Savio Rego’s All I Want is that kind of album.
Born in Bombay, India and raised in San Jose, California, Rego’s charisma exudes through each composition. His style of guitar playing is a gentle caress that extracts a range of emotions, all of which complement his song writing. Right from the first selection, your mind and soul are in good hands. “Señorita” is a slam dunk of a single, bare bones Latin dance existing only in hushed vocals, melodic strums, and an understated thump. Amazingly enough, that’s all you need to get lost in its mesmerizing rhythm. As potent as the song is in its original form, it’s only a matter of time before it receives a remix treatment. Lyrics like “hit the dance floor all night / to techno beats and flashing lights” is practically an invitation for ocean floor deep house enhancements.
Lyrically, the album deals heavily with love, lust, and obsession, so it’s nice to hear the last three songs steer things in a different direction. While still talking about love, you get to hear Rego’s take on breakups and falling out of love. A perfectly placed instrumental (“Chai Time”) acts as a transition piece between the head-over-heels protagonist from the last five songs and one who’s loved and lost within the last two. Incidentally, “Chai Time” could become a chill-out/smooth jazz staple. Atmospheric without being droning, contemplative but not heady, it’s an all-encompassing wind-down tune that’s perhaps best experienced with the tea that bears its name.
“Movin’ On” plays on the 12 bar blues pattern in an upbeat fashion, jazzy and airy despite the fact that the relationship is clearly over. Notice the breathy vocals of Rego as he croons with cool, “If you never really loved me / don’t tell me it’s my fault.” As the disc comes to a close, a spotlight shines down on a man and his guitar. “Love Me For Me” is Savio at his most vulnerable, singing sweetly and with remorse (in sharp contrast to the man who was “Movin’ On” just a song ago). It not only concludes the album in grand fashion, but reminds you of the undeniable talent of this man. In a world where Auto-Tune won’t die fast enough, what you see (and hear) is what you get with Savio Rego. His music is skeletal in sound, but seductive nonetheless, and Adult Contemporary stations across the nation should be beating a path to his door.
Reviewed By Jason Randall Smith
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