Los Angeles-based soul and jazz guitar man U-NAM (Emmanuel Abiteboul) is a busy old bee! He juggles all kinds of projects – one of which is his THE CALIFORNIA FUNK MACHINE – a soul/funk collective that features an ever-evolving raft of top musicians. The outfit have two albums to their name – imaginatively titled ‘California Funk Machine Volume 1’ and ‘California Funk Machine Volume 2’ and now, just in time for the Christmas party season, U-Nam and the gang are unleashing a third album – and guess what? Yep, it’s ‘California Funk Machine Volume 3’ Like their first two volumes this third iteration is a collection of soul and funk covers – some more well known than others.

South African expatriate Jonathan Butler isn't really a jazz artist, but his laid-back, slightly jazz-tinged approach to R&B/pop has earned the singer/guitarist/songwriter/producer a lot of supporters in the urban contemporary, adult contemporary, quiet storm, and smooth jazz/NAC markets. Butler has enjoyed a following since the late '70s, although he reached his commercial peak in the late '80s, and he continues to tour and record in the 21st century. Born in Cape Town, South Africa in October 1961, Butler was only a child when he started singing and playing acoustic guitar. Butler, who was the youngest of about 12 children, absorbed a variety of music when he was a kid. He was an admirer of South African stars like singer Miriam Makeba, but he was also hip to the American soul and jazz artists who lived thousands of miles away in the United States. Stevie Wonder became a major influence, and so did former-hard bop-guitarist-turned-R&B/pop-singer George Benson.

The album that made Butler a star. The sweeping ballads, catchy uptempo, dance-oriented hits, and multi-tracked overdubs and background vocalists helped make his music a staple on late '80s Urban Contemporary radio. There is little jazz influence and even less jazz content on this release, but Butler does display a strong, effective singing voice.

As an Australian, guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel doesn't seem to be much bothered about musical categories. Is his music jazz, folk, bluegrass, new age? Depending on the track, it can be any one. Like his mentor, Chet Atkins, Emmanuel is simply a guitar player, and on Little by Little, a two-CD set, he sticks mostly to acoustic guitar, playing mostly originals, tunes that he has used in concert but not recorded before. He is also mostly solo, although the double-disc length allows him room to share space with guests including singers Pam Rose (on her co-composition "Haba Na Hava") and Anthony Snape (on the folk-rock "Willie's Shades"). Among the covers are two versions of "Moon River," one with a bass countermelody, the other with an Emmanuel vocal, Carole King's "Tapestry," Atkins' "Mountains of Illinois," and "The Tennessee Waltz." Emmanuel plays fast runs, slows down for delicate passages, and adds harmonics on tunes that evoke players including Will Ackerman and John Fahey. He also likes folk-pop; "Papa George" needs only a James Taylor vocal to fit into that category. But Little by Little is a tour de force by a musician who usually leaves categories behind.

Although Idris Muhammad was employed as a sideman on his share of soul-jazz sessions in the '70s, the drummer hasn't been terribly visible as a leader. So it came as a pleasant surprise when, in 1993, he sat in the driver's seat for My Turn, a decent collection of jazz-pop, soul-jazz, and R&B employing such big names as Grover Washington, Jr. (tenor and soprano sax), Randy Brecker (trumpeter and flügelhorn), Hiram Bullock (electric guitar), and Bob James (electric keyboards). Not unlike the type of project Muhammad would have gone for in the '70s, My Turn is far from straight-ahead hard bop but isn't a so-called "elevator jazz" date either. R&B, pop, and funk considerations are emphasized, but not at the expense of improvisational freedom. Washington and Brecker get in some inspired solos on tunes ranging from pianist Neal Creqe's funky "Dracula" to Washington's congenial "Happenstance," and Muhammad does a nice job combining pop and soul's accessibility with jazz's spontaneity. Those who like their crossover meaty instead of fluffy should enjoy this CD.

A popular saxophonist and singer with a mellow, R&B-influenced style, Walter Beasley has led a successful contemporary and smooth jazz career. Following his emergence in the late '80s, he balanced his teaching career at Boston's Berklee College of Music with issuing a steady stream of lyrical, groove-oriented albums like 1997's Tonight We Love, 2002's Rendezvous, and 2007's Ready for Love, the latter of which spawned three number one Billboard smooth jazz songs, including "I'm Back" and "Steady as She Goes." He runs his own Affable Music label on which he issued 2019's Going Home.

BJ 4 starts off promising with a flugelhorn solo from the great Art Farmer, but the music soon sinks into pure commercialism. Bob James' keyboards are always prominent, as are the rather mechanical rhythms churned out by bassist Gary King, drummer Steve Gadd, and percussionist Ralph MacDonald. Although there are some catchy moments, the six selections (which all clock in between almost five and almost seven minutes) never seem to travel anywhere. Farmer, flutist Hubert Laws and guitarist Eric Gale have short solos that are primarily used as props and for contrast before James takes back complete control. The occasional strings and woodwinds make the light funk music here seem a bit Muzaky, so this is one to skip.

Like the artist himself, the music on this brilliant album defies all categories, embracing Terry Callier's wide range of influences and experiences. Callier's musical kaleidoscope is filled with funk, rock, folk, jazz, and even classical influences. "Dancing Girl" opens the album with Charles Stepney's majestic orchestration. This opus is the album's pinnacle, moving with soft intensity toward soul-stirring crescendos. Songs like "What Color Is Love" and "Ho Tsing Mee (A Song of the Sun)," an elegant antiwar prayer of confusion, somehow avoid clichés or take them to another level. "You Goin' to Miss Your Candyman" was made popular by Urban Species when they sampled it on "Listen" in the early '90s, and not surprisingly, it sounds better in its original form. No matter where you turn, Callier's passionate voice captures the sweeping drama of the human condition. A lost romantic amid "concrete front yards," this album is a must-have for any music connoisseur.