Touchdown (Bob James album)
Touchdown | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | July 20, 1978 | |||
Recorded | 1978 | |||
Genre | Jazz fusion, smooth jazz | |||
Length | 33:42 | |||
Label | Tappan Zee | |||
Producer | Bob James | |||
Bob James chronology | ||||
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Touchdown is the sixth album by Bob James.
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide |
It was a commercial breakout album for him that contained the song "Angela", the popular theme song to the 1970s television sitcom Taxi. The song was named after a guest character in the third episode of the first season ("Blind Date"), but after hearing the song, the producers made this the show's main theme, replacing their previous choice, which became this album's title track.[3] The song "Angela" is heard at the beginning of each episode as the opening credits are seen. The song plays while a yellow New York taxi drives over the Queensboro Bridge. Many taxi garages are located on the Queens side of the bridge so they'll have easy access to Midtown Manhattan.
The album's title is a reference to this being James' sixth solo album (a touchdown being worth six points in American football), a pattern also followed by his previous album Heads (featuring a five cent coin on its cover) and next album Lucky Seven.
Track listing
All songs written by Bob James
- "Angela (Theme from Taxi)" – 5:48
- "Touchdown" – 5:44
- "I Want to Thank You (Very Much)" – 7:07
- "Sun Runner" – 6:17
- "Caribbean Nights" – 8:46
Personnel
- Bob James – keyboards
- Wayne Andre– trombone
- Dave Bargeron – trombone
- Alan Raph – trombone
- Randy Brecker – trumpet
- Jon Faddis – trumpet
- Mike Lawrence – trumpet
- Ron Tooley – trumpet
- Phil Bodner – alto saxophone, flute, oboe
- Jerry Dodgion – alto saxophone, flute
- David Sanborn – alto saxophone
- George Marge – tenor saxophone, English horn, flute, oboe, recorder
- Harvey Estrin – flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Hubert Laws – flute
- Howard Johnson – clarinet, baritone saxophone
- Hiram Bullock – guitar
- Eric Gale – guitar
- Earl Klugh – acoustic guitar
- Richie Resnicoff – acoustic guitar
- Ron Carter – piccolo bass, double bass
- Gary King – bass guitar
- Steve Gadd – drums
- Idris Muhammad – drums
- Ralph MacDonald – percussion
- Mongo Santamaria – percussion
Strings
- Diana Halprin, Harold Kohon, Harry Cykman, Harry Lookofsky, Herbert Sorkin, John Pintavalle, Lewis Eley, Louis Gabowitz, Matthew Raimondi, Max Ellen, Richard Sortomme – violin
- Emanuel Vardi, Jean Dane, Sue Pray, Theodore Israel – viola
- Charles McCracken, Jonathan Abramowitz, Richard Locker, Seymour Barab – cello
Charts
Chart (1978) | Peak position |
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Billboard Pop Albums[4] | 37 |
Billboard Top Jazz Albums[4] | 1 |
References
- Henderson, Alex. Bob James: Touchdown > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 111. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
- Taxi on IMDb (Trivia section)
- "Bob James US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-09-15.