John Lee & Gerry Brown - Mango Sunrise (2013 Japan Edition)

John Lee and Gerry Brown's Blue Note debut pairs the duo with producer Skip Drinkwater, who strips their fusion approach to its bare essentials to create a moody, deeply funky sound that smolders with intensity. Bolstered by session aces spanning from Motown studio great Wah Wah Watson to Belgian guitarist Philip Catherine, Mango Sunrise burns as slow and steady as a stick of dynamite -- while Drinkwater's production is undeniably slick, it also eliminates the superfluous sounds and technical wankery that undermine so much of Lee and Brown's subsequent output.