It may be too early to declare this the start of an entire youth movement, but the second generation of smooth jazz performers is off to a convincing, feel good start with 21-year-old Jimmy Reid - a saxman raised on transcriptions of genre stars like Richard Elliot, Kirk Whalum and Gerald Albright rather than the be-bop forefathers those players so revered. One of Reid's earliest formative memories, in fact, might be considered blasphemous to the men who later became his influences.

"I started taking basic jazz tenor lessons in eighth grade, typical scales and etudes, and my teacher gave me this tape of Coltrane to transcribe," he recalls. "I was like, 'What the heck is that?' I didn't like it, I didn't get it, it just confused me. Maybe if the first jazz I'd heard was Ella Fitzgerald rather than 'Giant Steps,' I would have appreciated it more, but traditional jazz sax, while technically amazing, is more about notes and less about expressiveness to me. The guys I like come straight to the point."

Coming of age in the early years of the new format, Reid instead became obsessed with transcribing by ear and copying licks from Elliot ("Over the Rainbow," "Breezer"), Albright ("My My My"), Whalum's "Over the Rainbow" and Dave Koz. All of those influences ring through loud and clear on Reid's slickly produced, right in the pocket debut Forever Loved (Discovery), which heralds Reid's arrival not only as a notable player on all three saxes, but also a solid pop songcraftsman as well.

While perky, percussive lightweights like "Feels So Good" show that Reid can get our attention with catchy hooks and a combination of staccato verses and silky transitional passages, his true skills are as a balladeer, crooning and commanding with his horn rather than vocals. Reid and his co-arrangers build tunes the way Barry Manilow did in the 70s - deceptively gentle beginnings and slowly emerging emotional fires leading to wild, gloriously overblown crescendos (how could he not go this melodramatic route on a remake of the Titanic theme?). Reid's kindhearted, sometimes weepy soprano tones on that tune and the lush, teary "So Beautiful" and "Lullaby" are Koz-induced all the way. His assured tenor melody on the light funk tune "Yearning For Your Love" falls somewhere in between Elliot's scorching robustness and Whalum's deeper, but more subtle emotions.

Tell Reid that he's just emulating his heroes instead of coming up just yet with a voice of his own, however, and he'll relish the compliment. "When I would transcribe them, I wasn't just writing down notes, but I was going for nuance, breathing, even picking up grace notes while studying their technique," he says. "They made me realize where I was headed, and so while I am still building my vocabulary, yes, my goal is to sound just like them."

And yet, one whiff of the way his improvisational blasts egg on and swirl around the gospel vocals on the title track, and it's clear that Reid can break out of those molds; hope also lies in the way his a straight to the heart alto matches Whalum's tenor note for note, and sometimes as a playful conversational point-counterpoint, on the duet "Love Is." Before the last chorus, the two even engage in a tease and taunt, push and pull repartee, as if to ask, "Who wants to lead?"

"Don't' get me wrong," he says, "I want to develop my own sound out of all this, and I'm taking steps to make that happen. I used to listen to those guys every day, but as I play more gigs, I push that aside, play the way I feel at a particular moment and come up with my own variations on them. It's just that when I receive comparisons to players I consider masters and mentors, I know all my studying and practicing hasn't been a waste of time. It's like I'm taking each of their sounds, meshing it up into a big ball and that's who I am."

The very sensuous looking and sounding Pamela Williams certainly delivers on the promise of her title, Eight Days of Ecstacy (Heads Up); this is one of the sexiest rhythm and jazz dates in ages. Which is interesting, because as a sax player, for the most part she doesn't really add anything innovative to her craft; if you take the blindfold test, you might hear her wonderful influences, David Sanborn (the gritty alto funk of "Pump Up The Heat" and the late George Howard (a sassy soprano led take on Al Green's "Still in Love"). She is an obvious fan of Babyface, as the vocal tune "I'll Be There For You" (which she simply harmonizes on) sounds like an outtake. Yet there is hope to break beyond these patterns, particularly on the closing track, "One of the Cats," where she takes the high tones of the soprano, combines them with the darker edges of tenor, and springs them into more improvisational directions over a keyboard generated trio groove. And then in the middle, she switches off, playing tag team relay. She also proves a capable team player with none other than Gerald Albright, with the two cooking up some horn section tension on alto (Williams) and tenor (Albright).

When a debut smooth jazz album is as alternately brilliant and maddeningly mundane as Tommy Jones' Tide Pool (Artifex), some recommendations on what to leave in and out next time are in order. His vibrant classical guitar languishes too often in the service of pleasant and well produced but ultimately bland pop covers ("Tears in Heaven," "Somewhere Out There"). Yet it crackles on more challenging Brazilian and traditional jazz pieces like Luis Bonfa's brisk and snappy "Morning of Carnival" (featuring an almost baritone timbre from guest tenor player Boots Randolph) and "Take Five," which he explores down paths more colorful than most versions. Since "Going Through The Changes," the jumpin' blues/jazz boogie which showcases Jones' witty repartee with pianist Bill Altvater, is the one tune here that Jones wrote, more of his original material would be a grand idea. Another concept that's a keeper is inviting all-star guitar pals like Larry Carlton and Chet Atkins. Rather than just use them for marquee value, Jones lets them act as harmonic counterpoint, either in note for note duet or as they trade off verses; on "Push 7," Jones balances his tight steel string with Carlton's potent electric lines, while Atkins' moaning Resonator Guitar notes call out subtly behind the warm tones of Jones' home instrument.

Back in the late 80s, Kim Pensyl's first two Pensyl Sketches albums ranked among the genre's most popular piano works; since that time, he's been expanding his artistic boundaries, first adding a live band and of late, switching off the lead melody with his first instrument, trumpet. While his smoky horn work on Quiet Café (Farenheit) is at least as appealing as his gently rhythmic ivory touch, it's unlikely that he'll topple Rick Braun's reign as today's premiere trumpeter. Nonetheless, it makes sense for Pensyl to so gracefully recall his childhood horn since the disc is in memory of his mother. If as his liner notes indicate, this music is reflective of her spirit, then she was a lady light on her feet, with equal love for cool 70s jazz/soul (on "Dancing Shadows," he uses synth to create a jumpy Fender Rhodes and wah-wah guitar sound blend) and laid back Brazilian music - on the title track, Pensyl's piano and flugelhorn sway in the light breeze created by acoustic guitarist Kevin Turner. While he varies rhythm from samba to thick urban funk, his most effective expression of love and loss occurs on the ballad "Old Friend," where he strips down to a thoughtful duet of piano and trumpet.

Fellow multi-reedsman Nelson Rangell could learn a valuable lesson from Bryan Savage, who takes the risk of switching off between flute and saxes on his Higher Octave debut Soul Tempation. Equally adept at being a classically influenced postmodern Tim Weisberg and edging robustly on alto and tenor towards the steamy Gato Barbieri sound, Savage offers a little spunky something for everyone - a rich, improvisational fireball of "Georgia on My Mind," a disco-minded slappiness on "Party Line" and a flashy Tower of Power type vibe on the catchy "Kaleidoscope." Written by Rick Braun (who also adds Savage to his production resume here), that tune finds Savage like a kid in the proverbial music store - carrying the slamming melody by tripling flute, alto and tenor, and wrapping that brew around Braun's punchy flugelhorn. Everyone these days wants the Braun horn sound on their recordings, and it's to Savage's credit that the trumpet only shows up on two cuts as harmony; Braun, however, does lay some slick grooves via his underappreciated skills as a keyboardist/programmer.

A top-notch adult contemporary vocalist still awaiting a well-deserved crossover commercial breakthrough, Marilyn Scott adds powerful fuel for her cause on Avenues Of Love (Warner Bros.) by helping herself with a well-balanced array of production and songwriting talent. George Duke surrounds her with party voices and a kneejerking Latin groove on a playful list of dance steps on "I Like To Dance," then surrounds her clear, sensuous voice with airy, billowing synth cushioning on the Bachrach/David classic "The Look of Love." Scott and bassist Jimmy Haslip reroute to Memphis on Michael Ruff's Wilson Pickett-like pick me up, "Love is a Powerful Thing," engaging a two piece horn section that sounds even larger. The Yellowjacket touch is in full effect on the picturesque "Avenida Del Sol," which approximates an update of the gentle Astrud Gilberto sound; the tune was written by Scott and Bob Mintzer, and produced by Scott, Haslip and Russell Ferrante. Scott's greatest gift here is her sense of modulation; she belts like crazy on the funk pieces, but recognizes the emotional power of restraint on the ballads.