Front Seat (album)

Front Seat
Front Seat
Studio album by Sadao Watanabe
Released	June 25, 1989
Recorded	April—May1989
Studio	Bill Schnee Studio (North Hollywood); Entourage Studios (North Hollywood); The Hop (Sherman Oaks); Le Gonks (West Hollywood); Westlake Studio (West Hollywood);
Genre	Jazz
Length	45:29
Label	Elektra
Producer	Robbie Buchanan; George Duke; Russell Ferrante;
Sadao Watanabe chronology

Front Seat is a 1989 jazz album by the Japanese saxophonist Sadao Watanabe. The album features vocals by Patti Austin on two tracks, one of which, "Any Other Fool", reached number 6 during its 31 weeks on Billboard magazine's Adult Contemporary chart.^[2]

Release and commercial performance

Front Seat was released on June 25, 1989.^[1] It spent 21 weeks on Billboard magazine's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart,^[3] where it reached number 8 in the issue dated March 3, 1990.^[4]

Critical reception

The editors of Billboard magazine selected "Only in My Mind", "Any Other Fool", "Front Seat", "Anga la Jua" and "Wild Flowers" as the album's "standout tracks".^[5]

Track listing

All songs written by Sadao Watanabe, except as noted.

"Sailing" - 5:55
"One More Time" - 4:59
"Only in My Mind" (with Patti Austin) (Watanabe, Jeff Pescetto) - 4:44
"Miles Apart" - 4:10
"Any Other Fool" (with Patti Austin) (Robbie Buchanan, Diane Warren) - 5:06
"On the Way" - 5:18
"Anga la Jua (Place in the Sun)" - 4:22
"Wild Flowers" - 3:22
"Front Seat" - 2:56
"Takin' Time" - 4:37

Personnel

Sadao Watanabe – Alto saxophone (1, 2, 4–10), Sopranino saxophone (3)
George Duke – arranger (1, 2), Yamaha TX816 (1, 2), Roland D-550 (1, 2), Synclavier (1, 2)
Robbie Buchanan – arranger (3, 4, 5, 6, 10), keyboards (3, 4, 5, 6, 10), synthesizers (3, 4, 5, 6, 10)
Russell Ferrante – arranger (7, 8, 9), keyboards (7, 8, 9)
Oscar Castro-Neves – acoustic guitar (9)
Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (1–6, 10)
Jimmy Haslip – bass (7)
Abraham Laboriel – bass (1, 2, 6)
Neil Stubenhaus – bass (3, 4, 5, 10)
Alex Acuña – drums (7, 9), percussion (3–7, 9, 10)
Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 2)
Jeff Porcaro – drums (3, 4, 5, 10)
John Robinson – drums (6)
Efrain Toro – percussion (7, 9)
Carlos Vega – drums (1, 2)
Patti Austin – lead vocals (3, 5), backing vocals (3, 5)
Alex Brown – backing vocals (1)
Carl Carwell – backing vocals (1)
Syreeta Wright – backing vocals (1)

Production

Sadao Watanabe – executive producer
Robbie Buchanan – producer (3, 4, 5, 6, 10)
George Duke – producer (1, 2)
Russell Ferrante – producer (7, 8, 9)
Erik Zobler – recording (1, 2), mixing (1, 2)
Kevin Fisher – assistant engineer (1, 2)
Debbie Johnson – assistant engineer (1, 2)
Steve Holroyd – assistant engineer (1, 2)
Dave Ridean – additional engineer (1, 2)
Stephanie McCravey – production coordinator (1, 2)
Jeff Balding – recording (3, 4, 5, 10), mixing (3, 4, 5, 6, 10)
Ken Allandyce – assistant engineer (3, 4, 5, 10)
Derrick Marcel – assistant engineer (3, 4, 5, 6, 10)
Frank Wolf – recording (6)
Wade Jaynce – assistant engineer (6)
Bart Stevens – assistant engineer (6)
David Hentschel – recording (7, 8, 9)
Keith Blake – assistant engineer (7, 8, 9)
Duane Seykora – assistant engineer (7, 8, 9)
Marylata Elton – production coordinator (7, 8, 9)
Miki Cannon – production coordinator
Kyle Davis – production coordinator
Hiroshi Makishima – production coordinator
Riki Ninomiya – production coordinator
Akihiko Sato – production coordinator
Akio Ohno – photography
Yoshihiko Matsubara – artwork design

Charts

Chart performance for *Front Seat*
Chart (1990)	Peak position
Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums^[4]	8

References

^ ^a ^b "Front Seat – Sadao Watanabe". sadao.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
^ Whitburn 2007, p. 292.
^ "Top Contemporary Jazz Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 17. April 28, 1990. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Top Contemporary Jazz Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 9. March 3, 1990. p. 60. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
^ "Album Reviews > Jazz > Recommended > Sadao Watanabe – Front Seat" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 101, no. 43. October 28, 1989. p. 100. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.

Bibliography

Whitburn, Joel (2007), Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top Adult Songs, 1961-2006, Record Research Inc., ISBN 978-0898201697

External links

[sadao-1] "Front Seat – Sadao Watanabe". sadao.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.

[2] Whitburn 2007, p. 292.

[3] "Top Contemporary Jazz Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 17. April 28, 1990. p. 42. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.

[peak-4] "Top Contemporary Jazz Albums" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 9. March 3, 1990. p. 60. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 7, 2024.

[5] "Album Reviews > Jazz > Recommended > Sadao Watanabe – Front Seat" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 101, no. 43. October 28, 1989. p. 100. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.

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