JIMMY PONDER Down Here On The Ground (Milestone)

This album’s a lot better than it should be—I mean, when a jazz guitarist make a label debut with cover versions of “Billy Jean” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” as well as “My Funny Valentine” and then sings on the title cut, well, we’re talkin’ schlocky, right? But Ponder is a solid talent with a variety of approaches from aggressive post-bop to liquid soul and he also has the good taste to keep his commercial moves simple and direct—even the Michael Jackson cover boogies along unpretentiously, minus the usual cloying touches jazz musicians often favor when they go pop. Nice voice too. R.C.W.

INNOCENCE IN DANGER (Epic)