Featuring Mike Henry (Independent)

As lead guitarist for local blues stalwarts Incognito, Rob Montgomery has been a major presence in Vancouver's live-music scene for many years. Now he's hooked up with Louisiana-born vocalist Mike Henry to take a shot at the "smooth jazz" market. Judging by the sappy music on Rob Montgomery & Friends, he's forgoing smoky, beer-splattered bars and denim-clad crowds for plush lounges and cocktail-sipping yuppies. Why would any musician want to switch venues from the Yale to the Pan Pacific?

Montgomery has his reasons, I guess, but his blues-loving followers will definitely have a problem finding a suitable soundtrack for draft-guzzling among these overly earnest tracks, most of them cowritten by Montgomery and long-time Colin James drummer Darrell Mayes. Fans of the Lionel Richie school of goody two-shoes non-rock will be pleased as Punch, but the only tunes I could bear were the instrumentals, which thankfully allow Montgomery to lose the lounge vibe and stretch out a bit. Others who prefer Montgomery's rockier side can witness it at Incognito's 10th-anniversary jam celebration this Saturday afternoon (February 26) at the Yale, while those willing to endure his smooth-jazz shenanigans might consider his two shows featuring vocalists Henry, Nadine States, and Sibel Thrasher at the Scotiabank Dance Centre on March 3 and 4.