As
Khan released her first solo album,
I'm Every Woman, the band released 1978's
Numbers, sans
Khan, and it went absolutely nowhere.
Masterjam finds them back together, renamed
Rufus and Chaka, with
Quincy Jones producing the effort.
Khan had worked with
Jones on his 1978 album,
Sounds...And Stuff Like That. The most striking thing about
Masterjam is that is doesn't sound like a trademark
Rufus effort.
Jones' production style is so strong that the band's individual sound is all but lost. It's nothing to cry about, since
Jones was at his
R&B/
pop peak and
Rufus couldn't do it any better on their own. The album's first track is
"Do What You Love What You Feel," with its subtle horn riffs arranged by
Jerry Hey and vocals from guitarist
Tony Maiden and
Khan. On a track somewhat close to a
ballad, the brilliantly arranged
"Heaven Bound," Jones gets a good raw vocal from
Khan. A frequent
Jones collaborator,
Rod Temperton, offers the title track and the even better
"Live in Me." The album's only low point was a cover of
Jones' own
"Body Heat." On this version the pace is quickened, inexplicably turned into
disco which revealed the lyrics to be paper-thin. Although
Masterjam was just more of a
Quincy Jones album than a
Rufus effort, this ended up being one of the groups' last successful full-studio endeavors. ~ Jason Elias
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