Some places are magic. Magic for what they are, and for the uniqueness of the encounters they provide.
Fukuoka, in the soothing island of Kyûshû, features a bunch of great musicians, some being obviously Japanese, some not. Imani Zubeh, an American in Japan, is blessed by the atmosphere of the cosmopolitan city and blesses music lovers by offering us some cool groove from his skilful fingers.
Imani is a well-reputed musician who has been part of several bands, from Ray Parker Jr or Cheryl Lynn, to name a few.
Now Imani gives us the opportunity to discover a more personal side of himself, with the CD “From This Moment On”.

The first notes of acoustic piano show the color: we’ll have a festival of great keys all through the CD. “Be Mine” continues in a high quality soul-jazz mold with complex chords and brilliant melody. I often think of Bill Meyers, if I can make the comparison. The talent of Imani is also to use tons of synths without making them sounding like electronic music. This is human, groovy, jazz, all supported by stunning bass lines and smooth voices. Even the fake guitars rock, which is a nice surprise. “The Sky’s The Limit” proves that the man can make a synth-bass groove just like the baddest cats did in the 80’s. After some more brilliant soloing and chants, comes “We Will Survive”, starting like a bulldozer thanks to powerful brass keys, and features a brilliant vocal melody. Imani shows some more romantic side with “Boku No Takaramono”, a delicate piece that starts almost averagely but develops itself into a complex yet still touching music. Good saxophone providing a catchy melody, in a vein of the David Sanborn & Bob James album from 1986. “Consuela’s Romance” with its dance-piano and “Chillin’ 4 Da Soul” are more funky and energetic, while “French Café / No More War” is another evidence that Mr Zubeh masters slow tempi (plural of ‘tempo’), with that cute accordion sound in the background. After that intense piece, let’s find a more radio-friendly tune with “All I Ever Need”. I’m very keen on the synthesizers of “Awakening”, and the organ solo would be perfect if it was a real Hammond (at least I don’t feel it’s a real one). The flute-like melody is kind of cool too. “I’ll Find A Way” has an end-of-80s Nile Rodgers feel (the synth-bass!) with intense vocals and a superb piano solo. Although I’m less fond of the autotune-like voice effects in “My Life”, the latino rhythm parts are so frenzy that it is still more than enjoyable, and “Why Not?” is the best way to end the album, by keeping that instrumental jazz-rock craziness till the last note. Great drumming (programming) here!

In conclusion, “From This Moment On” is highly recommended to fans of jazz-soul, who like to hear smooth melodies, brilliant soloing and groovy bass lines. Fans of Bill Meyers, Greg Phillinganes or George Duke would feel at home. Imani Zubeh shows what we can really do with synthesizers. And the real magic comes when he lets himself go improvising on the piano. Soulful!
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I have listened to your album several times now from top to bottom and overall it is an outstanding work!
I can hear that you put a lot of thought and time into this project and it is quite well-crafted.  From the excellent orchestrations, sound (patch) choices, and tasty segues, especially the poly-synth intro to "Awakenings," I found it to be a nice variety of feels and genres-influences like Jeff Lorber, Alex Bugnon, Incognito, Tower of Power, & Stevie Wonder come to mind!  "Survival" and "My Life" are my favorites in the songs-with-vocals category.  "Awakening" "Sky's the Limit" "My Treasure"  "French Cafe" and "Why Not" are my favorite instrumentals.  I also like the whole album from a compostional standpoint.  Your sequencing was well done, as there was a nice flow from one song to the next.  I think that this album is a great showcase of your many musical talents!
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IMANI, "KEYBOARDS" IS  A JOY TO LISTEN TO. THE  "OBAMA" OF MUSIC. LISTEN, BUY AND YOU WILL LOVE IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. BLESS YOU IMANI.
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An extraordinary groove! The tunes are unbelievable! The arrangements are really original! I'm impressed from the great difference from each song! In one CD there is a variety of styles and genres, but it's impossible don't dance! I hope to listen other music from IMANI as soon as possible! My suggestion: BUY IT!
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