Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music Of Michael Jackson (2010)

"DeFrancesco -- who plays not only his usual Hammond B-3 but other organs, piano, and trumpet on the recording -- sticks largely to material from Jackson's solo career here, with an emphasis on "Thriller" (five of the nine songs), using the original song structures as takeoff points. DeFrancesco's interpretations reference Jackson's originals but depart from them substantially enough that they never feel like copies, and at times he and the band expand far outside of the basic chordal boundaries Jackson set down. More than anything, DeFrancesco appears to be having fun with this set (he even sings a couple). And when he and the band (guitarist Paul Bollenback is on fire) get cooking, as they do more often than not -- some of these tracks ("Billie Jean," "Rock with You," "Beat It") seriously rock -- it's hard not to get caught up in the party atmosphere." (Jeff Tamarkin, Allmusic)