Richard Elliot, a former member of Tower of Power, Kittyhawk, and the Yellowjackets, is a tenor saxophonist with a creamy tone and a penchant for pretty background melodies played over steady but uninspired rhythm tracks. After Dark, includes a heavy-breathing Jeffrey Osborne vocal on "If Tomorrow Never Comes," a synth-drenched remake of "Bridge over Troubled Water," and two house-influenced dance tracks produced by Tony Terry and a reunion with Tower of Power on "The Boys from the Bay." Like a number of smooth jazz contenders, Elliot is a pop instrumentalist rather than a jazz musician, but even as a popster he has trouble finding a strong personality for his recordings. --Geoffrey Himes