MARYLAND guitarist Ken Navarro and his independent label, Positive Music, have shouldered their way in among the Larry Carltons and GRPs of the world to become major players in the pop-instrumental field. Not only have Navarro's own albums consistently landed in the Top 10 of the "adult alternative" and "new adult contemporary" charts, but so have those of his labelmates Gregg Karukas and Bobby Militello. Navarro's sixth solo album, Brighter Days, is a further refinement of his label's successful formula: bright, easily digestible pop melodies played cleanly and precisely over steady, comfortable rhythms.

This recording features the presence of Positive Music's newest artist, saxophonist Brandon Fields, who adds a slightly different spin to Navarro's melodies in easy-going, Najee-like lines. Navarro himself plays nylon-string guitar on six of the 10 cuts, lending a delicate, Earl Klugh-like feel to the proceedings.

When Navarro programs the drum tracks, the results are somewhat stiff and less satisfying than those where he leaves the rhythm work to drummer Mike Aubin and bassist Gary Grainger. Except for a version of Todd Rundgren's "Be Nice to Me," Navarro wrote all the tunes himself, but only on "One Step at a Time," featuring saxophonist Bobby Militello and trumpeter Jeff Jarvis, does the composer get away from unobtrusive mood music and hint at jazz