Smooth Jazz Therapy

Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top 10 Covers Of 2016

Here we are at the end of another contemporary jazz year and, despite it being another good twelve months for new music, the phenomenon that is the smooth jazz cover continues unchecked. No doubt it has a unique place within the genre and although being regarded as both a blessing and a curse, it has now pushed beyond the familiar territory of vintage soul to take in a wider spectrum of popular music. There is no doubt that the cover version is here to stay so, looking back on what this year has delivered, here is my very personal top ten Smooth Jazz Therapy covers of 2016. 

‘Woman’s Gotta Have It’ by Steve Cole from the CD ‘Turn It Up’. Cole is well known for his fulsome trademark sax sound and this ‘full on’ interpretation of the Bobby Womack classic fits him like a glove. 

‘Reasons’ by Michael C Lewis. Not only one of the greatest Earth Wind & Fire tracks of all time but also possessing perhaps the best riff in soul music ever ‘Reasons’ is a colossal tune, a heavyweight masterpiece of the like that only comes along once in a lifetime. Consequently to take it on as a cover version is a very big ask indeed yet this single by trumpeter Michael C Lewis was a very worthy attempt indeed. 

‘The Sound Of Music’ by U-Nam from the CD, ‘Surface Level’. This blockbuster from the early eighties can be found on the album ‘Feel The Music’ from the band Dayton and which here U-Nam delivered as an eight minute funk epic with the help of guest artists such as Bob Baldwin, Tim Owens, JFly and Bill Steinway.

Read on for the remainder of this year’s top ten covers. If you have your own list of favorite covers from 2015 why not e-mail it to me at [email protected]. Happy New Year!!

Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top 20 Tracks Of 2016

Seasonal greetings from Smooth Jazz Therapy and thanks a million to the publicists, the record companies and of course the artists, both established and up and coming, who over the last twelve months have made their music so generously available. It’s been another good year and because the love of music is all about preference mixed with individual taste here are my own personal highlights of the year. In other words and in no particular order, my Smooth Jazz Therapy Top Twenty Tracks of 2016.

‘Surface Level’ by U-Nam from the CD of the same name. With choice projects such as ‘C’est Le Funk’, ‘Weekend in L.A (A Tribute To George Benson)’ and ‘First Class’ (from his side project Groove Ltd) Smooth Jazz Therapy favorite U-Nam has been restoring much needed energy into the music we call smooth jazz. Earlier in the year he sent shockwaves through the genre with ‘Going for Miles’ that was the advance single from the CD ‘Surface Level’ and when the complete album was released it was the joyously intense title cut that provided a slice of ‘driving with the top down’ music and then some.

‘Don’t Stop’ by Paolo Rustichelli from the CD ‘Soul Italiano’. Italian keyboard player and composer Paolo Rustichelli seems to have been building his ‘Soul Italiano’ CD one track at a time. With top-notch singles such as ‘Walking In Rome’, ‘Med Groove’ and the equally good ‘Playa Blanca’ already out there Paolo went one better with the totally stunning ‘Don’t Stop’. A relentless groove that is entirely addictive made it a certainty to be among my top tracks of the year.

‘We Dance’ by James Day from his brand new album ‘James Day Songs’. In a cool collaboration with guitar supremo U-Nam and his Skytown Records label, chart topping R&B songwriter and producer James Day made his mark with this stunning collection. Styled as a classic 80's collection of soul, dance, quiet storm and smooth jazz it was a mixture of all new tunes plus fresh remixes of some of his most memorable songs to date. In fact it was U-Nam’s production that added its own rhythmic magic to ‘We Dance’. Further embellished by U-Nam’s distinctive guitar work, unmistakable vocals from Maysa and additional production by Cool Million (aka Frank Ryle and Rob Hardt) it was a track that put down a marker for the entire CD.

‘Hazy’, by Jef Kearns from his latest release ‘The Flute’. Since 2011, and the release of the album ‘On The Level’, flautist Jef Kearns has been cornering the market in superbly produced and sensationally performed urban jazz. The follow up, ‘Soulfisticated’ (that arrived in 2013) served to confirm that here was no flash in the pan so it was particularly pleasing that 2016 heralded in the equally good ‘The Flute’. The wonderfully easy grooving ‘Hazy’ is a wonderful showcase for Jef’s art with vocals from Karen Jewels being the icing on a particularly tasty urban cake.

Read on for the remainder of this years top twenty and if you have your own list of favorites from 2016 why not e-mail it to me at [email protected]. Happy New Year!!