Smooth Jazz Therapy

Dreaming In Colour - Morning Star

With a hip cutting edge vibe that totally blew contemporary jazz fans away instrumental jazz group Dreaming In Colour burst onto the scene in 2012 with its debut CD, ‘The Dream Merchant’. Constructed around the band’s core members of Kevin Ellis and Chris Noonan (who now five years on are joined by Michael Scherer on keyboards and sax-man Steve Wunder, the line-up has often, over the years, been complemented by some of the genre’s top artists and this was particularly so with ‘The Dream Merchant’ that included featured performances from Jeff Lorber, Eric Marienthal and Nelson Rangell. 

Now the band is back with the single ‘Morning Star’ that again features Jeff Lorber (who co-writes the track with Scherer) and the unmistakable, unforgettable, the late, great Chuck Loeb.

Hugely recommended.

Chris Standring - Sunlight

With that unmistakable Chris Standring aura, and an unashamedly joyful vibe, his brand new CD, ‘Sunlight’, could not be more aptly titled. Indeed from his early days as part of Solar System (a duet project with long time collaborator Rodney Lee) and then through a succession of attention grabbing albums Standring has carved out a unique place in the annals of contemporary jazz. Often soulful, always compelling and disposed from time to time to weave orchestral tapestries into his guitar driven melodies he is a performer who never disappoints. Consequently it should be no surprise that ‘Sunlight’, even at this early stage, seems destined to become one of the best recordings of the year. 

Spotlight On Scott Allman

Since 2011 and his debut recording ‘Generations’, keyboard player Scott Allman has steadily been building his reputation with music that has radio ready written all over it. ‘Next Stop Home’ followed in 2013 and now the Chicago based Allman has come roaring back with the CD ‘Elevated’ from which the single ‘Radio Waves’ is taken.

Written by Allman and produced by Darren Rahn (who also features on sax) ‘Radio Waves’ is a stunning slice of mellifluous keyboard driven delight that, with contributions from guitarist Allen Hinds, bass player Mel Brown, drummer Khari Parker and Jason Rahn with horns, ticks every smooth jazz box imaginable.

Cindy Bradley - Everyone But You

Written by the highly regarded David Mann, ‘Everyone But You’ is the latest single to be lifted from smooth jazz trumpeter Cindy Bradley’s current project’ ‘Natural’. Released in March 2017 it is her first album since the 2014 ‘Bliss’ and finds her in collaboration with some of the genre’s most respected artists. Mann writes or co-writes seven of the eleven choice tunes including the previous single, ‘Girl Talk’ which has Mann’s brassy credentials all over it while this latest track is a Latin infused easy grooving masterpiece. 

‘Natural’ also includes compositions from Nick Colionne and Chris Standring who also features on guitar on the excellent ‘Category A’.

Spotlight On Kay-Ta Matsuno

Guitarist Kay-Ta Matsuno was born in Osaka, Japan, and at age twenty relocated to Boston, MA where he studied at Berklee College of Music. His career as a professional musician started, as many do, in Los Angeles where he quickly established himself as a ‘go to’ session player. His credits in this respect include Baby Face Edmonds, Natalie Cole, Keiko Matsui, Lalah Hathaway, Chante Moore, Jackiem Joyner, Jody Watley and Yellowjackets stalwart Bob Mintzer.

In 2016 he released his debut solo album ‘Arrival’ a recording that is still garnering considerable airplay.

Darryl Williams - Do You Remember

Often found playing bass for some of the biggest names in smooth jazz including Peter White, Euge Groove, Michael Lington, Gerald Albright, Keiko Matsui and Richard Elliot, Darryl Williams scored a huge success in 2017 when the title cut from his solo CD ‘Here To Stay’ powered its way onto the Smooth Jazz Therapy Top Twenty Tracks of that year. It featured sax-superstar Euge Groove and now this highly connected bass-man is headed back to radio with ‘Do You Remember’, the latest single from this stunning album.

Featuring Michael Lington it is another winner.

Walter Beasley - Come On Over

‘The Best of Walter Beasley’ is exactly what it says on the tin, a stunning collection of some of the great music that, over the past three decades, has become the benchmark for all that is good in smooth jazz. Indeed as a saxophonist, vocalist, educator, and entrepreneur of some repute Beasley has juggled a successful career as a recording artist and performer with an equally thriving presence in the field of music education.

Along the way he has become the biggest selling full-time Professor in history and this ‘best of’ project is a timely reminder of some of the excellent tunes that helped him do it. The first single from the album is ‘Come On Over’ and is highly recommended.

Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top 10 Covers Of 2017

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 2017.

‘Skylark’, by Boney James, from the CD ‘Honestly’. Within a collection that found James back to his urban jazz best this one, the timeless Hoagy Carmichael composition that in its time was a hit for Ella Fitzgerald, was as surprising as it was different. 

‘Is It You?’ by Phil Perry from the album ‘Breathless’. Perry’s silky smooth vocals are a marriage made in heaven with this wonderful track that first appeared on Lee Ritenour’s 1981 CD ‘Rit’ and featured vocals from co-writer Eric Tagg. 

‘Summer Madness’ by Richard Elliot from the album of the same name. Irrespective of his outstanding smooth jazz track record, and with a resume stretching all the way back to Tower Of Power, sax-man Richard Elliot has always been a big, ballsy player with decidedly soulful tendencies. This take on the seminal Kool & The Gang blockbuster from 1974 is a great case in point. 

‘What A Fool Believes’ by sax-man Mike Phillips from the CD ‘Pulling Off The Covers’. Anyone aware of cult record label Hidden Beach will know Phillips not only for his 2002 release ‘You Have Reached Mike Phillips’ but also for his immense contributions to that label’s ‘Unwrapped’ series. Now he is back with a collection that includes an engaging take on this Doobie Brothers 1978 classic. 

‘Inside Out’ by Maysa from the album ‘Love Is A Battlefield’. Although this is a CD that continuously lives on the edge of seductive soul, when Maysa notches up the tempo for this dance floor filler made famous by Odyssey, the outcome is sensational.

Read on for the remainder of this year’s top ten covers. If you have your own list of favorite covers from 2017 why not e-mail it to me at [email protected]. Happy New Year!!