Smooth Jazz Therapy

Dreaming In Colour - Panacea

Since 2012 and the release of the band’s debut album, ‘The Dream Merchant’, Smooth Jazz Therapy has followed with interest the fortunes of the excellent instrumental jazz group Dreaming In Colour.  Constructed around the band’s core members of Kevin Ellis, Chris Noonan and Joe Calandrino, the line-up has often, over the years, been complemented by some of the genre’s top artists.  This is particularly so with the current single, ‘Panacea’ thatfeatures Ken Navarro on nylon string guitar who is complimented in no small measure by the melodious free flowing sax exchanges of Jeff Kashiwa. 

Written by Ellis and Navarro, this mellow cut is well worth watching out for.

 

 

Patrick Yandall - Son Light

Prolific guitarist, composer and producer Patrick Yandall hails from San Diego and has been on the Smooth Jazz Therapy radar since 2006 and the release of his excellent CD ‘Samoa Soul’.

His music is the heartbeat of the sunshine city he calls home and this is particularly so with his latest album ‘Rouge River’ which, replete with enticing melodies and attention grabbing vibes includes the wonderfully easy grooving ‘Son Light’ that is the first single to be offered to radio.

Lovely track.

 

 

25th Street Band - Maybe By Christmas

Another festive cut in a season absolutely bursting with them is ‘Maybe By Christmas’ from crossover jazz recording project 25th Street Band.  Based in London, England and featuring guest session artists from around the world, this cool collective is very much the creation of leaders Russ Klinger and Dave Radnor.

In fact ‘Maybe By Christmas’ was written, performed and produced by Klinger with vocals from Joel Kibble who as a member of the world's premier jazz-gospel acapella band, Take 6, has earned ten Grammy and ten Dove Awards.

Kibble's vocals have been described as combining the warmth of Nat King Cole with the emotional power of Johnny Mathis and as well as taking lead vocals for ‘Maybe This Christmas’ he also arranged and provided backing vocals from his base in Tennessee.

 

 

Justin Lee Shultz - This Christmas

So, you are thirteen years old.  You have just released your debut album, ‘Espresso’, that features heavy hitters such as Bob James, Harvey Mason, Najee, Jonathan Butler, Gerald Albright, and Pieces Of A Dream.  What do you do next?

Well, if you are multi-instrumentalist Justin Lee Schultz what you do is release a Christmas single, a keyboard driven reworking of the classic ‘This Christmas’.  With a little help from his sister Jamie on drums and horns from the one and only David Mann this excellent track is just what you will need to get into the festive spirit.

 

 

Jazz In Pink Featuring Gail Jhonson - What We All Need For Christmas

 

Throwing off the shackles of ‘Christmas (music) past’ the always excellent Jazz In Pink, featuring the first lady of smooth jazz, Gail Jhonson, has come up with what is billed as a Christmas tune but which in fact would play well in any season.  The silky smooth piano driven ‘What We All Need For Christmas’ is a chilled out, mellow delight that flies in the face of traditional smooth jazz festive fare that has often been no more than regurgitations of the same old seasonal songs.

Of course Gail, together with her Jazz In Pink cohorts, is currently making quite a splash with the CD ‘Joy’ so add ‘What We All Need For Christmas’ into the mix and what we have is a pretty spectacular end to 2020.

Chris Jasper - Have I Told You Lately

 

It takes a brave man to select the Van Morrison blockbuster ‘Have I Told You Lately’ and re-imagine it into something fresh bright and lovely. Yet this is exactly what the always-excellent Chris Jasper has done.  It is the latest single from Jasper’s current CD  ‘For The Love Of You’, a covers album that breaths new life into some of the biggest pop and R & B classics of all time as well as revisiting three songs that he co-wrote while with the Isley Brothers.

The Isley Brothers actually date back to the fifties.  Originally a quartet, the Isley’s were reduced to a trio by the untimely death, in 1955, of Vernon Isley in a bicycling accident.  They scored a hit in 1959 with ‘Shout’ and UK music fans will remember the cover version of this track by Lulu.  They went on to spend two years with RCA, recorded four singles with Atlantic (where they worked with legendary producers Leiber and Stoller) and scored a hit with ‘Twist And Shout’ on the Wand label.  The Beatles subsequently experienced great chart success with their own cover version of the number.

With the reactivation of the T-Neck label in 1969 the three older brothers invited guitarist Ernie Isley and bass player Marvin Isley to join the group together with brother in law and keyboard player Chris Jasper.  After being a vocal trio for many years the band was now a self-contained unit and it was with this line-up that the Isley Brothers enjoyed the majority of their biggest hits.

Forty-five years on and Jasper is still sounding great.

Alan Carman Project - Fingerprints

Back in 2019 bass player turned lawyer (who subsequently returned to music) Allen Carman teamed with legendary producer, songwriter and keyboard player Philippe Saisse, percussionist Gumbo Ortiz, drummer Luis Alicea, guitar legend Nile Rodgers and highly rated sax-man Andy Snitzer to form the Allen Carman Project.  The band’s debut album, ‘Carmanology’ featured the Saisse composition ‘State Of Mine’ that quickly put down a marker as to what this cool collective was all about.

 Now the ‘Project’ (bolstered by input from Rick Braun and Mark Antoine) is back with the vibrant new single ‘Fingerprints’, a horn driven funk drenched spectacular that seems sure to enhance this super-group’s already burgeoning reputation,

Check it out.