Smooth Jazz Therapy

Brian Simpson & Steve Oliver - The Road Never Ends

‘Unified’ from Brian Simpson and Steve Oliver turned out to be one of the surprise packages of 2020.  Originally envisaged as being built around an electronic music concept, over time it evolved into a contemporary jazz project that retained elements of electronica.

It made such an impression that the spine tingling ‘Last Summer’ made it into the Smooth Jazz Therapy top twenty tracks of the year while now, and to get 2021 up and running, ‘The Road Never Ends’ is being released to radio.   This deliciously mid tempo cut proves to be a fine showcase for Oliver’s great work on guitar and is well worth checking out.

 

 

Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top 20 Tracks Of 2020

Seasonal greetings from Smooth Jazz Therapy at the end of what has been a terrible, pandemic blighted year.  Thanks a million to the publicists, the record companies and of course the artists, both established and up and coming, who despite lockdowns and quarantines have continued to make their music so generously available.

The love of music is all about preference and since 2006 I have been sharing what I identified at the time as being my Top Twenty Tracks of the year.  Yet for several reasons, not least of which has been the increase in cover versions, the search for great new music has become increasingly fraught.   However, all is not lost and with an eye firmly on quality rather than quantity I am delighted to reveal, in no particular order, my Smooth Jazz Therapy Top Twenty Tracks of 2020.

‘Ready Or Not’ from the album ‘Echoes Of The Heart’ by Vincent Ingala.  This decidedly romantic cut, complete with atmospheric backing vocals was right up there with the best that ‘Echoes Of The Heart’ had to offer.

 

‘California Love’ by LA powerhouse DW3.  Taken from the band’s eponymously titled Woodward Avenue CD this thumping song fizzed with old school Gap Band style influences, which helped it to evolve into one of the best party numbers of 2020. 

‘Whatever She Wants’ by Chris Standring from the CD ‘Real Life’.  Arguably England’s most successful smooth jazz export, Chris Standring has, with a succession of attention grabbing releases, 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.  This was particularly so with the uplifting and optimistic ‘Whatever She Wants’ which from early on was a contender for the album’s best track

‘Eva Kant Dance’ by Philippe Saisse.  Written by Saisse and mixed by Goh Hotoda the title of this raucous single actually came from a 60’s Italian comic book character, Eva Kant, who was a master of all disguises and sidekick of criminal mastermind Diabolik.  It’s a foot stomping high tempo tune that makes full use of Saisse’ talents on synth, vibraphone, Fender Rhodes, vocoder and clavinet.

Read on for the remainder of this years top twenty and if you have your own list of favorites from 2020 why not e-mail it to me at [email protected]  Happy New Year!!

Marcus Adams Featuring Selina Albright - Someone

Smooth Jazz Therapy has followed the career of the sensational Selina Albright since 2013 when she rocked the world of contemporary jazz with the five track EP ‘Brighter’.  At the time I described it as a sensational collection that marked her out as one of the brightest new stars in that crossover galaxy somewhere between contemporary jazz and R & B.

Since then Selina has gone from strength to strength and made some waves in 2017 with her single ‘Eat Something’ that proved to be a shimmering slice of vocal urban jazz with the bonus of a featured performance by guitarist Kay-Ta.

Now another cool collaboration finds her teaming with the excellent Marcus Adams.  Titled ‘Someone’ it is everything we have come to expect from this soulful songstress.

Check it out

 

 

Michael Franks - On My Way Home To You

With the wonderful LaLa Land scheduled to be on television this Christmas thoughts have turned to jazz and how to define it.  In the movie the John Legend character has a heated debate with his Ryan Gosling counterpart on the merits of jazz in the modern age.  The fact is trying to describe what jazz (or in our case smooth jazz) really is and what it means to us is a question not always easy to answer and one that forms the motivation for this occasional feature unremarkably called ‘What’s Smooth Jazz?’ 

Designed to illustrate some of the most definitive examples of the genre, this latest track perhaps demonstrates better than any other the broad church from which smooth jazz draws its influences.  In addition, it spotlights a remarkable artist who’s music is, in itself, sometimes difficult to categorize.  That artist is Michael Franks and the song is ‘On My Way Home To You’.

 

Greg Adams - Burma Road

The musical arrangements that trumpeter Greg Adams has created for Rod Stewart, Elton John, and Linda Ronstadt to name only a few has made him one of the ultimate musicians’ musicians.  Indeed everyone from the Rolling Stones to Paul Schaffer to Madonna has called on him to contribute to their projects and in addition Greg’s hallmark ensemble sound has made the concept of the horn section an American treasure.  Despite all that, and the huge credentials gained as founding member of the evergreen Tower of Power, it took until 1995 and his solo debut album ‘Hidden Agenda’ for him to be become as well recognized outside the recording studio as he was within it.  The album rocketed to number one on the smooth jazz charts and became an instant classic of the genre.

‘Hidden Agenda’ was notable for many reasons not least of which being the sensational track ‘Burma Road’ which demonstrated, in terms of chill music, that Greg was at least fifteen years ahead of the curve.

One of my all time favorite tracks from one of my all time favorite albums, this one will never, ever, get old.

 

 

Spotlight On Madeline Castrey

With musical role models such as Karen Carpenter, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, English singer songwriter Madeline Castrey is making her own mark on the UK contemporary jazz and soft pop scene with her latest single ‘Brand New’.  This sultry yet hugely melodic cut has Madeline’s brand of soulful and sincere smooth jazz at its core and as such sits comfortably alongside output from the likes of Rumer, Norah Jones, Tom Misch and Corrine Bailey Rae.

 

Justin Lee Schultz - Gruv Kid

Multi-instrumentalist Justin Lee Schultz is thirteen.  Let me repeat that.  Justin Lee Schultz is thirteen and has already, dazzled audiences on TV shows such as Harry, Little Big Shots and American’s Most Musical Family.

His debut album, ‘Gruv Kid’, is out now on the Shanachie Entertainment label and, with featured performances from the likes of Bob James, Harvey Mason, Najee, Jonathan Butler, Gerald Albright, and Pieces Of A Dream, is every bit as good as the early hype suggested it would be.

Take for instance his jazzy fusion tinged take on the Stevie Wonder classic ‘Do I Do’ or the foot tapping title cut which proves to be a slice of piano driven smooth jazz of the highest order.  In similar vein is the wonderful ‘Better Days Ahead’ and although the mellifluous ‘Color Blind’ is among the best that ‘Gruv Kid’ has to offer it is when Schultz eases down the tempo that he conjures up the magical ‘Miracle’ that has class written all over it.

 

Jackiem Joyner - Journey Of Passion

Fifteen years and still going strong, smooth jazz sophisticat Jackiem Joyner is back with a cool five track EP titled ‘Journey Of Passion’.  This mellifluous collection of all original music is quickly up and running with the edgy mid tempo ‘J Time’ that is rapidly evolving into a real Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite.  It’s the sort of number that Joyner’s legion of fans will instantly identify with and much the same can be said of the super chilled title cut which proves to be an instrumental ballad of the highest order.

Elsewhere Joyner keeps things mellow with ‘In Your Eyes’ that, quite simply, is beauty personified and although he lifts the tempo for the big, expansive ‘Road To Soul’ another of my personal favourites is the hugely atmospheric ‘The Space Between Us’ that glides along on a relaxed ‘steppers’ beat.

Joyner performed and produced all five tracks while under quarantine and although the original plan was to release it earlier in the year the production ended up taking a bit longer than expected.

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