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 denis.poole@yahoo.com. Happy New Year!!
‘Lets Get Serious’ by Nick Colionne from the album ‘Finger Painting’. Serial chart topper Colionne is arguably one of the brightest stars in the Trippin N Rhythm constellation and just to prove it ‘Lets Get Serious’ powered its way to the top of the Billboard Smooth Jazz Airplay Chart. As for ‘Finger Painting’, with long-time collaborators and producers Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis, James Lloyd (from Pieces of a Dream) and John Blasucci all around to lend a hand this was a collection that simply could not miss.
‘It’s All Love’ by Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis. At the start of the year it seemed almost impossible that keyboard player and firm Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis had yet to release a solo album. His 2020 project ‘Focus’ soon put that right and the sumptuous ‘Its All Love’ that featured Dave Koz on sax proved that it had been well worth the wait.
‘Hot’ by Paulo Rustichelli from the CD ‘Tempus Fugit’. Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite Paolo Rustichelli delighted aficionados of both chill and smooth jazz with a sequence of compelling singles that culminated in the wonderful album ‘Soul Italiano’. ‘Hot’ is Paulo’s homage to summer on the central coast of Italy. He composed it while quarantined from the COVID-19 outbreak and as such was his anthem, his expression of freedom from illness and stress.
‘Solid’, the title cut from the latest album from smooth jazz superstar Boney James. Released in April, ‘Solid’ was Boney James’ seventeenth solo album. It followed his 2017 blockbuster ‘Honestly’ which became his eleventh #1 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Album chart. All eleven tracks from ‘Solid’ were produced, written or co-written by the four-time GRAMMY nominated sax-man with three of them, ‘Full Effect’, ‘Tonic’ and the title cut, being constructed around licks played at sound-check by touring guitarist Kendall Gilder while on the road in support of the ‘Honestly’ project.
‘Caption This’ from keyboard player and composer Jakob Magnusson. Produced by Paul Brown and lifted from the EP ‘High North’, the magnificently groove drenched ‘Caption This’ was the second single to be harvested from this extended player. For ‘Caption This’ Magnusson teamed with flugelhorn player Snorri Sigurdsson, drummer and synth player Lew Laing plus Brown on guitar for a retro tinged number that evoked the halcyon days of contemporary jazz. As well as being widely regarded as Iceland's foremost musical icon Jakob Magnusson is arguably one of the most renowned Fender Rhodes players in the world. He can also be found recording under the name of Jack Magnet and is well worth checking out.
‘Dirty Dozen’ by Euge Groove, from the CD ‘Sing My Song’. The album’s title cut was written by rising star Lindsey Webster and featured an outstanding vocal performance by Maysa Leak while the groove driven ‘Dirty Dozen’ was textbook Euge Groove and then some.
‘Back Here Again’ by Jean Paul 'Bluey' Maunick from the album ‘Tinted Sky’. From as far back as 1980, Jean Paul 'Bluey' Maunick has been the heart, life and soul of the internationally acclaimed Incognito. The decidedly hypnotic ‘Back Here Again’ served to showcase the delights of ‘Tinted Sky’ with Bluey on guitar really hitting the spot.
‘Out To Lunch’ by Oli Silk from the CD ‘6’. With a string of choice albums to his name and a profile that makes him the United Kingdom’s favorite smooth jazz keyboard player, the superb Oli Silk came roaring back with his sixth solo project, the appropriately titled ‘6’. With eleven new compositions plus one carefully crafted cover this cool twelve-track collection not only found Silk in top form but also in the company of some of the biggest names in contemporary jazz. The decidedly vibey (and Bob James inspired) ‘Out To Lunch’ proved to be a wonderful track in a collection crammed full of them.
‘Boo’d Up’ by Kim Waters, from the album ‘Shakedown’. This stunning reinvention by Waters of the Ella Mai hit ‘Boo’d Up’ was a shoe in for the top twenty list from the first time I heard it.
‘Notorious’ by Paul Brown from the CD ‘Ones Upon A Time’. Back in 1997 serial hit maker Paul Brown co-wrote the song ‘Notorious’ with Rick Braun and Leon Bisquera. It was included on what turned out to be Braun’s hit CD ‘Body and Soul’ and in 2020, some twenty three years later, Brown revisited ‘Notorious’ and made it part of his tenth studio album, ‘Ones Upon A Time’. Where first time around ‘Notorious’ proved to be a brilliant showcase for the interplay between Braun and sax man Boney James, this version had Brown centre stage on guitar and Richard Elliot playing the ‘Boney’ part and in so doing making it sound brand new.
‘Back To Basics’ by Bob Baldwin from latest project (his thirty second in all) where he revealed the fruits of his labours while staying home, staying off the road, locking down in quarantine and immersing himself in the interlocking processes of producing, arranging, writing and performing. This utterly sumptuous song was as good as anything released this year.
‘Blue Moon’ by Skinny Hightower from the CD of the same name. Earlier in 2020 it was the intensely rhythmic ‘Bittersweet’ that heralded in the album ‘Blue Moon’ but the title cut proved to be even better. On the one hand moody and sultrily hypnotic on the other this one was top-notch contemporary jazz and then some.
‘Last Summer’ by Brian Simpson and Steve Oliver from the album ‘Unified’. Originally envisaged as being built around an electronic music concept but which over time evolved into contemporary jazz project this cool collaboration included the spine tingling ‘Last Summer’ that was totally in sync with Simpson’s innate ability to create a mood.
‘There’s Always Tomorrow’ by Darryl Williams from the CD ‘Cherish’. It was back in 2017 when San Diego based bass-man Darryl Williams scored a huge success 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. Often found playing bass for some of the biggest names in smooth jazz including Peter White, Mindi Abair, Euge Groove, Michael Lington, Everette Harp, Gerald Albright, Keiko Matsui and Richard Elliot, Williams is also one of the main stage bassists for the Dave Koz and Friends Jazz Cruise. ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’ pretty much summed up what Williams and his music is all about.
‘Joy Joy’ by Jazz In Pink Featuring Gail Jhonson from the album ‘Joy’. That revolving door of female musical excellence Jazz In Pink was founded twelve years ago by the first lady of smooth jazz Gail Jhonson together with flautist Althea Rene and promoter Kyna Hubbard. Since then over fifty women have graced the stage with them, both as headline artists or side musicians, and in 2020 Jazz in Pink made its Shanachie Entertainment debut with the CD ‘Joy’. With ten of her own impeccable compositions, Jhonson produced and played keyboards throughout while the fact she was joined in her endeavours by label mates Kim Waters. Marion Meadows and Paul Jackson Jr. served simply as the icing on a particularly tasty cake with a case in point being the deliciously smooth ‘Joy Joy’ that incidentally was the first single to be serviced to radio.
‘Late Night Drive’ by Eric Essix from the album ‘Songs From The Deep’. With twenty-five albums spanning thirty years guitarist Eric Essix needs little introduction yet with his latest project, ‘Songs From The Deep’ he provided a snapshot of the maturity and depth that, as a musician, a composer and songwriter, he routinely delivers. In this respect there was none better than the first number from the album to be released to radio, the sublime ‘Late Night Drive’. With an aura that evoked the kind of moody, deep soul vibe championed by the likes of Isaac Hayes this was yet another highlight of 2020.