I am delighted to be back and to reveal, in no particular order, the remaining ten tunes that make up part 2 of my Smooth Jazz Therapy Top Twenty Tracks of 2023. Enjoy!
‘Tell Me Something’ by Incognito from the album ‘Into You’. In a collection crammed full of standouts this track with James Berkeley on vocals was right up there with the best.
‘Open Road’ by saxophonist Paula Atherton. For Paula much of 2023 was about taking the Billboard charts by storm with this feisty single that was written and produced by the always-excellent Greg Manning.
Talking of Greg Manning, his 2023 radio single is ‘Your Love Is Good’ was inspired by some of the great songs by the legendary Earth Wind & Fire. In fact Greg called Morris O'Connor, who is a touring guitarist with the EWF entourage, to sprinkle some retro magic over this choice cut. It’s the sort of detail that helps Manning stand out from the crowd.
‘Let It Breathe’ by Michael Broening from his tight ten tune project ‘Never Too Late’. With a strategy centered on drip-feeding the album into the market track by track this approach served to generate considerable interest. First came the sumptuously easy grooving ‘Shine A Light’ that was followed by the arguably even better ‘Summer In Blue’ but when the moody ‘Let It Breathe’ arrived it lifted listener expectation to a whole new height.
‘Where There’s Hope’ by sax-man Jeff Ryan. This easy grooving gem was written by Ryan and Paul Brown with two of Brown’s regular cohorts, keyboard player Mark Etheredge and bass-man Roberto Vally. Vally also contributed percussion while completing the line-up were Gorden Campbell on drums and Shane Theriot on rhythm guitar.
‘Missing You’ by sax-man Jackiem Joyner. Infectious, rhythmic and totally compelling this single was the real smooth jazz deal.
‘Last Flight Home’ by bass player Roberto Vally. Vally’s discography glistens with album releases such as his 2013 ‘Boom Boom Boom’, ‘Pure Lines’ from 2017 and ‘Tranquila’ that followed three years later while as of 2023 he was right back on the scene with this wonderful single. His co-writers for the venture were Jeff Carruthers and twice Grammy nominated pianist David Benoit. Vally produced the track that was further embellished by the lush tenor sax tones of Jeff Ryan and an acoustic piano solo from David Benoit. Another long time collaborator, two-time Grammy winner Paul Brown, mixed the track which was just about the best smooth jazz number I heard all year.
‘All My Life’ by keyboard supremo Bob Baldwin. I have been in love with the music of Bob Baldwin since 2002 and the release of the stunning ‘Standing Tall’. A lot, and I mean a lot has happened over the intervening years. His thirty-third CD, ‘B Positive’, was released in 2022. It followed ‘The Stay At Home Series’ that came out of the Covid necessity of staying home, staying off the road, locking down in quarantine and immersing himself in the interlocking processes of producing, arranging, writing and performing. This, his latest single, debuted on radio August 2023 and included Eric Valentine on drums. It was a shining example of how no one does contemporary jazz quite like Bob Baldwin does contemporary jazz.
‘Groove Central’ by Lemek from the album ‘Emergence’. Time was when Smooth Jazz Therapy was all over the music of sax-man Quentin Gerard W so, in 2023, it was particularly special to feature his son, Lemek, who, from his base in New Orleans, is forging a career as a contemporary jazz guitarist. Signed to the Trippin N Rhythm label this, Lemek’s latest single, featured label mate Ryan La Valette on sax.
‘Steps On The Globe’ by keyboard player Keiko Matsui from the CD ‘Euphoria’. This horn enriched gem was the first from the album to be served to radio and was Keiko’s ‘tip of the hat’ to all those in the world who live their lives with joy and courage. ‘Euphoria’ was a really special collection with an all-star line-up of special guests that included vocalist Lalah Hathaway, trumpeter Randy Brecker, guitarist Mike Stern, sax-man Kirk Whalum, harmonica player Grégoire Maret, pianist John Beasley and vibe player Joel Ross. She was also joined on it by regular touring band members Rico Belled on bass, guitarist JP Mourao and drummer Jimmy Branly.
If you have your own list of favorites from 2023 why not e-mail it to me at [email protected]. Happy New Year!!