Smooth Jazz Therapy

Nicholas Cole - Brown Sugar

With all indications that a new album is on the way, smooth jazz keyboard player Nicholas Cole is back on the radio with his latest single the sumptuous ‘Brown Sugar’. In fact ‘Brown Sugar’ is his fourth standalone single of recent times and follows ‘All The Way’, ‘Feelings’ and the wonderful ‘Table For 2’. If indeed these four tracks end up on a brand new album it will be Cole’s first since his 2019 project ‘The Weekend’ which at the time I described as having “radio ready” written all over it.

 

 

Spotlight On Streetwize

Led by smooth jazz sax-man Kim Waters, and featuring vocalist Maysa and guitarist Ken Navarro, Streetwize is a loose studio based collective of A – List contemporary jazz artists with a focus very much on urban jazz. In fact the bands first album that hit the streets in 2002 was titled ‘Smooth Urban Jazz’ and featured versions of Mystikal’s ‘Shake It Fast’, Aaiyah’s ‘Rock The Boat’ and an excellent take on D’Angelo’s ‘Brown Sugar’. It very much set the tone for what was to follow and eleven albums later Streetwize continues to do its thing this time in the form of its latest CD ‘ Lift Me Up’ that features a Davey D Chelsea remix of the decidedly moody ‘Dang’.

Along the way there has been some real highlights and none more so than ‘Sings Of Love Makin’ from the 2004 collection ‘The Slow Jams’ where Waters wows on flute. Four years later and just as good is ‘Streetwize’ Does Mary J Blige’ with the Smooth Jazz Therapy standout track being ‘Mary Jane (All Night Long’.

Streetwize shows no signs of slowing down so if you enjoy your smooth jazz on the urban side then this is a band well worth looking out for.

 

 

Diana Ross - Workin' Overtime

Old School Cool is an occasional feature that, for those of a certain age, retraces the journeys of a musical lifetime in a way that keeps the memories flooding back. This time it is the title track from the Diana Ross 1989 album ‘Workin Overtime’ that was produced by Diana’s long-term collaborator Nile Rodgers and which was cram packed with catchy hip-hop and dance tracks. Perhaps if it has been recorded by anyone else other that the then 45-year-old Diana Ross it would have been a much greater commercial success yet the album and the singles lifted from it was nevertheless an underground cult success. The title cut powered its way to the top five in both e the R & B and club charts while the twelve inch Shep Petibone remix of ‘Paradise’ was a big club hit of its time.

I am indebted to Ian Phillips for coming up with the idea for this feature on ‘Workin Overtime’. Ian writes some great music related Twitter posts and is well worth a follow.

 

Oli Silk - Dare To Dream

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 is back with his seventh solo project, the truly outstanding ‘In Real Life’. With ten choice tunes it is everything we have come to expect from this consummate purveyor of high end contemporary jazz and is as ready radio as can be.

Indeed, the current single, the wonderfully ‘in the pocket’ ‘Dare To Dream’ is a case in point and another is ‘Grass Fed Funk’ that was the first of the tracks to be sent to the airwaves.

Amongst these gems are some tasty collaborations such as ‘Looking Glass’ that Oli shares with up and coming vocalist Rebecca Jade and the moody ‘Actually Actually’ that features Kim Scott on flute.

Equally compelling is ‘New Horizons’ for which Ilya Serov adds muted trumpet while maybe best of all is the up tempo ‘A Lil Pick Me Up’ where Carl Cox on sax really blows the doors off.

‘In Real Life’ is a tremendous album and comes highly recommended.

 

 

David Sanborn - Dead At 78

For anyone who has followed the evolution of contemporary jazz from as far back as the seventies will need no introduction to saxophonist David Sanborn who sadly passed away from prostate cancer, May 12, 2024, aged 78.

It was in 1977 with his second album ‘Promise Me The Moon’ that Sanborn made his first of many appearances on the jazz charts. He remained there more or less unchallenged for the next thirty years with a phenomenal run that included albums such as the 1980 smash ‘Hideaway’, ‘Straight To The Heart’ in 1984 and his wonderful 1985 collaboration with Bob James ‘Double Vision’.

His 1988 project ‘Close Up’ which was produced and co-written by Marcus Miller was a club hit too while ‘Upfront’ in 1992 hit the top spot in the contemporary jazz chart.

There is little doubt that through the nineties he proved to be the inspiration for a whole clutch of sax players cutting their musical teeth on smooth jazz and secretly wishing they could play even half as well as he.

David Sanborn was born on July 30, 1945, in Tampa, Florida but raised in Kirkwood Missouri. He contracted polio at the age of three and struggled with the disease for the next eight years. On the advice of his doctor, who thought that playing an instrument would help with his breathing, he began with the clarinet before finding his true voice with the saxophone.

It was in New York City that Sanborn found his artistic home. He became, and remained, a sought-after session player and his collaborations with superstars such as James Brown, Billy Joel, George Benson, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, The Eagles and countless others added layers of depth to his musical experience.

It could be argued that without Sanborn smooth jazz would never have enjoyed its golden age, a time that generally is accepted as being from 1980 to 2010. What is certain is that he leaves an enormous legacy and a genre that is much healthier for having him being part of it.

 

Blake Aaron - Love and Rhythm

Out now on the Innervision label, ‘Love and Rhythm’ is the latest CD from guitarist Blake Aaron. It is his seventh album release and the first since 2020 and the highly acclaimed ‘Color and Passion’. It finds him hitting the ground running in that the collection has already garnered four Billboard top 5 hits, ‘Feels So Right’, ‘Crush’, ‘Dreamland’ and the current single, ‘She’s The One’, which comes complete with a wonderfully brassy veneer that is difficult to resist.

In fact ‘Dreamland’, which I previously described as being possibly the most sunshine filled number of 2022, blends outrageously dexterous playing by Aaron with that of co-writer Adam Hawley. In fact it is everything great smooth jazz should be and with Eric Valentine on drums, Mel Brown on bass, David Mann on sax and horn arrangements plus trumpet from Trevor Neumann, the track offers another copper plated reason why ‘Love and Rhythm’ is without doubt one of the best smooth jazz releases of this year.

Womack & Womack - Teardrops

Old School Cool is an occasional feature that, for those of a certain age, retraces the journeys of a musical lifetime in a way that keeps the memories flooding back. This time it is the Cecil Womack – Linda Cooke (aka Womack & Womack) classic ‘Teardrops’ that the duo wrote in 1988 and which appeared on their album ‘Conscience’ of the same year. The single reached # 3 in the U.K, # 1 in the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand; and # 2 in Germany and Switzerland.

Jazz In Pink Featuring Gail Jhonson - Glow

Founded fifteen years ago by Gail Jhonson, Althea Rene and promoter Kyna Hubbard, Jazz In Pink has established itself as a veritable revolving door of female musical excellence. Over that time over fifty women have graced the stage with them, both as headline artists or side musicians and the line-up is currently making waves with the single ‘Glow’ that is out now on the Shanachie Entertainment label.

With Gail Jhonson again front back and center on piano and synths she is joined this time around by co-writer Nelson Braxton on bass and drum programming. Twenty years as a professional bass player, and as well as enjoying success with his own band The Braxton Brothers, Nelson has long been part of Michael Bolton’s touring entourage. He has worked with Rachelle Ferrell, Chris Botti, Richard Marx, Boz Scaggs, Jeff Lorber and Jean Carne to name but a few while completing the Jazz In Pink line-up is smooth jazz ‘a-lister’ Kim Waters who lends a hand on synths

Very nice track