Smooth Jazz Therapy

The Temptations - Treat Her Like A Lady

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’s ‘Treat Her Like A Lady’ by the wonderful Temptations from their 1984 album ‘Truly For You’. This was the Temptations at their timeless best and this particular track was interesting for the fact that it was the bands first single to feature the late Ali-Ollie Woodson on lead vocals.

He also co-wrote the song with original member Otis Williams.

Internationally ‘Treat Her Like A Lady’ was a big hit, especially in the UK. It also did well on the US R&B Chart yet inexplicably failed to make the US Top 40.

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

 

Kayla Waters - Murky Moon

Taken from her 2023 CD ‘Presence’ the latest single from keyboard player Kayla Waters is the excellent ‘Murky Moon’. It is a song that that oozes sophistication and which follows both ‘Waterkisses’ and ‘Undulation’ as worthy examples of what this choice collection is all about. Not only that it confirms her place very much on he quality end of the smooth jazz spectrum.

Classically trained at Howard University from where she graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance Kaya Waters is very much the real musical deal.

 

The Boom Yeh - Near Earth Objects

Fans of UK Acid Jazz, and especially those with Incognito or Down To The Bone on their radar screens will readily identify with the music of The Boom Yeh a band that stands out as being at the forefront of the British Jazz- Funk scene.

Led by guitarist and composer Jon Speedy, in collaboration with saxophonist and horn arranger Ian Bailey, the band’s current line-up features musicians who have worked with Jamiroquai, The Brand New Heavies, Ibibio Sound Machine, Leroy Hutson, Heritage Orchestra and more while their latest release, ‘Near Earth Objects’ is replete with the horn driven energy that is very much part and parcel of what The Boom Yeh are all about.

Check it out.

 

Mindi Abair - I Can't Wait Fot Christmas

Described elsewhere as having a touch of soul and a heart of jazz, ‘I Can’t Wait For Christmas’ from two-time GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist and vocalist Mindi Abair is a festive ten track romp which will be supported by a sixteen city US tour featuring Lindsey Webster and Marcus Anderson that starts in Phoenix on November 30 and winds up at Spaghettini, Seal Beach, CA two days before Christmas.

This collection of holiday classics, (ten tracks, eight timeless gems and two new compositions) released on her own Pretty Good For A Girl label, is the first full length holiday album from Mindi Abair and as such is something of a right of passage traversed often over the years by a plethora of smooth jazz performers. In fact that is only partially true as she recorded her first 2-song Christmas LP for Verve Records in 2003 and since then has spent most of the last twenty one years headlining or hosting Christmas tours with the likes of Peter White, Rick Braun and of course the king of Christmas, Dave Koz.

Curtis Haywood - Last Dance

Featuring guitarist Steve Oliver, ‘Last Dance’ is the latest single from smooth jazz sax-man Curtis Haywood. Lusciously mid tempo, it is a track that builds on the success of his 2018 album ‘Summer Breeze’ and the hit single ‘City Lights’ that arrived four years later.

Nice track

 

Andrew Neu - Living Your Best Life

‘Living Your Best Life’ is the latest single from saxophonist, woodwind player, arranger, composer and educator Andrew Neu. Neu wrote this up beat charmer with rising star Greg Manning who also produced and mixed the track.

Neu’s CV is impeccable. Not only has he toured the world with contemporary jazz heavyweights Bobby Caldwell, Diane Schuur, Norman Brown and Smokey Robinson, Neu has also shared the stage with Elton John, Patti Labelle, Mellissa Manchester, The Four Tops, and The Temptations among others. He has recorded with Sister Sledge, Manhattan Transfer, David Sanborn, Gerald Veasley, Jeff Lorber, Brian Bromberg, Rick Braun, Brian Culbertson, Chuck Loeb, Paul Brown and Buddy DeFranco. While elsewhere he was a featured soloist on Peter White’s ‘Here We Go’ and also composed the horn arrangement for Brian Bromberg’s chartbusting ‘Coupe De Ville’.

 

Bob Baldwin - Complicit

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 not least of which being the release of his latest album ‘It’s OK To Dream’. It has received GRAMMY® consideration for the track ‘Malema’ in the category Best African Music Performance and ‘Cape Town at Night’ in the category Best Global Music Performance.

The latest single to be lifted from ‘It’s OK To Dream’ is the sumptuous ‘Complicit’, another number that indulges Baldwin’s passion for Brazilian music. It is classic Bob Baldwin and then some.