Smooth Jazz Therapy

Smooth Jazz Therapy - Top 20 Of 2024

Seasonal greetings from Smooth Jazz Therapy; 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. Much like last year, the search for great new music has become increasingly difficult. The trend of fewer albums and more singles are both contributory factors yet as we move into what will be the twentieth year of Smooth Jazz Therapy I remain delighted to reveal, in no particular order, my Smooth Jazz Therapy Top Twenty Tracks of 2024.

‘Think Of Me’ by soulful trumpeter Lin Rountree. Before it was finally released this track had been on the shelf for almost six years. With vocals from Jessica Jolia the song was produced in 2018 but its release was delayed by the pandemic. With more than a hint of a much-loved Bobby Caldwell sample, Lin knocked this one totally out of the park.

‘She’s The One’ by Blake Aaron from his album ‘Love and Rhythm’. This easy grooving charmer was actually the fourth single to be lifted from ‘Love and Rhythm’ and came with a wonderfully brassy veneer that proved difficult to resist.

‘Anything’ by guitarist Norman Brown from the CD ‘It Hits Different’. Often compared to George Benson, the always-excellent Norman Brown has been effortlessly fusing the finer elements of jazz, R & B, pop and blues for the past twenty plus years. ‘Anything’ found Brown returning to the tight, in the pocket, contemporary jazz with which he made his name and in doing so he delivered a real gem.

‘The Last Straw’ by guitar player Alex Crown from his debut album ‘For Obvious Reasons’. Right back when they were both in their early teens, Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite Jonathan Fritzen and his friend Alex Crown would hold jam sessions, fool around with jazz harmonies, improvise and create a bond that today still stands strong. In fact Alex has appeared on several of Fritzén's records, and can be heard as featured guitarist on the hit single ‘Melting’ from his 2010 album ‘Diamonds’.

Now, with the highly anticipated release of ‘For Obvious Reasons’, it could be argued that this is Crown’s time. The ‘The Last Straw’ was one of four tracks co-written by and featuring Fritzen.

‘All I Want Is You’ by Boney James from his latest album ‘Slow Burn’. Described by saxophonist and composer Boney James as one of the most exciting vocal collaborations he has ever recorded” ‘All I Want Is You’ featured critically acclaimed R&B vocalist October London.

Read on for the remainder of this years top twenty and if you have your own list of favorites from 2024 why not e-mail it to me at [email protected]. Happy New Year!!

Streetwize - I Like You

Better known for his solo successes, sax-man Kim Waters is also the driving force behind that contemporary jazz studio project Streetwize. The line-up has something of a revolving door quality with regular contributors Maysa Leak and guitarist Ken Navarro supplemented by a whole range of artists selected according to particular recording needs. Right from the get go the Streetwize philosophy has been to deliver a succulent stream of jazz covers tempered from time to time with classic R & B, funk and disco tracks.

The collective’s latest offering is ‘Lift Me Up’ that includes contemporary R & B and hip-hop tunes such as the Silk Sonic hit ‘Leave The Door Open’ Rhianna’s ‘Lift Me Up’, Lizzo’s ‘About Damn Time’, Doja Cat’s ‘Kiss Me More’ and Smooth Jazz Therapy favorite Post Malone’s ‘I Like You’ all delivered in a shiny urban jazz wrapper.

 

Castella - Nights Over Egypt

Featuring contemporary jazz flutist Ragan Whiteside, the latest single from the rapidly emerging R & B vocalist Castella is a cool cover of the 1981 classic from the Jones Girls ‘Nights Over Egypt’.

Old School but with a modern twist this one really has it all going on.

 

 

Back 2 Basics - Manhattan Blue

‘Manhattan Blue’ is the latest single from musical duo Eddie M and John Paris aka Back 2 Basics (B2B). This sophisticated blend of smooth jazz and R & B was produced by award winning, multi platinum musician, producer and songwriter Derek DOA Allen who in his time toured and recorded with The Time.

Manhattan Blue follows the band’s 2023 single ‘After The Game’ that with its stunning bass line pays tribute to the late great Wayman Tisdale.

Check it out.

 

The Whispers - And The Beat Goes On

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 that timeless R & B classic ‘And The Beat Goes On’ from the 1980 self-titled platinum selling album by The Whispers. It’s the track by which many still identify the band yet at the time of its release The Whispers had already been in the business for over seventeen years. It was in 1963 that The Whispers began their legendary career. Formed in Los Angeles by twins Walter and Wallace Scott, Nicholas Caldwell, Marcus Hutson and Gordy Harmon, their big break came when they were discovered by Lou Bedell of Dore Records. It was Bedell who came up with the name of The Whispers and the group recorded nine singles on the Dore label between 1964 and 1967. At that time they were working predominately in the Bay Area and their fame grew while performing in a series of what was known as ‘The Battle of the Bands’ where they competed against other local acts. In 1969 they released ‘The Time Will Come’ for the small L.A. based label Soul Clock Records and in 1971, following a switch to Janus Records, enjoyed their first Top 10 R&B hit with ‘Seems Like I Gotta Do Wrong’. In that same year Gordy Harmon decided to leave the group. Leaveil Degree who, previously, had sung with The Friends of Distinction replaced him.

Over the next two decades The Whispers produced a string of hits and emerged as one of their generations leading protagonists of quiet storm. They were the first artists featured on the newly formed Soul Train label and the bands seventies albums ‘One For The Money’ and ‘Open Up Your Love’ both caught the eye. Even better, their 1978 release ‘Headlights’ produced two Billboard Top 20 R&B chart singles, ‘(Let's Go) All the Way’ and ‘(Olivia) Lost and Turned Out’. It was a clear breakthrough as although The Whispers had scored a couple top ten hits prior to this album most of their songs, in spite of their quality, had floundered in the latter half of the Top 100.

That said, by 1980, and the release of the album ‘The Whispers’, the band was at a low ebb. Soul Train Records had morphed into Solar Records and, despite being the flagship act of manager Dick Griffey, The Whispers had, in common with other soul bands of the time, become sidelined by the disco boom that continued to dominate the charts. Solar Records had expanded its roster to include Shalamar, and Dynasty and most of the label's hits came courtesy of songwriter/producer Leon F Sylvers III. He was assigned to work with the group and chose for them a song he had co-written with Stephen Shockley and Willam Shelby called ‘And the Beat Goes On’. As a single it went on to sell a million, enjoyed 5 weeks at number one on the R&B charts and climbed to 19 on the pop charts in the spring of 1980.

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

 

John Smith & DA'JA - Make Me Feel Good

‘Make Me Feel Good’ is the latest single from John Smith and his band DA’JA. Written and produced by Detroit musician Smith, and with the title inspired by a line from the movie ‘Monsters Ball’, the single is the latest to be lifted from the band’s current album ‘Life After Life’. The first album from DA’JA’ was ‘Straight Up John Smith’ from as far back as 2002 whereas ‘Life After Life’ has already garnered a jaw dropping seven singles, ‘Life After Life,’ ‘Takin It Easy’, ‘Paradise (Full Mix)’, ‘After Five’, ‘Magical’, ‘True Love (Acoustic)’, and now, ‘Make Me Feel Good.’

 

Johnny Britt - Midnight In Paris

Smooth jazz fans will know singer, songwriter, producer, trumpeter and arranger Johnny Britt for his contributions to Boney James critically acclaimed CD, ‘Contact’. Others may recall his work with the likes of Josh Groban, David Bowie, Jennifer Lopez, The Temptations, Maxwell, Peabo Bryson, Quincy Jones, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, Norman Conners, Aaron Neville, Harvey Mason Jr. and Marcus Miller while film buffs are likely to recall his name in connection with blockbusters such as Ides Of March, The Lion King, Forest Gump and Spiderman 3.

Now, ahead of his latest album ‘Midnight In Paris’, that is expected early in 2025, comes the wonderful title cut that is sure to do well.

‘Midnight In Paris’ will be Britt’s sixth album and follows the excellent ‘After We Play’. Notable for many things ‘After We Play’ included the moody title cut that featured contemporary jazz superstar Peter White.

 

Mark Jaimes - Wheels In Motion

Back in 2021 I commented that ‘Hear At Last’ from UK based guitarist Mark Jaimes was a project that had been very much worth the wait.   It was Rick Braun who originally suggested that Jaimes should record the album and, as they say, the rest is history. Almost four years on and Jaimes is back with the excellent single ‘Wheels In Motion’ which, much like ‘Hear At Last’ before it, is also proving to be worth the wait.

Good track.