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!!
‘Escape With Me’, the title track from the latest album by multi instrumentalist and former Billboard Smooth Jazz Artist Of The Year Vincent Ingala. Following the wonderfully funky ‘Movin And Shakin’ this was the second single from the album to be lifted for airplay and without doubt was one of the best smooth jazz tracks of the entire year.
‘Farewell’ by sax-man Marcus Anderson from the album ‘The Vibe’. With input from fellow saxophonist Donald Hayes this one rapidly became a firm Smooth Jazz Therapy favourite.
Taken from his recent album ‘Just Doing Me’ that was released October 25 ‘AI Moonrise’ from Marion Meadows was the sort of smoothed out number we have come to expect from this consummate saxophonist. Indeed three decades and seventeen albums into what has developed into a stellar career Meadows has never sounded better
‘I Like You’ by Streetwize from the CD ‘Lift Me Up’. 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. This is exactly what the band has done with ‘Lift Me Up’ and a case in point is ‘I Like You’ that back in 2021 was a hit for Post Malone.
‘Complicit’ by Bob Baldwin his 2024 long player ‘It’s OK To Dream’. 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 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.
‘Dare To Dream’ by Oli Silk from his current long player ‘In Real Life’. 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 seventh solo project, the truly outstanding ‘In Real Life’.
‘Glow’ the latest single from Jazz In Pink featuring Gail Jhonson. 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. With Gail Jhonson again front back and center on piano and synths she was joined this time around by co-writer Nelson Braxton on bass and drum programming.
‘Language of Love’ by Reza Khan from the album ‘Mystical’. ‘Language of Love’ found jazz guitarist Reza Khan in splendid collaboration with producer, songwriter and horn player David Mann as well as the legendary Bob James on piano and Brendan Rothwell on bass.
‘Swings & Roundabouts’ by Chris Standring from the CD ‘As We Think’. The standout in a collection replete with them, the defining track of the entire album was the intoxicating ‘Swings & Roundabouts’ that had an aura, which was hard to ignore.
‘Brown Sugar’ from keyboard player Nicholas Cole. With all indications that a new album was on the way, Nicholas Cole was back on the radio with his latest single the sumptuous ‘Brown Sugar’. In fact ‘Brown Sugar’ was 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’.
‘Cool Summer’ by that sophisticated super group Special EFX. Despite the frequent changes in personnel that have characterised the evolution of this cool collective, the creative constant of Chilli Minucci remained front back and centre. In fact Minucci co-founded Special EFX thirty-seven years ago with the now deceased George Jinda and in so doing etched himself into the fabric of contemporary jazz history.
‘D Train Express’ by bass player Roberto Vally. Seems like ‘go to’ bass player Roberto Vally has travel on his mind. Even before the dust had settled on his hot 2023 single ‘Last Flight Home’ than he was on the move again, this time on the ‘D Train Express’. Written by Vally and in demand keyboard player Mark Etheredge it was a track that in just four and a half minutes took the listener from moody beginnings via rises in tempo to a rousing, multi-faceted journey through Vally’s beloved Brooklyn where taking NYC’s D Train was a core part of the urban experience. Joining Vally and Etheredge on this train of events was drummer Gorden Campbell, sax-man Andrew Nue and trumpet player Michael Stever. The single was mixed by Paul Brown and the executive producer was Mark Nordman.
‘Midnight In Paris’, the title cut of Johnny Britt’s new album that is expected early in 2025. 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. ‘Midnight In Paris’ will be Britt’s sixth album and follows the excellent ‘After We Play’.
‘Brighter’ by the Grammy nominated writer and producer Chris ‘Big Dog’ Davis from his current album ‘After The Storm’. After working with a plethora of contemporary jazz talent, Davis finally got round to releasing his own album, ‘Focus’, in 2020. It turned out to be well worth the wait with sumptuous tracks such as ‘Its All Love’ and collaborations with smooth jazz heavyweights Gerald Albright, Kim Waters, Ace Livingston, Maysa, Marty Q, the late great Nick Colionne and trumpeter Rick Braun. He returned in 2024 with ‘After The Storm’ a quality recording that was exemplified by the extremely in the pocket ‘Brighter’ that featured Lin Rountree on trumpet
‘Groove Me’ by Hank Bilal. Featuring sax-man Michael Lington, Hank Bilal released this, his latest single, in 2024. Standing in what is a relatively short line of what are specialist smooth jazz trombone players, when one discounts the likes of Nick Lane, Jeff Bradshaw and (spasmodically) Brian Culbertson, the Grammy nominated Bilal has a real opportunity to corner this niche market with ‘Groove Me ‘ giving him the opportunity to do it.
If you have your own list of favorites from 2024 why not e-mail it to me at [email protected]. Happy New Year!!