Smooth Jazz Therapy

Freemasons Featuring Siedah Garrett - Rain Down Love

The second album from production duo Russell Small and James Wiltshire (aka Freemasons), ‘Unmixed’ was released in October 2007 with the lead single ‘Uninvited’ being a house inspired version of the Alanis Morissette hit tune. However the track that did it for me was this, ‘Rain Down Love’ with vocals from the consistently superb Siedah Garrett and more than a nod to the timeless Barry White.

Check it out.

 

Kool & The Gang - Summer Madness

‘Summer Madness’, the standout track from Kool & The Gang’s 1974 album ‘Light Of Worlds’ is considered to be a landmark contribution to the evolution of jazz funk.

Incorporating smooth melodies and spine tingling synthesizer, ‘Summer Madness’ assisted in pushing ‘Light Of Worlds’ to #16 on the R & B chart and #63 on the pop listings.

The ‘Gang’s’ 1993 CD ‘Unite’ included a re-make of the track while elsewhere it has been hugely sampled by a whole host of R & B and hip-hop performers.

Classic track.

 

Michael Vince - Slow And Easy

The eponymously titled EP from guitarist, keyboard player, writer and producer Michael Vince was released in 2006 and remains a stupendous showcase for contemporary jazz at its best.

It was a project that broke down nicely into two distinct categories with the opening three tracks written, performed, arranged and produced by Vince. For the EP’s final two cuts Vince remained as writer, performer and arranger but handed production to Paul Brown who proceeded to spread his magic all over them. ‘After Hours’ with solid bass from Roberto Vally and back up guitar from Brown ensured an overall quality that was nothing short of hypnotic yet the best track by some distance was the wonderful ‘Slow And Easy’. Shimmering with an aura was just superb, it featured moody sax from Anthony Long.

 

Paul Hardcastle - Warm Glow

‘Warm Glow’ by the constantly excellent Paul Hardcastle comes from his 1996 project, ‘Hardcastle 2’ and is a wonderfully chilled in way to beckon in this new year or any other..

Great stuff.

 

Sam Riney - Seduction

A side-man of some note, saxophonist Sam Riney enjoyed his own time in the spotlight from 1988 to 1991 when he released albums such as the 1988 ‘Spindletop’, ‘Playing With Fire’ that followed two years later and ‘Talk To Me’ from which comes this fine track ‘Seduction’.

It is a recording that typifies Riney’s sensual smooth jazz sound and is indicative of the fabulous music that was around in those halcyon days of jazz-fusion.

 

Brian O'Neal - Let Me Do It Again

Released in 2007, ‘Daisy’, by the hugely underrated Brian O’Neal, was not only his sophomore project but also replete with the easy grooving attitude that helps him stand out from the crowd. The album’s best track is arguably the sumptuous ‘Let Me Do It Again’ but, truth to tell, this particular accolade could just as easily go to several other of the twelve all original compositions.

Decide for yourself.

 

Marcus Johnson - 88 Ways To Love

The seminal ‘88 Ways To Love’, written and performed by Marcus Johnson from his 1998 album ‘Chocolate City Groove’ is, in terms of smooth jazz cool, just about as good as it gets. Washington DC based Johnson is well known for incorporating the rhythms of rap with the soul of R&B yet although ‘Chocolate City Groove’ features nice side work from guitarist Stan Cooper and sax men Marshall Keys and Bryan Mills on‘88 Ways To Love’ he very much goes it alone. In fact his multiple keyboard programming achieves an easy dance groove that he proceeds to overlay with excellent smooth jazz piano.

This ‘rainy day’ mix is slightly more jazzy that the CD original but is nevertheless top notch.

It’s a wonderful example of smooth jazz and can also be found on the Jazz FM compilation ‘Pacific Coast Highway’.

 

Quincy Jones - Secret Garden

 

The DeBarge - Garrett - Jones - Temperton composition ‘Secret Garden’ was featured on the 1989 milestone recording from Quincy Jones whose career had, at the time, already spanned four decades. Indeed he was universally recognised as a writing, performing and producing legend who will probably be best remembered as the guiding light behind the greatest work of Michael Jackson. This was the year that Jones made his debut on his own label and, despite the fact that eight years had passed since the release of his critically acclaimed ‘The Dude’ (on A&M) his new album, ‘Back On The Block’ proved to be his most extravagant, most star-studded and most brilliantly sequenced pop album to date.

Kool & Klean - Reality

Konstantin Klashtorni first came to prominence in 2004 with his debut CD ‘Downtown’ and although three more smooth jazz albums followed, it was in 2010, when his project ‘Kool & Klean Volume l’ was released, that he began to move in a slightly different musical direction. Intended as the first in a series of accessible and commercially attractive collections that sat somewhere between smooth jazz, electronica and chill, what the CD actually did was to reclaim some of the ground which previously had been the sole domain of Paul Hardcastle. The year 2011 beckoned in the arrival of ‘Kool & Klean Volume ll’ on which the sumptuous ‘Reality’ can be found.

Check it out.

 

 

Streetwize - Don't Say Goodnight

Throughout this opening chapter of the twenty first century, the smooth jazz studio super-group ‘Streetwize’ cornered the market in high-end urban jazz covers of some of the best soul and rap tunes of the era or any other.  Led by saxophonist Kim Waters (who is also famous for his Sax Pack collaborations) and featuring (amongst others) Maysa Leak and Ken Navarro, the band’s first album was the 2002 project ‘Smooth Urban Jazz’.  In the period up to 2013 it went on to release eight more CD’s with this featured track, a stunning re-imagining of the Isley Brothers 1980 blockbuster ‘Don’t Say Goodnight’, appearing on the 2004 ‘Slow Jamz’.

 

David Benoit - You Read My Mind

This time around our selection from the smooth jazz archives is the stunningly cool ‘You Read My Mind’ from David Benoit’s 2002 CD ‘Fuzzy Logic’.  Benoit has always been at the ‘high end’ of contemporary jazz and this sublime track goes some way to explaining why.  Recorded in Hollywood and released on GRP, ‘Fuzzy Logic’ reached #6 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart.

 

The VIP Club - Coconut Kiss

This time the archive back-tracks all the way to 2001 and the CD ‘Coconut Kiss’, a polished, laid-back effort from The V.I.P. Club that was led by drummer Wolfgang Haffner and featured guest performances from Chuck Loeb, Kim Waters, Jeff Golub, Will Lee and Phil Upchurch.  Among the album’s outstanding moments is this, the title cut, which spotlights a cool piano solo by Jorg Reiter. 

Good tune, good CD.

 

 

 

Everette Harp - When I Think Of You

From Everette Harp’s 1992 self-titled debut release, this wonderful track is amongst the best smooth jazz recordings ever made.  With artists such as Brian Culbertson, Zachary Breaux, Peter White, Sam Riney & Joe McBride all playing a part it is an absolute winner.  Enjoy.

 

Tim Watson - Secret Place

The 2002 breakout album, ‘Soultopia – The Tim Watson Project’, by keyboard player Tim Watson found him dipping a toe into the waters of smooth jazz for the very first time.  As such it’s sophistication is truly remarkable and none more so than with the sumptuously easy grooving ‘Secret Place’ which proved to be an absolute triumph. 

The CD provided the catalyst for other contemporary jazz projects such as Tim’s 2007 ‘Sunday Afternoon’ and his latest effort ‘Up & At’em’. 

It boasts a line-up of some of the genre’s heaviest hitters including the Grammy award winning Phil Davis, flautist Ragan Whiteside and sax players Pamela Williams and Phil Denny.

 

North '2unes' Woodall - Find Your Way

Born in Dayton, Ohio, guitarist North “2unes” Woodall has shared the stage with the likes of The Ohio Players, Roy Aires, Millie Jackson, Tom Brown and Will Downing.  Since relocating to Atlanta he has become a staple of that city’s music scene while as a recording artist he has released the albums ‘Hot & Cool’, ‘Loving 2’ and the 2007 collection ‘Straight @ You’ on which the track ‘Find Your Way’ can be found. 

It’s where smooth jazz meets chill and then some.  Check it out.

 

Freddie Washington - In The Moment

Seasoned session performer Freddie Washington made his solo debut in 2009 with the sensational ‘In The Moment’ yet this fine LA bass player had, at the time, already worked with everyone from Steely Dan to Michael Jackson, George Benson to the Crusaders and Stevie Wonder to Whitney Houston.  He co-wrote Patrice Rushen’s seminal ‘Forget Me Nots’ and Rushen was around to lend a hand with ‘In The Moment’ that superbly reinvented the much-maligned concept of quiet storm. 

Art Porter - For Art's Sake

When, in November of 1996, saxophonist Art Porter was killed in a boating accident, smooth jazz was robbed of a talent that could never be replaced.  He was thirty five and had been journeying to a remote part of Thailand where he was booked to perform in a jazz festival.  Yet for someone so young his musical legacy was already considerable.

Najee - Tokyo Blue

Smooth Jazz Archive is an occasional series that reflects on genre defining albums from the last forty years and one such release was Najee’s 1990 project ‘Tokyo Blue’.  The way it blended jazz with R & B, placed him right at the top of his urban jazz game and his judicious use of featured vocalists was starting a trend in smooth jazz which has endured to this day.