David Nadien

This is one of Grover Washington, Jr.'s best-loved recordings and considered a classic of r&bish jazz. All four songs (which includes Billy Strayhorn's "Passion Flower") are quite enjoyable but it is "Mister Magic" that really caught on as a major hit…

Sarah Vaughan's Viva! Vaughan is a curious blend of jazz and pop with Latin percussion, with arrangements by ex-Basie sideman Frank Foster, recorded in the midst of the mid-'60s bossa nova craze. Vaughan is in great voice throughout the date and the material is generally first-rate, except for the bland "Night Song." Although the back of the CD hypes a "full-scale" orchestra, it is an unusual blend with seven trombones, flute, violins, piano, bass, and drums, plus Latin percussion, but no trumpets or saxophones. Foster's best arrangements omit the string section, including a swinging take of Henry Mancini's "Mr. Lucky," a wild if brief "Avalon," a campy "Tea for Two," and Foster's own "Shiny Stockings." Unfortunately, the bossa nova selections ("The Boy From Ipanema" and "Quiet Nights") are burdened with pedestrian string arrangements that date the music as much as the generally uninspired Latin percussion. It's likely that this lack of focus confused the record-buying public as to what type of music this was and caused it to be overlooked. The brevity of the tracks and the lack of solo opportunities for the strong supporting cast (which includes Kai Winding, Jerome Richardson, Barry Galbraith, George Duvivier, among others) make it seem like receiving airplay was a major goal of this release. However, the golden voice of Sarah Vaughan is this CD reissue's most dominant factor, and it is worth acquiring. ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide

Jaco Pastorius was a meteor who blazed on to the scene in the 1970s, only to flame out tragically in the 1980s. With a brilliantly fleet technique and fertile melodic imagination, Pastorius made his fretless electric bass leap out from the depths of the rhythm section into the front line with fluid machine-gun-like passages that demanded attention. He also sported a strutting, dancing, flamboyant performing style and posed a further triple-threat as a talented composer, arranger and producer. He and Stanley Clarke were the towering influences on their instrument in the 1970s.

Nach dem nun schon viele Jahre ungebrochen andauernden Erfolg der Kuschelrock-Reihe, mausert sich auch das Pendant aus der Klassik zielsicher zu einem Hit. Was nicht verwundert, denn auch Klassikfans wollen romantisch sein. Während bei Kuschelrock in letzter Zeit der Trend allerdings zu mehr Charts-Titeln und daher zu einem eher geringeren Kuschelfaktor ging, blieb Kuschelklassik dem Kuscheln treu. Auch auf Volume 7 wird wieder eine Klassikauswahl präsentiert, die romantische, zärtliche Stunden für Genießer mit gehobeneren Ansprüchen garantiert.