The Best Smooth Jazz Ever

The Best Smooth Jazz Ever is packed with smooth jazz radio hits and highlights the musicians who have brought depth and soul to the most successful contemporary jazz label in the world over the past 20 years. Celebrating the 20th anniversary of GRP Records, this two-CD set features some of the most respected names in the jazz style, including Al Jarreau, Lee Ritenour, Ramsey Lewis, and Patti Austin, as well a hot new rendition of Steve Winwood's "Roll With It," performed by David Benoit, Richard Elliot, and Jeff Golub under the group name Group 3.

Four CD set features over four hours of jazz classics from such artists as Norah Jones, St. Germain, Nina Simone, Shuggy Otis, Luther Vandross, Ella Fitzgerald, & many more. It's the 1st part of popular series "The Best… Ever!"

First-ever compilation of his Atlantic Records recordings and featuring previously unissued live take on “Darn That Dream.”

Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex and Columbia Albums celebrates the timeless artistry of an American master. The set includes the nine albums that Bill released between 1971 through 1985…

Craig Chaquico - Panorama - The Best of Craig Chaquico (2000)
Genre: Smooth Jazz | Label: Higher Octave | 2000 | CBR 320kbps; 168 Mb | 1:13:27

When former Jefferson Starship guitarist Craig Chaquico (cha-KEY-so) reinvented himself as a pop instrumentalist in 1993 (the year he released Acoustic Highway, his solo debut), he brought the still-fledgling contemporary instrumental genre one of its freshest sounds in years. Chaquico blended skillful pop-rock-blues songcraft with studio savvy to produce a lush, layered acoustic sound so full-bodied that at times he seemed to be leading a guitar choir. His initial hit, the title track from that first disc (and the concluding piece on this best-of package), remains one of the most cheerfully infectious tunes in this category. Other selections on Panorama, a retrospective that samples his first five recordings, also capture the hip, lyrical joyfulness of Chaquico's early work ("Native Tongue," "Sacred Ground," "Return of the Eagle"), where new melodic ideas might pop up at any point in the composition. Elements of smooth jazz began surfacing on his third disc, A Thousand Pictures, and that trend has persisted ever since, draining some of the organic, free-spirited spark from Chaquico's music. The two new tunes found on this disc, "Café Carnival" (a Latin big-band production) and "Beyond Words," suggest that pattern still prevails, and while Chaquico can make smooth jazz sound pretty good (try "Sweet Talk"), that easy-listening glaze is an unnecessary crutch for such an imaginative player. Nevertheless, Panorama is an attractive package; just a touch too sweet in places.