This star studded compilation features the top hitmaking guitarists in Smooth Jazz at their very best. Romantic solos and melodies by icons such as George Benson, Earl Klugh, Peter White and Norman Brown make this collection a must have for the Smooth Jazz fan!
Life and Times is the highly anticipated follow up to the smooth jazz super chart topping More Serious Business - which included two #1 smooth jazz radio hit singles! Featuring three of the most important hit makers on the scene today: Jeff Lorber, Everett Harp and Paul Jackson, Jr. - artists and producers responsible for selling millions of albums and scoring close to 50 #1 Smooth Jazz radio hits! Highlights include the hit single, "Ready Freddie," the super funky, "Where You're At," the high-spirited romp "Exotic" and much more!
On August 30, saxophone master James Carter will release his Blue Note Records debut James Carter Organ Trio: Live From Newport Jazz, a thrilling live performance of Carter’s imaginative soul jazz reinvention of Django Reinhardt that was captured at the 2018 Newport Jazz Festival.
Taken from the National Public Radio program, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz (Radio Broadcast) features the jazz pianist McPartland in conversation and performing with pianist Brad Mehldau in September of 1996. Together they discuss Mehldau's career as well as his views on jazz and playing piano. Mehldau is a thoughtful and cerebral musician and the intimate nature of McPartland's show is a good match for bringing out the best in both his demeanor and piano chops. Included are performances of such jazz standards as "From This Moment On," "Stella by Starlight," "I See Your Face Before Me" and others.
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.
'Too Hot For Words' blends the tight-knit swing of the Metropolitan Jazz Octet with the unerring musicianship of Dee Alexander to mark the 60th anniversary of Billie Holiday's departure from the planet, mixing Holiday classics with some of Lady Day's lesser- known repertoire. The arrangements sparkle, and Alexander shines as bright as ever. But at no point does she attempt to mimic Holiday. (What would be the point of that)? And the arrangements don't try to imitate the little 'orchestras' that accompanied Holiday's greatest recordings. (No point in that either.) These new settings respect the songs, but reframe them for our era. The album becomes a sort of telescoping time capsule: sterling musicians of the 21st century, building upon an octet sound crafted 50 years earlier, revitalizing songs that Holiday began recording in the 1930s.