Straight+no+chaser

Straight No Chaser's 2013 album, Under the Influence, features more of the acclaimed a cappella group's takes of tunes that they love. Produced by Take 6's Mark Kibble, the album features many guest performances by the artists whose songs appear here, including Jason Mraz, Phil Collins, Dolly Parton, Seal, and more. Also included are the vocal ensemble's reworkings of such hit songs as Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and Fun's "Some Nights/We Are Young." Straight No Chaser were the only male a cappella vocal ensemble on campus when the group formed at Indiana University in 1996. Taking an unconventional approach, Straight No Chaser began working up a repertoire that included not only traditional songs, but also modern pop tunes performed without the use of instruments.

Indiana's Straight No Chaser is an all-male a cappella ensemble known for their sophisticated vocal harmonies and popular holiday-themed albums. Taking an unconventional approach from their beginnings at Indiana University in 1996, the male a cappella ensemble Straight No Chaser worked up a repertoire that included not only traditional songs, but also modern pop tunes performed without the use of instruments. Various local performances, including a storied early-morning appearance at the university's annual 36-hour dance marathon, caught the public's attention and helped the ensemble gather a fan base on campus. The original lineup of the group released several albums, toured the Midwest, and even competed nationally at Carnegie Hall before the students graduated and went their separate ways.

Order Straight No Chaser’s new album One Shot, featuring a mashup of two of Straight No Chaser’s favorites “MotownPhilly/This Is How We Do It”, "Homeward Bound", and "When A Man Loves A Woman"! Straight No Chaser (SNC) is a professional a cappella group which originated in 1996 at Indiana University. In 2007, a 1998 video of "The 12 Days of Christmas", went viral with over 8 million views and subsequently led to a five-album record deal with Atlantic Records in 2008. In 2009, Atlantic Records SNC won the CARA award for Best Holiday Album (Holiday Spirits) and was nominated for Best Holiday Song ("Carol Of The Bells" on Holiday Spirits).

Acclaimed a cappella ensemble Straight No Chaser's cheekily titled 2016 effort I'll Have Another…Christmas Album is the group's third full-length holiday album since their 2008 debut, Holiday Spirits. Recorded at their original home of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, the album features a handful of beloved Christmas carols and holiday standards including "Do You Hear What I Hear?," "Joy to the World," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." As with previous albums, Straight No Chaser also apply their sophisticated harmonies to several contemporary pop classics like Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," Kenny Rogers' "The Greatest Gift of All," and more. Also included are several brand new compositions from Straight No Chaser including the buoyant "Feels Like Christmas," featuring Jana Kramer.

Straight No Chaser's fifth full-length album, The New Old Fashioned, showcases the acclaimed a cappella ensemble's distinctive take on many of their favorite contemporary pop hits. The album follows up the group's 2013 effort, Under the Influence. As with that album, here we get the group's creative workings of popular songs from the recent past. Included here are such hits as the Weeknd's "Can't Feel My Face," Hozier's "Take Me to Church," Radiohead's "Creep," Charlie Puth's "Marvin Gaye," and many others.

Straight No Chaser's 2013 album, Under the Influence, features more of the acclaimed a cappella group's takes of tunes that they love. Produced by Take 6's Mark Kibble, the album features many guest performances by the artists whose songs appear here, including Jason Mraz, Phil Collins, Dolly Parton, Seal, and more. Also included are the vocal ensemble's reworkings of such hit songs as Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and Fun's "Some Nights/We Are Young." Straight No Chaser were the only male a cappella vocal ensemble on campus when the group formed at Indiana University in 1996. Taking an unconventional approach, Straight No Chaser began working up a repertoire that included not only traditional songs, but also modern pop tunes performed without the use of instruments.

As the fourth (fifth, if you count the Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel) entry in Columbia's celebrated series of Miles Davis box sets, The Complete Columbia Recordings: Miles Davis & John Coltrane was perhaps the most anticipated set, and it's easy to see why. The push and pull between Miles and Coltrane resulted in dynamic recordings that set the standard for modern jazz – and this was for their Prestige recordings, before they even moved to Columbia. Once Miles relocated to Columbia, he began to push the boundaries of his music. The progression from the sublime, after-hours 'Round About Midnight to the modal Milestones is remarkable – all the more so when Kind of Blue, the culmination of Davis' modal direction, is taken into the equation.

What is immedately noticeable upon listening to Miles Davis' classic first – and only – album with his original sextet is how deep the blues presence is on it. Though it's true that the album's title cut is rightfully credited with introducing modalism into jazz, and defining Davis' music for years to come, it is the sole selection of its kind on the record. The rest is all blues in any flavor you wish you call your own. For starters, there's the steaming bebop blues of "Dr. Jackle," recorded in 1955 for a Prestige session with Jackie McLean. Davis is still in his role as a trumpet master, showing a muscularity of tone that reveals something more akin to Roy Eldridge or Louis Armstrong than Dizzy or Fats Navarro.

Guitarist Mike Stern, best-known for playing rock-oriented fusion and in more commercial settings, surprised many listeners by recording an album dominated by standards. Actually, there are three originals included among the 11 pieces, but Stern also digs into such songs as "Like Someone in Love," "Moment's Notice," Chick Corea's "Windows," and "Straight No Chaser." Among Stern's sidemen on this fairly straight-ahead but adventurous set are trumpeter Randy Brecker, Bob Berg on tenor, and keyboardist Gil Goldstein. This little-known release is well-worth acquiring.

Recorded in a simple trio format with bassist Brian Bromberg and drummer Gregg Bissonette, Standards is about as close as smooth jazz pianist David Benoit has come to the classic post-bop West Coast sound that's always been one of his primary inspirations. Benoit is simply not an adventurous soul as either a bandleader or a pianist, and so Standards consists mostly of familiar songs (John Lewis' "Django," Thelonious Monk's "Straight No Chaser," Bill Evans' "Waltz for Debby," Dave Brubeck's "Blue Rondo à la Turk") given safe, pretty performances that never come close to re-invention. It's simply not in Benoit's nature to take risks, but to a listener on the pianist's mellow wavelength, these performances are both technically excellent and completely heartfelt. The choice of a couple obscurities by Henry Mancini and Neal Hefti adds an idiosyncratic personal touch as well. Bold and audacious it may not be, but Standards is a low-key delight.