NAJEE – YOU,
ME & FOREVER
Multi-Platinum
seller, recipient of multi-Grammy nominations, the NAACP Image Award and the
Soul Train Award, Smooth Jazz icon Najee has shared the stage with such greats
as Prince, Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Lionel Richie, and his beloved mentor,
George Duke. You, Me & Forever is the highly anticipated follow up to Najee
s much loved The Morning After which was #1 both on the Billboard chart and at
Smooth Jazz Radio. As the title implies, the album represents Najee s
exploration into the world of sensuality and romance, interspersed with some
fantastic spirited grooves that have made Najee a favorite the world over. Featuring
keyboard great Alex Bugnon and Kenny G s longtime collaborator and music
director Robert Damper, Najee explores such classics as Antonio Carlos Jobim s
Wave , Ambrosia s The Biggest Part of Me plus some great Najee originals. ~
Amazon
ALTON ELLIS –
SOUL TRAIN IS COMING
One of the
more obscure sides of work from the legendary Alton Ellis – but one of the best
as well! The set features some cuts issued by Alton on his own Ellis label –
and many of the numbers here feature the singer acting as a producer too – a
surprisingly strong side of his talents, as he's able to craft just the right
sort of laidback rocksteady grooves for his wonderfully soulful voice! Alton
never broke as big on an international scale as artists like Peter Tosh or
Jimmy Cliff – but hearing these tracks, you'll definitely feel the way in which
the paths Ellis took were clearly roads that allowed much bigger reggae grown
in years to come! Titles include "My Time Is The Right Time", "I
Love You Girl", "Again". "Dedication", "Baby
Talk", "Past Time", "Soul Train Is Coming", "Bam
Bye", "If I Had The Right", and "Big News". ~ Dusty Groove
JASON PALMER
– WONDALAND: JASON PALMER PLAYS JANELLE MONAE
The music of
Janelle Monae gets some really wonderful treatment here – served up in an
instrumental mode by trumpeter Jason Palmer – with a similar spirit to his
previous project based around the music of Minnie Riperton! The approach is
definitely jazz, but it's wonderful to hear Palmer and the group work some new
magic with these familiar vocal tunes – with a mode that relies heavily on
Fender Rhodes from Luke Marantz, whose spacey lines really help capture some of
Monae's energy, but redirected towards a jazz basis that's quickly picked up by
Palmer on trumpet, Godwin Louis on alto, Greg Duncan on guitar, Dan Carpel on
bass, and Lee Fish on drums. The whole thing's completely charming – not
gimmicky at all – and titles include "57821", "Sir
Greendown", "Neon Valley Street", "Wondaland",
"Say You'll Go", and "Oh Maker". ~ Dusty Groove
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