If music was a family and I'm not saying it is or it isn't, slow jams could very well have cousins named smooth jazz, cool jazz and soul jazz as Uncle Jazz was very prolific, to say the least. Both the Slow Jams and Smooth Grooves brands issued jazz-oriented CD series. Actually, Smooth Grooves went to the well of jazz twice - first with their three disc Jazzy Soul series and then the follow-up three disc Smooth Jazz series. Below are the ten jazz oriented discs from both brands, in chronological order of release. Enjoy each album and then weigh in and sound off: Are they slow jams or jazz joints? Or both?
Slow Jams: On The Jazz Tip - Volume One
July 1, 1997
1:01:47
1. Sweet Love - Najee
2. Rising To The Top - Pieces Of A Dream
3. Rain Forest - Paul Hardcastle
4. I Just Wanna Stop - Angela Bofill
5. Jaco Two - Perri
6. Better Days - Dianne Reeves
7. I Am Your Melody - Norman Connors/Spencer Harrison
8. The Two Of Us - Ramsey Lewis & Nancy Wilson
9. So Many Tears - Regina Belle
10. Piano In The Dark - George Howard
11. So Easy - 101 North
12. The Best Is Yet To Come - Grover Washington Jr./Patti LaBelle
Slow Jams: On The Jazz Tip - Volume Two
July 1, 1997
57:28
1. Harlem River Drive - Bobbi Humphrey
2. In The Groove - Ronnie Laws
3. The Sweetest Pain - Dexter Wansel
4. Don't Let It Go To Your Head - Jean Carn
5. Be Careful (How You Treat My Love) - Phyllis Hyman
6. You Don't Have To Say You're Sorry - Patti Austin
7. Living Inside Your Love - Earl Klugh
8. Love Ballad - Gary Bartz
9. Everybody Loves The Sunshine - Roy Ayers
10. Dindi - Jon Lucien
11. Out Of The Blue - Caldera
12. Expansions - Lonnie Liston Smith
Slow Jams: On The Jazz Tip - Volume Three
May 19, 1998
1:12:221. The Answer Is You - Phyllis Hyman
2. Maiden Voyage - Herbie Hancock
3. The Sidewinder - Lee Morgan
4. Willow Weep For Me - Lou Rawls & Les McCann
5. Song For My Father - Horace Silver
6. Pieces Of A Man - Gil Scott-Heron
7. Rashida - Jon Lucien
8. Guess Who I Saw Today - Nancy Wilson
9. Ain't No Sunshine - Grover Washington, Jr.
10. From A Whisper To A Sceam - Esther Phillips
11. Bajabula Bonke (The Healing Song) - Hugh Masekela
Slow Jams: On The Jazz Tip - Volume Four
May 19, 1998
58:591. Moanin' - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
2. Cantaloupe Island - Herbie Hancock
3. Fancy Free - Donald Byrd
4. Listen Here - Eddie Harris
5. Can't Hide Love - Carmen McRae
6. Night Train - Jimmy Smith & Wes Montgomery
7. Grazing In The Grass - Hugh Masekela
8. My Love Has Butterfly Wings (Meu Amor Tem Asasa Borboleta) - John Klemmer
9. Country Preacher - The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Smooth Grooves: Jazzy Soul - Volume One
January 18, 2000
57:04
1. You Can't Stop The Rain - Loose Ends
2. Mornin' - Al Jarreau
3. Inside My Love - Minnie Riperton
4. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
5. Do You Get Enough Love - Shirley Jones
6. Golden Time Of Day - Maze
7. Remind Me - Patrice Rushen
8. Walking In Rhythm - The Blackbyrds
9. Betcha By Golly Wow - Norman Connors
10. Is It Love That We're Missin' - Quincy Jones
11. Send Me Your Love - Kashif
12. Imaginations - Miki Howard
Smooth Grooves: Jazzy Soul - Volume Two
January 18, 2000
1:11:041. Portuguese Love - Teena Marie
2. What You Won't do For Love - Bobby Caldwell
3. Better Days - Dianne Reeves
4. The Best Is Yet To Come - Grover Washington Jr./Patti LaBelle
5. Sweetest Pain - Loose Ends
6. Keep That Same Old Feeling - The Crusaders
7. Living All Alone - Phyllis Hyman
8. Summer Is The Coldest Time Of The Year - Patti Austin
9. The Third Eye - Roy Angers Ubiquity
10. Sun Goddess - Ramsey Lewis
11. Valentine Love - Michael Henderson
12. Whisper Softly - Kool & The Gang
Smooth Grooves: Jazzy Soul - Volume Three
January 18, 2000
1:07:07
1. Nights Over Egypt - The Jones Girls
2. So Many Tears - Regina Belle
3. Sweet Sticky Thing - Ohio Players
4. Making Love In The Rain - Herb Alpert
5. Song For You - Rodney Franklin
6. Can You Feel What I'm Saying? - Minnie Riperton
7. The Lady Wants To Know - Michael Franks
8. Every Generation - Ronnie Laws
9. I've Been A Fool For You - Miles Jaye
10. No One Else Will Do - Cheryl Lynn
11. Soft And Easy - The Blackbyrds
12. Good Combination - Peabo Bryson
Smooth Grooves: Smooth Jazz Volume One
April 25, 2000
1:01:411. Friends And Strangers - Ronnie Laws
2. The Lady In My Life - Stanley Jordan
3. Bali Run - Fourplay
4. Angela (Theme From 'Taxi') - Bob James
5. It's Almost Gone - Yellowjackets
6. Song For You - Rodney Franklin
7. Wanderlust - Mike Mainieri
8. Straight To The Heart - David Sanborn
9. Funk In A Mason Jar - Harvey Mason
10. May I Have This Dance? - Azymuth
11. Priscilla - Yellojackets
12. Twinkle - Earl Klugh
Smooth Grooves: Smooth Jazz Volume Two
April 25, 2000
1:09:071. Come Morning - Grover Washington, Jr.
2. Love Will Find A Way - George Howard
3. As We Speak - David Sanborn
4. Westchester Lady - Bob James
5. First Light Of Morning - Dexter Wansel
6. Old Town - Steps Ahead
7. Standing Tall - Crusaders
8. Touch - John Klemmer
9. Modern Times Blues - Jean-Luc Ponty
10. Countdown (Captain Fingers) - Lee Ritenour
11. Claire's Song - Yellowjackets
12. Sometimes Bubba Gets Down - Stuff
Smooth Grooves: Smooth Jazz Volume Three
April 25, 2000
1:02:311. Freetime - Spyro Gyra
2. Tokyo Blue - Najee
3. Give It All You Got - Chuck Mangione
4. Wizard Island - The Jeff Lorber Fusion
5. Water Children - Ray Haynes
6. One Wish - Hiroshima
7. Out Of The Blue - Caldera
8. Take It To The Sky - Billy Codham's Glass Menagerie
9. Let's Just Say Goodbye - David Sandborn
10. Theme From The Planets - Dexter Wansel
11. Now You Know - Steps Ahead
12. Rain Dancer - John Klemmer
Shortly before I began this post, one of the players passed on: Louis "Thunder Thumbs" Johnson, the bass playing brother in the Brothers Johnson. Play on, playa!
No comments:
Post a Comment