Norah Jones – Come Away with Me (2002)

May 01, 2009
by Mr. Nau

Norah Jones makes a beautiful debut in this collection of soulful pop tunes, deeply steeped in country and jazz influence. Norah’s voice is gorgeous, mellow, and introspective. She’s backed up by an amazing band and, with solid arranging, this album heralds an amazing talent to keep an eye out [...]

Sonny Stitt – The Good Life (1980)

Apr 29, 2009
by Mr. Nau

Sonny Stitt picks up the tenor saxophone on this fun set of standards. His hard bop playing is magnificent and the intricacy of his solo work shows an obsessed devotion to his own development. Hank Jones, George Duvivier, and Grady Tate (who sings on some tracks) lend rhythm section [...]

Dizzy Gillespie – Dizzy Gillespie Jam: Montreux 77 (1992)

Apr 28, 2009
by Mr. Nau

Dizzy Gillespie helms this rare live set from the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival, sharing the stage with the likes of Jon Faddis and Milt Jackson — not to mention a rhythm section full of legends. The music here is classic bebop, with Diz, Faddis, and Jackson riffing off each other [...]

Various Artists – Es Vive Ibiza 2007 (2007)

Apr 28, 2009
by Mr. Nau

This huge triple CD set from Fierce Panda features three continuously mixes totalling forty delectable house cuts. The first CD, Poolside, warms us up with soulful deep house. Disk 2, Evening, picks up the tempo with smouldering dancefloor anthems. The last, Afterhours, takes us to the afterparty with [...]

Blue Six – Aquarian Angel (2007)

Apr 27, 2009
by Mr. Nau

The sophomore album by Blue Six is a nice, laid-back collection of jazzy house tracks, like Beautiful Tomorrow. This time out, though, there aren’t any big club anthems. Most of the music here pushes into downtempo territory, but it’s all very relaxed and well-crafted by producer, Jay Denes.

Grade: B.

AllMusic: [...]

Take 6 – The Standard (2008)

Apr 24, 2009
by Mr. Nau

Take 6 has owned vocal jazz outright for more than two decades. They approach a set of standards on this album in their unique style and feature special guests to help them out — giants like George Benson, Al Jarreau, Jon Hendricks, Ella Fitzgerald, Aaron Neville, Roy Hargrove, and Brian [...]

DJ Sake1 – Fania Live 03 (2008)

Apr 24, 2009
by Mr. Nau

In this mix set of rereleased Fania Latin soul singles, DJ Sake1 throws down a wonderful set of funky tropical grooves and jazzy soul, full of well-known names. The music here is accompanied by samples of lectures about the origins of Afro-Caribbean music, blended in with great effect.

Grade: A.

AllMusic: DJ [...]

DJ Rumor – Fania Live 01 (2007)

Apr 23, 2009
by Mr. Nau

DJ Rumor mixes up twenty tracks of blistering Latin soul grooves and tropical funk in this wonderful compilation of tracks from the 60s and 70s. With heavyweight names like Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Eddie Palmieri, and Ray Barretto, this jazzy set delivers a very satisfying, and remarkably unique, musical experience.

Grade: [...]

Soul II Soul – Volume III: Just Right (1992)

Mar 31, 2009
by Mr. Nau

Soul II Soul’s third album is a decent collection of laid-back funky jazz-influenced soul tracks. A few of these songs are instrumentals, but they’re all well-written, although this disk didn’t get much attention when it came out. Joy, Take Me Higher, and Move Me No Mountain shine.

Grade: B-.

AllMusic: Soul [...]

Soul II Soul – Vol II: 1990 – A New Decade (1990)

Mar 31, 2009
by Mr. Nau

Soul II Soul’s sophomore album did not feature big anthems like their debut, but it still delivers forty minutes of funky, jazzy soul grooves. The songwriting is tight here and this laid-back disk delivers a great set of tracks. Get a Life, People, and Missing You steal the show.

Grade: [...]

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