Known for his mariachi-inspired easy listening sound, trumpeter Herb Alpert is one of the most successful instrumental performers in pop history. He is also one of the entertainment industry's canniest businessmen, having co-founded A&M Records – a label that ranks among the most prosperous artist-owned companies ever established – with partner Jerry Moss. Collection includes: The Lonely Bull (1962); South Of The Border (1964); Whipped Cream & Other Delights (1965); !!Going Places!! (1965); What Now My Love (1966); S.R.O (1966); The Beat Of The Brass (1968); Rise (1979); Fandango (1982); Bullish (1984); Keep Your Eye On Me (1987); Classics, Volume 1 (1987); Steppin' Out (Featuring Lani Hall) (2013); In The Mood (2014); Come Fly With Me (2015).

Our Mann Flute (1966). Very groovy work from Herbie Mann - as you might guess from the image on the cover! The set's got a mod sort of 60s feel - hinted at by the title's reference to the Our Man Flint spy movies of the time - and Herbie keeps things tight and soulful throughout - serving up smoking solos over jazzy backings from Jimmy Wisner, Arif Mardin, Oliver Nelson, and Richard Wess. There's definitely a touch of the Atlantic Records soul instrumental sound at times - but we mean that in a great way, with a strong focus on the rhythms as much as the solos.
Impressions Of The Middle East (1967). In a way, this album's very similar to some of the best Verve "groovy experimental" albums from the same period - like some of Cal Tjader's Eastern/Latin work - and it features Herbie playing with a wide range of instrumentation that includes oud, zither, harp, and lots of eastern percussion…

Kenny G's music has always been pop-oriented, so a Greatest Hits collection serves him much better than it would if he were a straight jazz musician. The 17-track collection rounds up all of his pop Top 40 hits and many of his adult contemporary favorites, including "Songbird," "Don't Make Me Wait for Love," "Silhouette," "Forever in Love," "By the Time This Night Is Over," "How Could an Angel Break My Heart," and "Everytime I Close My Eyes." For collectors, there are a couple of non-LP tracks - his Sinatra duet "All the Way/One for My Baby" and "Theme from Dying Young" - plus the previously unreleased "Loving You," "Baby G," and the Michael Bolton duet "You Send Me." While the non-LP cuts are worthy inclusions, the new tracks are marginal and tend to weigh down the lengthy album. Nevertheless, all of Kenny G's hits are here, which makes it an ideal choice for casual fans.

Playing sideman to Rick Braun, Larry Carlton, Gato Barbieri, the Neville Brothers, and many others introduced guitarist/vocalist Steve Oliver to smooth jazz fans, but it was with Steve Reid's band that Oliver found a following. It was 1996 when Reid contacted Oliver at the last minute to fill in for a canceled opening act. Oliver hit the stage as a solo act and Reid was impressed with the guitarist's vocalese skills and summery sound. Oliver had come to vocalese not through King Pleasure or Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, but through Bobby McFerrin and Pat Metheny's work with Richard Bona and David Blamires, who sang along with guitar solos. Being a fan of the earthy Metheny sound, Reid hired Oliver after the gig and featured him in his touring band. Reid's Mysteries and Passion in Paradise albums featured Oliver not only as guitarist but songwriter as well. Oliver struck out on his own in 1999 with his debut, First View, released by Night Vision. The album spawned three hit singles on smooth jazz radio and earned the guitarist a Debut Artist of the Year award from Smooth Jazz News.

On 2012's The Absence, Melody Gardot made her first shift away from the jazz-tinged ballads that drew such heavy comparisons to Norah Jones and Madeleine Peyroux. Lushly orchestrated, it was chock-full of songs inspired by Brazilian, Latin, and French forms. On Currency of Man, Gardot takes on a rootsier sound, embracing West Coast soul, funk, gospel, and pop from the early '70s as the backdrop for these songs. It is not only different musically, but lyrically. This is a less "personal" record; its songs were deeply influenced by the people she encountered in L.A., many of them street denizens. She tells their stories and reflects on themes of social justice. It's wide angle. Produced by Larry Klein, the cast includes members of her band, crack session players - guitarist Dean Parks, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, Larry Goldings, the Waters Sisters, et al. - and strings and horns…

Just three weeks after the U.S. release of the Beatles' swan song, Abbey Road, Creed Taylor ushered George Benson into the studio to begin a remarkably successful pop-jazz translation of the record (complete with a parody of the famous cover, showing Benson with guitar crossing an Eastern urban street). It is a lyrical album, with a hint of the mystery and a lot of the cohesive concept of the Beatles' original despite the scrambled order of the tunes. Benson is given some room to stretch out on guitar, sometimes in a bluesy groove, and there are more samples of his honeyed vocals than ever before (oddly, his voice would not be heard again by record-buyers until he signed with Warner Bros.). Don Sebesky's arrangements roam freely from baroque strings to a full-throated big band, and Freddie Hubbard, Sonny Fortune, and Hubert Laws get some worthy solo space…

A talented and respected jazz trumpeter who achieved popular success with his melodic, uncluttered music.
Throughout the 1970s, Chuck Mangione was a celebrity. His purposely lightweight music was melodic pop that was upbeat, optimistic, and sometimes uplifting. Mangione's records were big sellers yet few of his fans from the era knew that his original goal was to be a bebopper. His father had often taken Chuck and his older brother Gap (a keyboardist) out to see jazz concerts, and Dizzy Gillespie was a family friend. While Chuck studied at the Eastman School, the two Mangiones co-led a bop quintet called the Jazz Brothers who recorded several albums for Jazzland, often with Sal Nistico on tenor. Chuck Mangione played with the big bands of Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson (both in 1965) and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1965-1967)…

Katie Melua's debut album, Call Off The Search, instantly established her as a remarkable new talent. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2023, the album showcased her unique vocal style, blending jazz, blues, and folk influences with contemporary pop sensibilities. The album was co-written and produced by Mike Batt, who played a crucial role in crafting the album's lush and sophisticated sound.
The central theme of Call Off The Search revolves around love and self-discovery, expressed through a collection of heartfelt and introspective songs, including lead single, ‘The Closest Thing to Crazy,’ which immediately captured audiences worldwide with its emotive delivery and captivating melody. Critics and listeners alike praised the album for its mature and soulful sound, especially considering Katie Melua was just 19 years old at the time of its release…

In his first album for Warner Bros., Vince Guaraldi serves up another delightful, though pitifully short (27 minutes) helping of his themes for the Peanuts TV specials. By this time, like several other pianists, Guaraldi was actively exploring the new sonic horizons offered by electronic keyboards, and so he superimposes layers of electric harpsichord on most of these tracks. Some of the old sardonic spontaneity goes over the side, replaced by an overloaded gee-whiz atmosphere that sometimes gets in the way of the quartet's willingness to swing. But the tunes are marvelous, and since so little of Guaraldi's vast Peanuts output was ever made available, every millisecond of these jazz waltzes, bossa novas and soulful ruminations on Charlie Brown's world becomes cherishable.