This Is Jazz, Vol. 2 isn't an ideal overview of Chet Baker's seminal Columbia recordings, but it isn't bad, either. Many of the featured 16 songs are among Baker's very best, giving novices a good idea of the sound, style, and depth of his music, even if it doesn't provide an ideal context. Nevertheless, This Is Jazz doesn't intend to provide context, which will undoubtedly frustrate collectors and jazz purists. However, it does succeed in offering an affordable sampler of his classic Columbia recordings for curious listeners – and it succeeds quite well in that regard.

GRP release "When Summer Comes" is one of the most successful albums of George,confirming his place among the most popular contemporary jazz performers of the '90s.

The old Rit is back! His smiling, swaggering guitar-playing alter ego has resurfaced, and he's invited all his friends over for a tumultuous jam, including George Duke, Marcus Miller, and Peter Erskine. Red-hot organist Joey DeFrancesco brings the Wes Montgomery out of Ritenour on the corner of "78th & 3rd," and a killer overhaul of Dave Grusin's movie theme "Three Days of the Condor," re-titled "Condor," is a reminder that Rit was kicking the smooth jazz before they had a name for it.

With a several decade career as an artist and producer successfully spanning the realms of bebop, fusion, soul, and funk, nothing gives George Duke more pleasure than being able to go back to his basics as an acoustic jazz pianist on his smooth, multifaceted Warner Bros. debut, Snapshot. The keyboardist takes listeners on a whimsical, generally cool journey through the myriad styles he's purveyed over the years: Latin, pop, R&B, and live-in-the-studio jazz. Snapshot seems divided by Duke's pop sensibilities and these urges to simplify those electronic trappings.

Phil Sheeran proclaims himself a "fingerstyle guitarist" in the liner notes to Orchid, and he gives those agile digits quite a workout even on the more low-key tunes which reflect his intention to create a mood recording. With Sheeran, there is always more than meets the eye - just as he eases our expectations into complacency with gentle declarations like "In My Heart" (on which he and flutist Brandon Fields tease each other back and forth over a swaying percussion groove), he heads for the tropics or does the B.B. King thing ("She Likes the Blues"), all to explosive effect. "Sacred Ground" combines the island panning of Andy Narell, the Native American bamboo flute musings of Richard Warner and Sheeran's own darker acoustic guitar tones - all over Harvey Mason's slick rhythmic pockets. Then "Jungle" finds Sheeran at a unique crossroads - his guitar is gentle but Eric Marienthal's alto fires up over a mix of live Mason and spunky hip-hop machinery.

The Best of Michael Franks: A Backward Glance is a good 15-track collection that is equally divided between soft rock like "Popsicle Toes" and smooth jazz. Any curious listener looking for a one-stop introduction to Franks would be well served with this collection. Among the highlights are "The Lady Wants to Know," "Antonio's Song," "When the Cookie Jar Is Empty," "Tiger in the Rain," "Baseball," "Your Secret's Safe with Me," "When I Give My Love to You," "The Art of Love," "Soul Mate," and "Hourglass".

Dave Valentin at the perfect point in his career – coming off some great initial work on the New York Latin scene, and some key time in the studios – really finding his voice as a leader, with all the best elements of his previous work firmly intact! Dave mixes Latin elements with the soulful fusion sound of the GRP label right in their great early, pre-commercial years – and he gets help here form labelmates Dave Grusin and Bobby Broom, plus Marcus Miller – who all join Dave's combo with a sound that's way hipper than the GRP groove of the smooth fusion years. There's some female chorus vocals at a few points, but also loads of great solo work on flute from Dave – and arrangements are by Valentin, Dave Grusin, and Oscar Hernandez. Titles include "Pied Piper", "Los Altos", "Shamballa", "Dragon Fly", "This Time", and "Seven Stars". CD features bonus 7" mixes of "Pied Piper" and "Shamballa".

SoulMusic Records is very proud to present “Sacred Kind Of Love: The Columbia Recordings,” a 5-disc deluxe box set of six stellar albums, spanning nine years (1987-1996) by legendary saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., justifiably considered an influential pioneer in fusing jazz, soul, R&B and pop and bringing his distinctive sound to mainstream audiences globally.

One of smooth jazz's brightest young keyboardists seems to be caught in the same marketing trap as his contemporaries – aiming to please radio programmers first, and waiting till very late in the running order of the disc to challenge himself – and listeners who have many other new and similarly likeable keyboard releases to choose from. When he finally blows his lid on Secrets and goes for broke, it's a joyous affair, as the eight-minute closing track "At the Backroom" finds Brian Culbertson jamming hardcore blues/funk and bouncing off the inspirations of older cats like Jeff Golub (guitar) and Ricky Peterson (wicked on the Hammond B-3).