Start Your Weekend Right With 5 Great Smooth Jazz Tunes

I guess I have pretty varied tastes in music. I’ll listen to some Brooks & Dunn, then in the next hour, it might be Dvorak — or Frank Zappa. But this week I was on something of a soft jazz kick, with such performers as Burt Bacharach. Speaking of that worthy, there is actually a family connection; if you listen to any of Burt’s tunes from about 1960 to 1975 or so, the butter-smooth saxophone notes you hear were played by the guy who was married to my Mom’s cousin.

Sadly, as happens to so many in show business, this guy (I won’t name him) descended into alcoholism, went from playing the sax in Burt Bacharach’s band to selling stereo equipment at K-Mart, and eventually died of liver failure. It’s sad, how show business seems to have that effect on people; it seems some folks just can’t handle fame.

Anyway. I’m no authority on what constitutes smooth jazz, although I think these do, and either way, they are worth listening to.

1) Tom Jones: I’ll Never Fall in Love Again. Tom Jones is a wonder; a powerful voice that just drips emotion, enormous charisma, and a great stage presence — and unlike my mother’s cousin’s husband, he is still kicking at 84 years old. He’s best known for more rollicking tunes like “She’s a Lady,” and “What’s New Pussycat,” but this tune, from the Dusty Springfield show, is a good one.

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2) Gladys Knight and the Pips: Midnight Train to Georgia. This is Gladys Knight’s signature piece, and her voice and the accompaniment in this piece do it full justice. Many have covered this tune, including the immortal Ray Charles, but I like Gladys Knight and the Pips’ version best.

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3) Herb Alpert: This Guy’s In Love With You. Herb Alpert is best known for his time with the Tijuana Brass; my sisters had several of their albums, and I remember listening to them on my parents’ big console hi-fi. They had a neat, peppy sound, but it seems too many people don’t know that Herb Alpert did solo work, too.

 4) Dionne Warwick: Walk on By.  Dionne Warwick has a voice for the ages. Listening to her is like listening to the voice of an angel; deep and rich, flawless, and beautiful, just like Dionne herself. “Walk on By” is, again, a song that has been covered a lot, but nobody has ever topped the original.

5) Burt Bacharach: What The World Needs Now Is Love. And finally, the great Burt Bacharach — with the aforementioned guy who was married to my mom’s cousin on sax. While Burt Bacharach did so many great songs that it’s hard to choose among them, I picked this one for a reason. With all the unpleasantness in the world today, with wars, and political acrimony, people protesting everything under the sun, it seems like we’re all angry and shouting at each other far too much of the time. Maybe Burt is right; maybe what the world needs now is love, sweet love.

If only it were that easy. Still, great tune, nonetheless.

 When I was a teenager, we used to rely on jazz to prove to girls how sophisticated we were; I had a few cassette tapes with some Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Burt Bacharach, and so on in my car, to help with that hopeless task of convincing teenaged girls that I was some kind of worldly sophisticate instead of a ragged-arsed country boy in a black t-shirt and tattered jeans. But today, while I have no such worries — my wife is perfectly happy with my being a ragged-arsed old country man in a black t-shirt and tattered jeans — I still enjoy the music all the same.

Have you any preferences or suggestions? The comments are yours!