These last few months have flown by and I can’t believe looking back how quickly time has passed since the station launched back in October 2008 and we released the first CD in this series.

This particular collection is the third on Jazz FM records since our return.

It follows in the footsteps of our first ‘Sound of…’ album and more recently the hugely successful ‘Dinner Jazz’ compilation which was so beautifully crafted by Sarah Ward.

The music featured on The Sound of Jazz FM 2009 vol. 1 is a representation of the sound Jazz FM and we have tried to make it as eclectic as possible so that it catches both the spirit and the essence of our radio station.

You will hear the amazing ‘jazzy rhythms (as Robbie Vincent would say)’ of the much sought after Italian artist; Mario Biondi with ‘This is What You Are’ a track that was first played to me by Jazz FM’s very own Peter Young, plus George Duke’s ‘Sausalito’ and Roy Ayers’ funky ‘In The Dark’.

To give a taste of Steve Quirk’s favourite ‘smooth jazz melodies’ we have Jeff Lorber, Pieces of a Dream, Kenny G, Kevin Whalum singing about Frankie Beverly and Stevie Wonder and new music from Heston James Day and Eric Darius with ‘If I Ain’t Got You’.

The CD also features Darren Rhan’s cover version of Chaka Khan’s ‘What’cha Gonna Do For Me’, a track featured on the first ‘Sound of Jazz FM’ CD. The piece features the recently and sadly departed bassist Wayman Tisdale.

You read Steve Quirk’s moving tribute to ‘Big Tis’, complete with a heartfelt tribute from Bass Legend Nathan East by following this link: www.jazzfm.com/shows/steve-quirk/steve-quirk-blog/wayman-tisdale

The album has Gil Scott Heron song’s featuring twice. Firstly; you can hear the very soulful and funky Esther Phillips with her version of the song ‘Home Is Where the Hatred Is’ and then Maysa’s very original take on ‘The Bottle’, which is definitely worth checking out. If you’ve not heard it, it will surprise you when you do. It’s the perfect way to cover a song.

Bobby Lyle’s amazing cover version of Anita Baker’s ‘Been So Long’ is just fantastic (who better to cover the song than the man who has played the piano on this track so many times ‘live’ while accompanying Anita Baker as her musical director on tour?).

Also featured is Bob Baldwin’s jazzy piano re-take on the Jocelyn Brown classic ‘Somebody Else’s Guy’ which features Jocelyn re-singing the song bringing a 2008/9 freshness to this timeless tune.

Make sure you also check out the pre Freddie Jackson incarnation of Mystic Merlin and the amazing ‘Just Can’t Give You Up’.  What a song and so many memories.  Another of the stand out tracks for me is from 1980. The beautiful Ronnie Laws vocal ‘Every Generation’ does it everytime I hear it.

When you put all of these songs together and then add Frank McComb, Crusader; Joe Sample, Earth, Wind and Fire, The Isley Brothers and Tom Browne, then, add Jazz and Funk legends Ramsey Lewis, Lonnie Liston Smith and Donald Byrd into the mix you have a true reflection of ‘The Sound of Jazz FM 2009’.

Ralph Tee, Steve Quirk and I have had great fun compiling this collection for you, although we are all saddened by the loss of Wayman Tisdale.

We are already planning the next one too as there was simply no more room left on this one to fit all our choices on!

Enjoy ‘The Sound of Jazz FM 2009 vol. 1’!

Mike Vitti

Programme Director – Jazz FM

You can buy the CD at the Jazz FM Shop here.

Here is the full tracklisting:

CD ONE

1) Can’t Hide Love by Earth Wind & Fire (4:10) / (Skip Scarborough) / Warner Chappell North America / Produced by Maurice White & Charles Stepney / (P) 1975 Sony Music Entertainment Inc, licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Gratitude”

2) Distant Lover by Heston (6:05) / (Heston Francis/Takayuki Nakazawa) / World Soul Music / Produced by Heston Francis / (P) 2008 Worldsoul Music, licensed courtesy of Dome Records / Originally taken from the album “Storyteller”

3) You Got Something by Jeff Lorber (4:16) / (Rex Rideout/Jeff Lorber/Phillip “Taj” Jackson) EMI Music Publishing Ltd/Notting Hill Music (UK) Ltd/Kobalt Publishing Ltd / Produced by Rex Rideout & Jeff Lorber / (P) 2008 Concord Music Group, Inc. / Originally taken from the album “Heard That”

4) WonderMaze by Kevin Whalum (4:18) / (Kevin Whalum/Rex Rideout) / DoBizness1st Music (ASCAP)/Uncle Buddie’s Music (ASCAP) / Produced by Rex Rideout / (P) 2008 TwinMusic Enterprises LLC / Originally taken from the album “One Life To Love”

5) Sausalito by George Duke (6:16) /(George Duke) Universal/MCA Music Ltd / Produced by George Duke / (P) 2005 BPM Records, licensed courtesy of Dome Records / Originally taken from the album “Duke”

6) Somebody Else’s Guy by Bob Baldwin featuring Jocelyn Brown (4:42) / (Jocelyn Brown/Annette Brown) EMI Music Publishing Ltd / Produced by Bob Baldwin. Co-Produced by Dennis Johnson / (P) 2008 NuGroove Music, LLC / Originally taken from the album “NuUrbanJazz.Com”

7) Fiesta Loca by Kenny G (4:10) / (Kenny G/Walter Afanasieff) / Sony ATV Tunes / Produced by Walter Afanasieff & Kenny G / (P) 2008 Kenny G, under license to Concord Music Group Inc / Originally taken from the album “Rhythm & Romance”

8) The Bottle by Maysa (7:31) / (Gil Scott-Heron) / Castle Music Ltd / Produced by J-P Maunick, S. Cotsworth & S. Oakenfull / (P) 1999 Rice Records, licensed courtesy of Expansion Records / Originally taken from the album “All My Life”

9) Shine by Frank McComb (7:01) / (Steve Harvey/Frank McComb) EP Music Ltd/Chrysalis Music Ltd / Produced by Steve ‘The Scotsman’ Harvey / (P) 2003 The Malibu Sessions Inc, licensed courtesy of Expansion Records / Originally taken from the album “The Malibu Sessions” Vol.1

10) Just Can’t Give You Up by Mystic Merlin (7:02) / (Clyde Bullard/Leslie Alleyne Dorsey) Carlin Music Corp / Produced by Charles Kipps / (P) 1979 Capitol Records, Inc, licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Mystic Merlin”

11) Seven Years of Good Luck by Joe Sample (5:12) / (Marcus Miller) Universal/MCA Music Ltd / Produced by Tommy LiPuma / (P) 1989 WEA International Inc, licensed courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Spellbound”

12)  Think Twice by Donald Byrd (6:12) / (Sigidi Bashir Abdullah/Bradley Ridgell/Jason Mizell) Universal Music Publishing Ltd / Produced by Larry Mizell & Fonce Mizell / (P) 1975 Blue Note Records Inc, licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Stepping Into Tomorrow”

13) Warm Weather by Pieces of A Dream (4:07) / (Dexter Wansel/Cynthia Biggs) Warner/Chappell North America / Produced by Grover Washington Jr / (P) 1981 WEA International, Inc., licensed courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Pieces Of A Dream”

14) This Is What You Are by Mario Biondi (7:11) /(Alessandro Magnanini/Mario Ranno) / Primrose Music Publishing Ltd / Produced by Luciano Cantone / (P) 2006 Edizioni Ishtar SNC / Originally taken from the album “Handful of Soul”

CD TWO

1) For The Love Of You by The Isley Brothers (5:38) / (Ronald Isley/Rudolph Isley/O Kelly Isley/Ernest Isley/Christopher Jasper) / EMI Songs Ltd / Produced by The Isley Brothers & Bruce Dickinson / (P) 1975 Sony BMG Music Entertainment, licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “The Heat Is On”

2) Fly Me To The Moon by Jimmy Sommers (3:13) / (Bart Howard) Tro Essex Music Ltd / Produced by Jeff Carruthers & Jimmy Sommers / (P) 2009 NuGroove Music, LLC / Originally taken from the album “Time Stands Still”

3) Quiet Time by Regina Belle (5:09) / (Steven Grissette/Timothy Gant/Tyrone Dickerson/Silvia Grissette) / T.A.G. Art Music/Copyright Control/Warner/Chappell North America / Produced by Nick Martinelli / (P) 1993 Sony Music Entertainment Inc

4) If I Ain’t Got You by Eric Darius (3:37) / (John R. Stephens/Alicia Keys/Kanye West) Copyright Control/EMI Songs Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd / Produced by Paul Brown / (P) 2006 Narada Productions, licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Just Getting Started”

5) Speak Love by James Day (3:42) / (James Day/Dow Brain/Brad Young) Daylight Saving Tunes (ASCAP)/Big Underground Music (ASCAP) / Produced by James Day, Dow Brain & Brad Young / (P) 2009 Expansion Records / Originally taken from the album “Natural Things”

6) What’Cha Gonna Do For Me by Darren Rahn featuring Wayman Tisdale (4:07) / (Hamish Stuart/Ned Doheny) / Campbell Connelly & Co Ltd/Universal/MCA Music Ltd / Produced by Darren Rahn / (P) 2009 NuGroove Music, LLC / Originally taken from the album “Talk of The Town”

7) Been So Long by Bobby Lyle (5:31) / (Anita Baker) / All Bakers Music (BMI) / Produced by Bobby Lyle for Genie Productions / (P) 1989 WEA International, Inc, licensed courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Ivory Dreams”

8) Brighter Tomorrow by Tom Browne (6:15) / (Clifford Branch) Imagem Music / Produced by Dave Grusin & Larry Rosen / (P) 1983 Arista Records LLC, licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Rockin’ Radio”

9) Every Generation by Ronnie Laws (5:52) / (Ronnie Laws) / Carlin Music Corp / Produced by Ronnie Laws. Assistant Producer: William Jeffrey / (P) 1980 Blue Note Records Inc, licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Every Generation”

10) Quiet Moments by Lonnie Liston Smith (3:54) / (Lonnie Liston Smith) Universal/MCA Music Ltd / Produced by Bert deCoteaux & Lonnie Liston Smith / (P) 1978 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc., licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “Exotic Mysteries”

11) Long After U Have Gone by Lalah Hathaway (4:33) / (Lalah Hathaway/David Delhomme) / Imagem Music / Produced by David Delhomme & Lalah Hathaway / (P) 1994 Virgin Records America Inc, licensed courtesy of EMI Records Ltd / Originally taken from the album “A Moment”

12) Home Is Where The Hatred Is by Esther Phillips (3:26) / (Gil Scott-Heron) Carlin Music Corp / Produced by Creed Taylor / (P) 1972 Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Inc, licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “From A Whisper To A Scream”

13) In The Dark by Roy Ayers (5:57) / (Roy Ayers/David Sparely/James Bedford Jar) Southfield Music Ltd/Copyright Control/Screen Gems-EMI Music Ltd/Warner/Chappell North America / Produced by Roy Ayers & Stanley Clarke / (P) 1984 Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Inc, licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “In The Dark”

14) Never Want to Say Goodnight by Ramsey Lewis with Nancy Wilson (3:07) / (R. Bruno/F. Golden/Schwartz) Warner/Chappell North America / Produced by Stanley Clarke / (P) 1984 Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Inc, licensed courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd / Originally taken from the album “The Two Of Us”