A cross-cultural success

When I listen to Celtic music on or before St. Patrick's Day each year, "Fancy Waistcoat" by Niamh Parsons & The Loose Connections always makes my playlist.  Parsons sings it with the right amount of carefree joy, which is partially why it works so well.  The other essential ingredient is its blend of Celtic and Spanish styles.  Not every Celtic tune can pull off such catchy guitar, keyboard, and accordion backing.

I'm still looking for the right tarantella to segue with it, but until I find it, I'm content to hear "Fancy Waistcoat" as a standalone tune. 

Online radio sampler highlights CCXCIII

Seven standout tunes heard today:

KUPR (Placitas, NM)

• Cafe-Eddie Palmieri (Midtempo vocals, brass, and piano that could segue with various jazz renditions of "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.")

KXLL (Juneau, AK)

• Raindrop Radio-Emily Wong (A relaxed piano groove set against a modern electronica backdrop with rain.)

WLUR (Lexington, VA)

• On A Bus To St. Cloud-Trisha Yearwood (The sentiments about which Yearwood sings tastefully here remind me of John Gorka's "I Saw A Stranger With Your Hair.")
• When You Say Nothing At All-Alison Krauss & Union Station (A perceptive tribute to the extent which nonverbal aspects matter in a relationship.)

WNMC (Traverse City, MI)

• See You Again-Rosie Flores & The Talismen (Earnestly sung heart-on-sleeve sentiments.)
• Bat Yam-Les McCann (This strong piano-anchored instrumental sports a solid, unhurried hook and plenty of room for the lead instruments to shine.  This is an ideal track for a late night slow dance jazz playlist.) 

WVEW (Brattleboro, VT) 

• Bumpin' On Sunset-Wes Montgomery (This sly, expansive instrumental is one of the best known jazz guitar melodies.  Brian Auger's Oblivion Express recorded a strong cover of it.) 

Segue suggestion XI

After iTunes shuffle mode insisted on playing "Carinval In Rio" by Judy Roberts for me twice in two days, it dawned on me how well it would segue with Average White Band's "Atlantic Avenue."  Both tunes feature vocalists singing about how pleasant the vacation destination of Rio de Janeiro is in a celebratory way without sounding too over-the-top.

I've never heard any radio station play either of these songs, so hopefully, this suggestion will nudge at least one noncommerical station programmer in the right direction.

FM dial scan highlights CCXCIX

Five selections that captured my attention today:

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Still Never Enough-Lisa Addeo (Bouncy smooth jazz piano with appealing saxophone punctuation.)
• Doodlin'-Horace Silver (One of the most memorable jazz hooks, with excellent synergy between Silver's piano playing and the rest of the ensemble.  Also recommended: Ray Charles's version.)

KCLC 89.1 FM

• Minor Inconveniences-Bebe Stockwell (This is about as universally relatable as song lyrics get.  Who doesn't experience irritants that are relatively trivial but vexing in the moment?)

KCFV 89.5 FM

• Cold Heart-Dua Lipa & Elton John (When hearing John's "Rocket Man" and "Sacrifice" in their original incarnations, I didn't imagine that they'd merge in a dance mashup decades later.  This reworking puts a fresh, modern sheen on both tunes.)

K297BI 107.3 FM, a.k.a. WFUN-HD2

• Manuel de Falla: Nights In The Gardens Of Spain: I. En el Generalife (Orchestra de Paris/Daniel Barenboim, conductor; Martha Argerich, piano) (The strings, in particular, capture the tense, mysterious nature of this first movement.)

An overlooked cover tune CLXXXIX

After hearing Emily Scott Robinson's movingly sung "The Time For Flowers" on Community Radio St. Louis's "Backroads" show yesterday, I sought out other clips from her "Appalachia" recording.  One standout track from her January release, in addition to "...Flowers," is her cover of the traditional folk tune, "The Water Is Wide."  

Mary Black and Niamh Parsons sing two of my favorite versions of "...Water...," but I have yet to hear a subpar rendition.  Duncan Wickel and Robinson blend well vocally, and their subtle guitar and violin shadings enhance the melody appropriately.  Lyrically, the tune is idealistic and bittersweet--qualities readily apparent in Robinson's and Wickel's vocals. 

I'm not surprised that "The Water Is Wide" has survived in so many incarnations for centuries.  Its lyrics are universally relatable and timeless, and instrumentally, the melody is too heartfelt to be denied.

An overlooked cover tune CLXXXVIII

This will alienate a certain percentage of readers, but I don't care for most of Elvis Presley's music.  Three exceptions to this, however, are "Kentucky Rain," "Don't Be Cruel," and "Suspicious Minds."

Thanks to Community Radio St. Louis's show, "Backroads," I learned how well "Suspicious Minds" works as a guitar instrumental.  DJ Stacy began this morning's show with Laurence Juber's rendition, which stands up with his interpretation of Del Shannon's "Runaway." 

It doesn't surprise me that Juber captures the melody successfully on the guitar, as I've heard his graceful covers of everything from "The Tea Kettle Waltz" to various Christmas carols. 

It's said that there are Elvis people and Beatles people.  I am and always will be a Beatles person.  Nevertheless, I can still acknowledge a respectable song by an artist I mostly dislike--and a strong cover of such a song, as well.

On second thought... III

After hearing all the free associating Annie Lennox does at the end of the song, "Why," KNJZ's program director made the right call in asking DJs to fade out of the song early.  I used to be somewhat ambivalent about that, thinking that if we're going to play a song on the air, it ought to be played in its entirety.  While grocery shopping this morning, however, and hearing the "These are the contents of my head..." outro of "Why," I thought, "Yep, fading out before the end was the right call...Besides, KNJZ was a smooth jazz station, and 'Why' isn't a smooth jazz tune in the first place."