Thursday night standouts, heard through Spectrum's cable service:
Easy Listening
- A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square-John Wilson Orchestra (A lush, tasteful rendition. If you prefer it sung, check out The Manhattan Transfer's version.)
Jazz
- 'S Wonderful-Steve Turre (This Gershwin standard adapts more naturally to the trombone than I would have thought.)
- Bebo-Chucho Valdes (A great celebration-of-life showcase for piano, trumpet, saxophone, and percussion.)
Light Classical
- Frederic Chopin: Prelude in C minor, Op. 28, No. 20 (Marian Pivka, piano) (One of the most famous melancholy Classical melodies; some listeners might not know it by name, but they've almost certainly heard it.)
- Alexander Scriabin: Nocturne For The Left Hand, Op. 9, No. 2 (Danielle Loriano, piano) (This piece segues well with the Chopin prelude reviewed above. When you play them back to back, the stark bleakness of Chopin's renowned melody gives way to Scriabin's serious melody, which offers glimmers of hope.)
R&B Soul
- BRB-Mahalia (For radio stations with Quiet Storm shows or formats that focus on more recent music, this should fit your playlist--lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally.)
Solid Gold Oldies
- Kind Of A Drag-The Buckinghams (In just two minutes and change, The Buckinghams convey how much an inevitable breakup hurts--without sounding overwrought. Keeping the vocals matter-of-fact with whirling organ accompaniment made this a 1967 chart-topper.)
Sounds Of The Seasons
- Halloween Theme-John Carpenter (Gripping underscoring for an escape; a "Twilight Show"-style theme for the modern era.)
