Seven of the better selections I heard last night:
KSJZ (Monterey Bay, CA)
- High Tide-Stephanie Sante (This uptempo electronica/new age/smooth jazz instrumental pulls off the neat trick of sounding simultaneously relaxing and foreboding.)
- Breezin'-Il Santo (This is not a cover of the great guitar instrumental that George Benson made famous. It does, however, have a warm, uptempo blend of vocals and guitar in bossa nova style; it's an ideal late night track for a lounge music station.)
KUAF-HD2 (Fayetteville, AR)
- Rebecca Clarke: Lullaby (Helen Callus, viola) (Rather melancholy for a lullaby, but that doesn't make the piece any less captivating.)
- George Gershwin: Lullaby (St. Louis Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin, conductor) (The strings capture the piece's beauty and delicacy. That's no surprise, coming from this ensemble.)
- Claude Debussy: La plus que lente (As Slowly As Possible) (Javier Perianes, piano) (A warm, lyrical introduction gives way to alternating displays of force and grace.)
WPVM (Asheville, NC)
- Crazy-Willie Nelson (I've praised various cover versions of this on this blog, so it's time I praised the most famous version's sincere vocals and the piano backing that brings Floyd Cramer's music to mind.)
WSGE (Dallas, NC)
- Stop Lying-Jackie Wilson (A lyrically direct way of saying, "Look, you're being cheated on. Why not pursue me instead?" I'm surprised this wasn't a hit. "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations would segue well after this.)
