Six standout selections heard this morning:
KMHD (Gresham, OR)
- All Together-Novi Singers (I had fun trying to guess the year of this release. It's from 1970, which is only about three or four years later than I would have thought. This is how The Free Design might have sounded with jazzier backing. This track is an interesting blend of Herbie Mann and Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 influences.)
- Is Magic Gone?-FKJ (Captivating genre-crossing piano and prominent bass in this laid-back groove. The technical wizardry on the vocals, resulting in multiple bent notes, got my attention.)
WCRI (Block Island, RI)
- Paul de Schlozer: Etude in A-flat major, #2 (Jorge Bolet, piano) (With such fast, demanding arpeggios, I hear why advanced piano students would warm up with this piece. Also recommended: Eileen Joyce's rendition; her dazzling dexterity illustrates how you master this piece.)
- Alexander Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D major: III. Notturno (Nocturne): (St. Louis Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Slatkin, conductor) (Movingly lyrical, regardless of which instrument one plays in the quartet.)
WEXT (Amsterdam, NY)
- How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?-Al Green (Best known to most listeners in its original Bee Gees incarnation, this version gets less radio airplay than it deserves. Green's version is impressively emotive and expansive while staying true to the original version's spirit.)
- Thank You-Bonnie Raitt (Excellent bluesy, soulful, and heartfelt vocals from early in Raitt's career; the keyboard, guitar, and flute arrangements sound like 1971 in the best sense.)
