Late Sunday night/Early Monday morning highlights:
KDHX 88.1 FM
- White Christmas (Live)-Charlie Parker (I'm concerned about KDHX's future, but the one silver lining of repeating previous shows is getting a second chance to hear music I missed the first time. This is perhaps the peppiest version of "White Christmas" I've heard. It's an impressively improvised saxophone rendition, with a bit of "Jingle Bells" for good measure.)
WSIE 88.7 FM
- Fields Of Gold-Eva Cassidy (A strong, emotively sung version of one of Sting's most thoughtful hits.)
- A Little Moxie-Cindy Bradley (A steady, uptempo trumpet groove. If I programmed a smooth jazz station, I'd play Avenue Blue's "Stockholm" before this.)
KWMU 90.7 FM
- Avalon-Harry Connick, Jr. (According to the JazzWorks announcer, Connick is "showin' off a bit here" on the piano, but it gives the melody a fun kick. I also recommend John Pizzarelli's version.)
- These Foolish Things-Count Basie (With its elegant sentimentality, it's no wonder that so many artists have covered this tune. Lester Young's saxophone tone is particularly smooth on this rendition.)
KSHE 94.7 FM
- Reminiscing-Little River Band (Offhand, I think this might be the only song I've ever heard on KSHE and our former music-of-your-life station, WRTH 1430 AM. The lyrical references to happy memories of enjoying Glenn Miller and Cole Porter tunes with one's beloved make it a natural fit for both formats. Also, not every song can make nostalgia and looking ahead to a long, happy marriage sound equally appealing. The trumpet outro is one of my favorite endings to any pop hit.)
