Six Sunday standouts:
KJHK (Lawrence, KS)
- Ifyoucall-Parcels (This track, released in September, sports one of 2025's catchier rhythms, a strong guitar hook, solid vocals, and a '70s dance influence. The vocals and instrumentation pull off the tricky-to-navigate task of sounding contemporary yet old school. Lyrically, this is as sound a way as any to remind someone, "I'm the cavalry.")
KKJZ (Long Beach, CA)
- You Go To My Head-Art Pepper (This much-covered jazz standard is a natural fit for a saxophone-and-elegant-piano arrangement.)
KPTZ (Port Townsend, WA)
- Talassa-Rail Band (Spirited, upbeat vocals and instrumentation from Mali.)
WMED-HD2 (Calais, ME)
- Gerald Near: O sacrum convivium (Gloriae Dei Cantores/Elizabeth C. Patterson, conductor) (A motet celebrating the Eucharist, sung with convincing conviction. The long fade on the last organ note allows the reverence to sink in.)
WMUA (Amherst, MA)
- Now I'm In It-Haim (It amused me to see that my cat, Collette, finds this tune as rhythmically appealing as I do; she kneaded her paws in time to it, giving it the ultimate feline seal of approval.)
WXOU (Auburn Hills, MI)
- One Flight Down-Norah Jones (One of many examples that made Jones's "Come Away With Me" CD such a big seller. Jones sells this, as well as all other tracks on that album, convincingly with her vocals and piano prowess. "Shoot The Moon" has a similar vibe.)
