This morning's noteworthy tunes:
'40s Junction
- Idaho-Ray Anthony (All brass and wind players on this recording should be proud of how effectively they swing the rhythm here.)
Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals
- Sunshine Falling-Lance Allen (A happy-go-lucky rhythm fit for skipping.)
Carolina Shag Radio
- The Entertainer-Tony Clarke (With its engaging rhythm and lyrics that sound like a prototype of "The Tears Of A Clown" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, this should have been a bigger hit in 1965. Lyrically, this has a readily apparent "show must go on, regardless of how you feel" vibe.)
Chucho's Cuba & Beyond
- Solar-Chucho Valdes (This piano-anchored version of a tune best known in its Miles Davis incarnation allows for plenty of dazzling piano and saxophone improvisation.)
Lo-Fi Sleep
- Twilight-Kupla (An interesting blend of new age piano with a hip-hop backbeat.)
North Americana
- Devil That You Know-Emma Elena Grace (Lyrically and rhythmically, this vocals-and-acoustic-guitar tune could segue with Michael Penn's "Me Around.")
Watercolors
- Desafinado (Slightly Out Of Tune)-Karrin Allyson (Scores of artists have covered this Antonio Carlos Jobim-Newton Mendonca tune. Allyson's version is a commendable one, with inviting vibraphone and vocals.)
Yacht Country
- Jackie Blue-Ozark Mountain Daredevils (This is actually soft rock, not yacht country, to be clear. I've always thought this 1975 hit, with its appealing rhythm and interesting structure, is an interesting way to tell the story of a risk-averse person. "Castle On The Hill" by Ten Hands presents a comparable narrative in more blunt terms.)
