MMMM: Chris Standring

One of my favorite "smooth jazz" artists is British-born, Los Angeles-based guitarist Chris Standring. He started playing classical guitar when he was six, and, although he was a jazz fan, it wasn’t until he started attending the London College of Music that he started improvising and got totally immersed in the genre. He has 14 studio albums and a live album, many on his own record label, Ultimate Vibes Recordings. I love his tone, his use of octaves, and the laid-back grooves of his songs. Here are ten of them, which, if you prefer, I’ve gathered into a playlist.

Oliver’s Twist

Kaleidoscope

Sneakin’ Out The Front Door

Pandora’s Box

Shake You Up

Is There A Doctor In The House?

Static In The Attic

Love Street

Face To Face

Fast Train To Everywhere

I hope you’ve enjoyed Chris Standring. That’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for May 22, 2023.

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by Marie, Cathy, Alana, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.

MMMM: Word

Today’s theme is "one word," either one-word song titles or one-word bands. I figured out that many of my one-word song titles were done by bands with one-word names. Anyway, here are ten of them, and for those of you who prefer a playlist, you can find it here.

Ambrosia, “How Much I Feel”

Bread, “If”

Chicago, “Beginnings”

Astrud Gilberto, “Corcovado”

The Ides of March, “Vehicle”

Jethro Tull, “Aqualung”

Antonio Carlos Jobim, “Brazil”

Madonna, “Angel”

NOVA, “Wave”

Starbuck, “Moonlight Feels Right”

And that’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for May 15, 2023.

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by Marie, Cathy, Alana, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.

MMMM: Down

Feeling kind of down today. Nothing serious: I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m tired and moving a little slow. Anyway, "down" gave me an idea for a playlist…

The Beatles, “I’m Down”

Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Down On The Corner”

Talking Heads, “Burning Down The House”

The Monkees, “Goin’ Down”

Howlin’ Wolf, “Goin’ Down Slow”

The Beatles, “Don’t Let Me Down”

Electric Light Orchestra, “Don’t Bring Me Down”

Kool & The Gang, “Get Down On It”

Men At Work, “Down Under”

Paul Simon, “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard”

You can find the whole playlist here. That’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for May 8, 2023.

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by Marie, Cathy, Alana, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.

MMMM: “Medicine Man” Times Ten

So, today, the prompt is "Music is Medicine for the soul. Build a playlist with songs that is emotional soothing or pick song titles or bands relating to medicine," sent to us by Tom over at SPMM, whose blog you should immediately go over and follow before you get to my playlist. I’ll wait…

Okay, back so soon? Good! I started out building this playlist by remembering that there was a song back in the archives called "Medicine Man" by The Buchanan Brothers. I found it on YouTube, and darned if I didn’t find a whole boatload more called "Medicine Man." Before I got through, I had ten songs, which everybody knows is the international standard for a playlist. Okay, the one by Keb’ Mo’ is "The Medicine Man," but I’m not getting picky. If you are, then go out and find another called "Medicine Man." There are at least three or four more. For those of you that prefer a real playlist, it’s right here. Knock yourself out!

The Buchanan Brothers, “Medicine Man (Part 1)”

Elles Bailey, “Medicine Man”

Keb’ Mo’, “The Medicine Man”

Dorothy, “Medicine Man”

Johnny Winter, “Medicine Man”

Katmandu, “Medicine Man”

Whitesnake, “Medicine Man”

Michael Martin Murphey, “Medicine Man”

Bobby McFerrin, “Medicine Man”

Aldo Nova, “Medicine Man”

And that’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for May 1, 2023.

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by Marie, Cathy, Alana, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.

MMMM: Cal Tjader #atozchallenge

Cal Tjader (the T is silent, and his name is pronounced JAY-der) was, according to Wikipedia, the most successful non-Latino Latin jazz player. He was primarily a vibraphonist, but also played the bongos, congas, drums, timpani, and piano. He is credited with contributing to the development of acid jazz and Latin rock. He had a relatively brief career, from 1941 to his death in 1982, and only earled one Grammy, for his 1980 album La Onda Va Bien. He met Dave Brubeck while they were both at San Francisco State University, and they, along with Paul Desmond and others, formed the Dave Brubeck Octet. After Brubeck, e went on to play with many others, including pianist Vince Guaraldi.

His whole biography is on Wikipedia, so let’s get into his music. Here are ten songs that are the most popular on Spotify. The playlist is here, in case you want to stream it. Or, if you prefer Spotify, here you go.

Samba de Orfeu

Black Orchid

Thanks For The Memory (with Anita O’Day)

Soul Sauce

Que Tristeza

Aquarius

Sake and Greens

Invitation

Mambo Sangria

Se É Tarde, Me Perdoa

That’s Monday’s Music Moves Me for April 24, 2023 (and my T entry for the A to Z Challenge!).

Monday’s Music Moves Me is sponsored by Marie, Cathy, Alana, and Stacy, so be sure and visit them, where you can also find the Linky for the other participants.