1990 Archives - ContemporaryJazz.com https://contemporaryjazz.com/category/1990 Celebrating 30 Years Online! Thu, 18 Jun 2026 19:42:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://i0.wp.com/contemporaryjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/cropped-ContemporaryJazz-mascot-logo-favicon-512x512-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 1990 Archives - ContemporaryJazz.com https://contemporaryjazz.com/category/1990 32 32 124780169 Top Contemporary Jazz Albums – September 15, 1990 https://contemporaryjazz.com/top-contemporary-jazz-albums-september-15-1990 https://contemporaryjazz.com/top-contemporary-jazz-albums-september-15-1990#respond Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:56:50 +0000 https://contemporaryjazz.com/?p=4669 ContemporaryJazz.com is looking back at the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart from 35 years ago. Michael Franks’ 1990 release Blue Pacific glowed with his trademark lyrical cleverness – playful turns of phrase and gentle humor wrapped in breezy storytelling. The album’s uncommon trio of producers: Jeff Lorber, Tommy LiPuma, and Walter Becker (yes, the […]

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]]> ContemporaryJazz.com is looking back at the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart from 35 years ago.

Michael Franks’ 1990 release Blue Pacific glowed with his trademark lyrical cleverness – playful turns of phrase and gentle humor wrapped in breezy storytelling. The album’s uncommon trio of producers: Jeff Lorber, Tommy LiPuma, and Walter Becker (yes, the Steely Dan Becker) each bring a distinct touch. The album’s opening track “The Art of Love” is a clear Lorber production and we played it a lot on the late night contemporary jazz radio show. No matter which producer is used, Franks will always sound unique, not just because of his voice but because of his uniqueness as a lyricist.

Top Contemporary Jazz Albums
Week of September 15, 1990

# Artist Album
1 Michael Franks Blue Pacific ▶
2 Spyro Gyra featuring Jay Beckenstein Fast Forward ▶
3 John McLaughlin Trio Live at the Royal Festival Hall ▶
4 Bob James Grand Piano Canyon ▶
5 Najee Tokyo Blue ▶
6 Anita Baker Compositions ▶
7 Stanley Clarke / George Duke 3 ▶
8 The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman Welcome to the St. James’ Club ▶
9 Basia London Warsaw New York ▶
10 Larry Carlton Collection ▶
11 Lonnie Liston Smith Love Goddess ▶
12 Richard Elliot What’s Inside ▶
13 Tom Grant Edge of the World ▶
14 Stanley Jordan Live ▶
15 Ricardo Silveira Amazon Secrets ▶
16 Bob Berg In the Shadows ▶
17 Bobby Lyle The Journey ▶
18 Max Groove Maximum Groove ▶
19 Alex Bugnon Head Over Heels ▶
20 Ronnie Laws True Spirit ▶
21 Acoustic Alchemy Reference Point ▶
22 Vernell Brown, Jr. A Total Eclipse ▶
23 John Patitucci Sketchbook ▶
24 Brandon Fields Other Places ▶
25 Kenny G Live ▶

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]]> https://contemporaryjazz.com/top-contemporary-jazz-albums-september-15-1990/feed 0 4669 Remembering Jim Beard https://contemporaryjazz.com/remembering-jim-beard https://contemporaryjazz.com/remembering-jim-beard#comments Wed, 08 Jan 2025 03:13:02 +0000 https://contemporaryjazz.com/?p=4358 I first came across Jim Beard’s music on the Michael Brecker recording Now You See It… . He was playing keyboards on this contemporary jazz recording, making modern sounds and jazzing things up. His compositions on that album, “Ode to the Doo Day Day” and especially “Quiet City,” remain some of my favorite memorable songs […]

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]]> I first came across Jim Beard’s music on the Michael Brecker recording Now You See It… . He was playing keyboards on this contemporary jazz recording, making modern sounds and jazzing things up. His compositions on that album, “Ode to the Doo Day Day” and especially “Quiet City,” remain some of my favorite memorable songs in my library.

Inspired by his playing and writing, I had to check out his first solo release, Song of the Sun, which was out about the same time around 1990. It did not disappoint. Song of the Sun was a great debut, featuring Michael Brecker and many of the musicians who were on Now You See It…. Also playing on Song of the Sun was Wayne Shorter, Bob Mintzer, and Toots Thielemans. Beard composed, arranged, and produced each track and each one is a story of its own. They’re unique and rich songs, drawing from multiple styles, with exceptional playing on every track.  I’d forgotten how much I appreciated his work. I’m going to be listening to his other six solo recordings this week.

Song of the Sun, a 1990 contemporary jazz recording by Jim Beard

Beard’s music productions and compositions were nominated for seven Grammy Awards. He won a Grammy in 2007 as a featured performer on the Randy and Michael Brecker live recording Some Skunk Funk.

Among the list of jazz artists he’s played with and produced is the unbeatable Mike Stern. Stern’s 2024 recording Echoes and Other Songs is dedicated to him.

Beard died March 5, 2024 at the age of 63 due to complications of a sudden illness.

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]]> https://contemporaryjazz.com/remembering-jim-beard/feed 1 4358 Top Contemporary Jazz – July 1990 https://contemporaryjazz.com/top-contemporary-jazz-july-1990 https://contemporaryjazz.com/top-contemporary-jazz-july-1990#respond Thu, 29 Jun 2017 20:09:07 +0000 http://contemporaryjazz.com/?p=2879 The following were the top-selling contemporary jazz recordings in early July of 1990: Stanley Jordan – Cornucopia Najee – Tokyo Blue Basia – London Warsaw New York Patti Austin – Love Is Gonna Getcha Alex Bugnon – Head Over Heels Spyro Gyra featuring Jay Beckenstein – Fast Forward Dianne Reeves – Never Too Far Jonathan […]

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]]> cover to Cornucopia from Stanley JordanThe following were the top-selling contemporary jazz recordings in early July of 1990:

  1. Stanley Jordan – Cornucopia
  2. Najee – Tokyo Blue
  3. Basia – London Warsaw New York
  4. Patti Austin – Love Is Gonna Getcha
  5. Alex Bugnon – Head Over Heels
  6. Spyro Gyra featuring Jay Beckenstein – Fast Forward
  7. Dianne Reeves – Never Too Far
  8. Jonathan Butler – Deliverance
  9. George Howard – Personal
  10. Lonnie Liston Smith – Love Goddess

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