If you’re settling in with family, cooking, traveling, or just taking a quiet moment to breathe, here are a couple of tracks that might help set a tone:

“Thankful N’ Thoughtful” — Dave Grusin (Sly Stone cover)

Featuring Phoebe Snow, David Sanborn, and Marcus Miller.
Listen on YouTube

Aside from being thankful, there’s inspiration:

Something gets me, I put my head on tight
Because I know in the future, everything will be all right

“Gratitude” — Nelson Rangell

Listen on YouTube

Nelson wrote about the inspiration for this song on Facebook on October 23:

One of my best friends has been living with brain cancer. He’s been hugely inspirational to everyone who knows him with his constant positivity, humor and strength. My friend speaks a lot to me and to others about Gratitude. It’s the main theme in his life. Bruce and his amazing wife Kelly make it all look routine… I know a lot of heroic, beautiful, and incredibly good people. We all do. So often these people just make it look routine. They’re our friends, our kids’ teachers, cops, protesters, scientists, doctors, pastors, rabbis and imams, the pianist on the gig, the people at the music store, or the person taking your order on any given day — you.

My friend Bruce has made me think a lot about “gratitude.” It’s his mantra. He repeats it all the time. It sure works for him. For me, it’s an ongoing work in progress, kind of a 2 steps forward… well, you get it. Amidst it all these days, Bruce reminds me to keep my eyes open to see, and my heart thankful for goodness everywhere around us, and to take inspiration and strength from it.

What are some of your favorite tracks of thankfulness? What are you thankful for? I’d love for you to comment!

The post Thanksgiving Week Listening: A Couple of Contemporary Jazz Favorites appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.

Magic Touch, the debut recording from Stanley Jordan was spending its 11th week at the top of the chart on August 3, 1985. It would dominate the chart for a record 51 weeks. It was one of those rare instrumental recordings that went outside of jazz circles – Magic Touch was certified gold in the U.S., marking over 500,000 sales! It introduced the world to Jordan’s groundbreaking two-handed tapping technique, allowing him to perform melody, chords, and bass lines simultaneously on a single instrument.

The album features inventive takes on jazz standards like “’Round Midnight” and “A Child Is Born,” fresh interpretations of pop songs like “Eleanor Rigby” and “The Lady in My Life,” and Jordan’s own original compositions—all performed with dazzling precision and musicality.

Here are the top 15 recordings from the August 3, 1985 Billboard Top Jazz Chart:

Top Jazz Albums
Week of August 3, 1985

The post Stanley Jordan Tops the Top Jazz Albums – August 3, 1985 appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.

Meanwhile, over on the Top Jazz Albums for the same week, David Sanborn was on top with Pearls, his lush recording with orchestral arrangements. And Grover Washington, Jr. was also on the chart with All My Tomorrows, a more stripped-down  album with strings.

The post Top Contemporary Jazz Albums – April 22, 1995 appeared first on ContemporaryJazz.com.