NEXT Collective

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I love any modern jazz project that has the potential to reach new audiences. Cover Art, the new recording from the NEXT Collective has interpretations of songs by Drake, Bon Iver, Dido, Pearl Jam, Kanye West and more. The collective Features rising jazz stars: saxophonists Logan Richardson and Walter Smith III, guitarist Matthew Stevens, keyboardists Gerald Clayton and Kris Bowers, bassist Ben Williams, drummer Jamire Williams, and special guest trumpeter Christian Scott (aka Christian aTunde Adjuah).

Cover Art is available now on Amazon and iTunes. Connect with the Collective on Facebook and Twitter.

Top Contemporary Jazz Albums of 1997 and 2012

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Billboard reported these as the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums of 1997:

  1. The Moment – Kenny G
  2. Sweet Thing – Boney James
  3. Dream Walk – Keiko Matsui
  4. Que Pasa – Gato Barbieri
  5. A Twist of Jobim – Various Artists
  6. Soulful Strut – Grover Washington, Jr.
  7. Breathless – Kenny G
  8. Caravan of Dreams – Peter White
  9. Beneath the Surface – Incognito
  10. Body and Soul – Rick Braun

This year’s top jazz albums are on the Billboard site. Looks like another good year for Tony Bennett.

Top 10 – Fifteen Years Ago

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In the earlier days of this site, I ran a top ten list of the most popular contemporary jazz at the time. This chart was based on sales and radio play. Here were the top 10 from December 5, 1997!

  1. Jonathan Butler, Do You Love Me?, N2K Encoded Music
  2. Bob James, Playin’ Hooky, Warner Bros.
  3. Boney James - Sweet Thing recordingBoney James, Sweet Thing, Warner Bros.
  4. Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman, Black Diamond, Peak/Windham Hill
  5. Brian Culbertson, Secrets, Bluemoon
  6. Chris Botti, Midnight Without You, Verve Forecast
  7. Candy Dulfer, For the Love of You, N2K Encoded Music
  8. Joyce Cooling, Playing It Cool, Heads Up
  9. David Benoit, American Landscape, GRP
  10. Earl Klugh, The Journey, Warner Bros.