People often ask me to make/recommend a list of jazz songs or illegally burn them a copy of said list. I'm gonna try to compile a list of my favorite (not necessarily the 'best' jazz per jazz snobs). I understand that I am a music snob. I can't stand top-40 music but I do acknowledge great musicality when I hear it (some country music is absolutely astounding). I'll try to give 2 songs a day for the next 20 days (not in any particular order of favorites). So today's pick is: 40. Clifford Brown-"I Get a Kick Out of You." This is a take on that old ballad, except Clifford rips the crap out of this. It's like a small Honda Civic with a Formula 1 race engine. His solo on that song stands as one of my favorite jazz trumpet solos of all time. Unfortunately, at a time when a great deal of jazz players where fizzling out due to drugs/alcohol, this man died at an early age (mid 20s) via a car accident. He was one of the few 'clean' musicians who was at the top of the jazz scene. 39. Branford Marsalis-"Mo Better Blues." This song is absolutely adorable. It comes from Spike Lee's Mo Better Blues, a decent film starring Denzel Washington. In the movie, Denzel's character is the jazz trumpet prodigy whose romance life gets him into mucho trouble. After he gets dumped by both his girlfriends (simultaneously), he is left to lament in the form he is most equipped to: the blues. This song has a relatively easy melody that is so catchy and clever. One of my favorite contemporary drummers (Jeff Tain Watts) and a brilliant trumpeter Terence Blanchard are on this track. This song is so easy to play that it should be a standard for junior high bands! 38. Abraham Laboriel-"Breakfast at Tiffany's" Mr. Laboriel has and continues to be one of my favorite bass players and musicians. Growing up, I heard him play on gospel albums but I never knew he was also a very highly sought studio musician. This song is an absolutely wonderful bass solo. It really exemplifies his creativity in combining jazz with a sort of Afro-Caribbean groove. I have had the privilege to see him play live and he exudes joy when he plays music and he wears that joy on his sleeve. All the songs on the album (Guidum), were done with one take each. 37. Kirk Whalum-"When Can I See You Again" There are those who instinctively cringe when they hear 'smooth jazz,' calling it elevator music or saying such musicians sold out jazz. But, you might think differently if you listen to Kirk Whalum. He has been a solid studio sax player for a while, most notably, he was propelled to the national spotlight on Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" with his absolutely roaring sax solo. (Still, the unfortunate mental association of Kevin Costner somewhat dampens that awesome solo). "When Can I See You Again" is a cover of Babyface's hit song. Babyface's version sort of lacks the deep sadness that is conveyed by his lyrics b/c he sounds more like he's swooning someone. But on Whalum's version, there is a deep sadness you can sense and longing of the human heart that is missing in Babyface's version. Whalum uses an all acoustic set (smooth jazz musicians sound so much better without all the synthesized crap, but that's a discussion for some other time) and it sounds so nice. 36. Marcus Miller-"Boogie on a Reggae Woman" This song is ridiculously tight and groovy. It's a cover of Stevie Wonder's innuendo filled song from back in the day. As some of you know, I'm a total lover of the bass guitar and Marcus Miller is one of the premier solo bass players in the world, playing with everyone like Miles Davis as well as having a successful solo career. As with most bass solo albums, he often doubles up on the bass so that he can do some sick solos. But the beauty of this song is the groove and deep-fried sound that comes out from this recording. It's a song to get down with. | 
