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What could be more summery than Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco?
Jazz trumpet giant Roy Hargrove passed away in 2018. In addition to many acoustic jazz albums, he made three soul/funk albums with the band he called RH Factor. You get plenty of his gorgeous trumpet lines as well as top-notch playing and singing from the core band and many interesting guests.
Many of you will know that I have a soft spot for 80s pop. I recently discovered a phone app from French radio station Chante France that includes an 80s channel. As if I don’t have enough 80s pop in English… I knew one song by François Feldman, now I know he had many more irresistible hits.
Gary Olson is a Brooklyn musician who was the leader of indie pop band The Ladybug Transistor. He went to Norway to make his first solo album, and it’s a beauty. He has a gift for melodic indie pop with strings. Besides his rich baritone voice, he likes playing the trumpet, as you’ll hear on “Navy Boats”.
I had never heard of Derrick Harriott until I listened to the reggae compilation ”Jonny Greenwood Is The Controller”. Jonny is a member of Radiohead, so I was a little surprised to find out how much he knows about reggae. Then again, he knows a lot about many types of music. It’s an outstanding compilation with lots of un-obvious selections to discover.
Usually I try to avoid songs that were hits in any country or subculture. Which isn’t always easy, but certainly I know how to avoid US top 10 hits. Nonetheless, I couldn’t resist Bobby Caldwell’s 1978 pop/soul masterpiece to end the mix.
- Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco – Vieja Luna
- Rune Lindbæk – Sin Zen
- Roy Hargrove & The RH Factor with Shelby Johnson – How I know
- King Sunny Adé and His African Beats – Penkele
- Prins Thomas – Kjære Mamma
- François Feldman – Vivre, Vivre
- Gary Olson – Navy Boats
- Lee Morgan with Wayne Shorter – You Go to My Head
- Apollo Brown – Catching Moments
- k.d. lang – Maybe
- Mongo Santamaría – Afro-Blue
- Reminiscence Quartet – Onde Anda O Meu Amor
- Akasha System – O Horizon
- Kaytranada with Craig David – Got It Good
- Vangelis – Spanish Harbour
- Derrick Harriott – Let Me Down Easy
- Lemon Jelly – Make Things Right
- Bobby Caldwell – What You Won’t Do for Love
Between Two Islands 