Mondo Jazz

Stevie Wonder’s cult classic may not be a jazz album, but its jazz connections run deep—from Herbie Hancock, Dorothy Ashby, George Benson, Glenn Ferris, and Bobby Humphrey involved in its recording to Alice Coltrane, Chick Corea, Quincy Jones, David Sanborn, and Lenny White among the influences acknowledged in the liner notes. No wonder its songs have inspired hundreds of jazz renditions—and here's the second part of our playlist featuring some of the best, following the sequence of the original record.

The playlist features Ray Barretto; Blue Mitchell; Monica Shaka; Max Ionata, Dado Moroni; Marcus Miller; Najee.

Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/23029358/Mondo-Jazz [up to "Knocks Me Off My Feet"].

Happy listening!

Fifty years after Stevie Wonder released "Songs in the Key of Life", we celebrate the anniversary song by song, in the exact sequence of the original double LP and the related "Something’s Extra" EP—with one twist: every track is a jazz rendition.

The playlist features Jalen Baker; Doug Wamble; Najee; Zoe Rahman; Avishai Cohen, Yonathan Avishai; Stochelo Rosenberg; and Warren Wolf.

Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/23029358/Mondo-Jazz [up to "Knocks Me Off My Feet"].

Happy listening!

A musical remembrance of Cassandra Wilson and a voice that made even experimental music sound sensual and tangible, and turned old tunes into something modern, when not futuristic.

The playlist also features Harriet Tubman; Steve Coleman; Regina Carter; Dave Holland; and Olu Dara.

Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/22994093/Mondo-Jazz [from "Bow Legged Man" onwards].

On one record, Cassandra Wilson could sound like the deepest Mississippi blues singer; on another, she could be immersed in the most advanced rhythmic ideas of M-Base; and then she could walk into an R&B session with Luther Vandross or The Roots and sound completely at home. This playlist only scratches the surface of that extraordinary artistic versatility.

The playlist also features DJ Smash, Bob Belden, Dianne Reeves; Joshua Redman; Steve Coleman; Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Bill Frisell; and David Murray.

Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/22994093/Mondo-Jazz [from "Go to Mexico" to "Prophet of Doom"].

A retrospective built around the adventurous spirit that ran through Cassandra Wilson’s music, from her formative years in the M-Base orbit to her later work at the crossroads of jazz, blues, soul, R&B and beyond.

The playlist also features Courtney Pine; Terri Lyne Carrington; Steve Coleman; and Wynton Marsalis.

Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/22994093/Mondo-Jazz [up to "Lady's Lament"].