The album that made Butler a star. The sweeping ballads, catchy uptempo, dance-oriented hits, and multi-tracked overdubs and background vocalists helped make his music a staple on late '80s Urban Contemporary radio. There is little jazz influence and even less jazz content on this release, but Butler does display a strong, effective singing voice.

Making an explosive re-emergence onto the contemporary urban jazz scene, Scott Wilkie is truly All In, melodic and funky as ever on his highly-anticipated new album, which marks his first full ensemble recording in over ten years. It's a dynamic and diverse collection featuring his own longtime live band which plays regularly throughout his home base of Southern California - and a true dream list of all-star guests and friends: Jay Beckenstein, Jimmy Haslip, Jeff Lorber, Jay Graydon, Paul Jackson Jr., Vinnie Colaiuta, Peter Sprague and Jeff Kashiwa.

Black-Forest-born Arno Haas released his debut album Magic Hands in 2013 receiving high accolades by critics. His sophomore album Back To You is scheduled for release on October 22, 2015 on Mochermusic. The album starts full throttle with the title song Back To You. Perfectly arranged by Tom Saviano supports the brass group saxophonist Arno Haas. A treat for fans of cultivated jazz music with the emphasis on horns.

“Dreams To Reality” is the first album released from guitarist and composer Stuart Redd. This album has a very live feel greatly enhanced by the remarkable rhythm section performances of drummer Dave Weckl, bassists Ric Fierabracci, Tom Kennedy and Kim Stone with added spice and liveliness from percussionist Ramon Yslas. You will also hear outstanding keyboard performances from Jeff Lorber and Dave Weckl’s long-time studio partner Jay Oliver. On top of that, add in truly phenomenal solo performances from trumpeter Randy Brecker, and saxophonists Eric Marienthal and Gary Meek.

Candy Dulfer (born 19 September 1969) is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist. She is the daughter of jazz saxophonist Hans Dulfer. She began playing at age six and founded her band Funky Stuff when she was fourteen. Her debut album Saxuality (1990) received a Grammy nomination…

Though he has shown a mastery and affinity for both electric and acoustic axes, Tommy Emmanuel's Higher Octave debut, Midnight Drive, finds him focusing almost exclusively on warm yet frequently aggressive acoustic melodies, complemented here and there by the raw, plugged-in energy of Robben Ford and Larry Carlton. The overall mix is the kind that smooth jazz lovers find easy to swallow, but offers more bite and adventure than most like-minded releases in the genre. Smooth jazz radio may find an easy mark with a laid-back take of Sting's "Fields of Gold," but Emmanuel's other tracks dig deeper, showing off a stylistic chameleon drawing from the many phases of his career. His soft pop side comes out on power ballads "No More Goodbyes" and "Stay Close to Me," the latter reminding us why guest saxman Warren Hill's biggest hit to date was called "The Passion Theme." Emmanuel's more aggressive blues-rock side (honed no doubt by a few years in the progressive mid-'80s ensemble Dragon) emerges with Carlton's help on "Can't Get Enough." The striking contrast between the pastoral, folksy roads of "Drivetime" and the disc's best track, "Villa de Martin" best reflects the gamut of Emmanuel's approaches.

Recorded live at Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Ireland, in 2000, these ten tracks are pleasant re-workings of guitarist and vocalist George Benson's jazz-pop hits of the '70s. To his credit, Benson isn't just a human jukebox re-creating well-known songs and sidestepping any spontaneity that derives from a live performance. For instance, his band, which includes keyboardist Joe Sample, gets to stretch out a bit, showing off their improvisational skills on "This Masquerade," "On Broadway," and particularly on Sample's "Deeper Than You Think." Alongside his seven-member group, Benson employs the BBC Big Band and musicians from the Ulster Orchestra who provide a real lushness that enhances the music instead of utilizing the cheesy synthesizer strings that often marred some of his work in the '80s and '90s. Fans of Benson's early sessions for Columbia or A&M may not rush out to purchase this, but those who favor Breezin' will find some pleasant moments here.

Fiery French guitarist U-Nam (Emmanuel Abiteboul), who now calls L.A. home, makes his triumphant return with a celebrated collection of tunes that showcase the true breadth of his guitar prowess. His mastery of the instrument is Un deniable. Unanimity is a fresh mix of Neo-Soul, Funk, Jazz, Pop and R&B, and showcases the many sides of the man who owned the radio charts in late 07 with his top 5 dynamic read of the jazz classic Street Life , breathing new life into a track that had all but been forgotten. From the super funk laced offering Funk 4 U-nity , the George Benson-esque My Heart & Soul to the all out buckle U-rself in, four-on-the-floor jam Soul-ism, U offers a little somethin for everyone and should aptly wet the whistle of his growing legion of U.S. fans.

With ears dead set on the trends of the moment but still drawing now and then on his jazz past, Quincy Jones came up with another classy-sounding pop album loaded with his ever-growing circle of musician friends. Disco was king in 1978 and Jones bows low with the ebullient dance hit "Stuff Like That" – which is several cuts above the norm for that genre – along with a healthy quota of elegantly produced soul ballads.

Morning Dance is Spyro Gyra's most commercially successful album, released in summer 1979. The song "Morning Dance" was a major hit (Billboard #24 pop, #1 adult contemporary) in summer 1979. The album cover of Morning Dance had concept origination, design and art direction by Peter Corriston.

When trombonist/producer Wayne Henderson, pianist/keyboardist Joe Sample, sax-man Wilton Felder, and drummer Stix Hooper changed their name from the Jazz Crusaders to the Crusaders back in 1971, it signaled a more R&B-minded direction for the group – they were always funky, but in the '70s, they became even funkier. And so, the names the Crusaders and the Jazz Crusaders came to stand for two different things – if the Jazz Crusaders were synonymous with a funky yet acoustic-oriented approach to hard bop (à la Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers), the Crusaders were about electric-oriented jazz-funk and fusion. In 1995, Henderson (who left the Crusaders in 1975) resurrected the name the Jazz Crusaders and produced Happy Again for the small, Los Angeles-based Sin-drome Records.

Combining Latin and African rhythms with the light textures of MOR jazz, Special EFX emerged as one of the most prominent world fusion groups of their era. Formed in New York in 1982, Special EFX was essentially a duo comprised of guitarist Chieli Minucci and Hungarian-born drummer/percussionist George Jinda; debuting in 1985 with the album Modern Manners, they often recruited other musicians to help flesh out their state-of-the-art sound, among them Dave Grusin, Omar Hakim, and McCoy Tyner.

Night-Lines is an album by American pianist Dave Grusin released in 1984, recorded for the GRP label. The album reached #4 on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart. The album's cover is from the November 1983 issue of Electronic Fun with Computers & Games.

Saxophonist Eric Marienthal is among contemporary jazz's busiest talents. On the day that It's Love was released, Marienthal also played a starring role on the Jeff Lorber Fusion entry Galaxy. The two albums reflect Marienthal's varied talents, as both a creative improviser and a lover of groove-oriented popular music. It's Love was produced by guitarist Chuck Loeb, who also appears throughout the set. Also in this studio band are Yellowjackets' keyboardist Russell Ferrante, drummer Gary Novak, and bassist Tim Lefebvre.

David Sanborn's third album as a leader has him steering away from the N.Y.C. neo-bop, skunk funk, Seventh Avenue style he helped co-found with the Brecker Brothers band. That it is recorded in Miami speaks volumes about the sunny attitude and less jazz-oriented music he is fomenting. Guitarist/vocalist Hiram Bullock and emerging electric bass guitar star Mark Egan have something to do with this, but the extraordinary drummer Victor Lewis is the one who gives this music an R&B heft while also adding Latin flavors, like boogaloo on growth hormones. Keyboardist Rosalinda DeLeon, percussionist Jumma Santos, and four female vocalists help with the sexy Afro-Caribbean underpinning, while Sanborn plays his trusty St. Louis soul vibrato-drenched alto sax, and also experiments with sopranino sax and the lyricon.