stjoelive.com | Street Beats

Michael Jackson's Thriller - 25th Anniversary Edition (Legacy)

Right after Michael Jackson did his now famous moonwalk on the Motown 25th anniversary TV special my phone rang. "You see that? What was that?" asked a friend, all out of breath.

Miles Davis - The Complete on the Corner Sessions

Just a little over a week after the 1972 release of "On the Corner," Miles Davis crashed his sleek Lamborghini on Manhattan's West Side Highway. Miles totaled his car and landed himself in the hospital for two months.

Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters

Well before "River:The Joni Letters" won Grammy Album of the year I knew it was something special. Since December it rarely been far from my CD player.

Lionel Loueke: Karibu

I first heard Lionel Loueke on Herbie Hancock's 2005 album "Possibilities" and was blown away by his approach to the guitar. In his hands the instrument takes on a drum-like, percussive quality.

Jazz for the holidays

I usually never like Christmas jazz CDs. They seem like too much novelty and they don't often do justice to artist's talent or the familiar traditional songs. And let's face it, not many artists can pull off a Christmas album like say a Tony Bennett that has the potential to become a yearly standard. It's usually a one season wonder.

Snowfall: The Tony Bennet Christmas Album

There are some people who just seem like logical choices to make a Christmas CD. Artists whose voices are such a part of the American fabric makes it almost a requirement.

The essential Teddy Pendergrass (Legacy)

Teddy Pendergrass is a man's soul singer in the same vein as the late Otis Redding. No lilting falsetto or sugary pleadings here. Teddy just grabs a song and takes control. There's no innuendo or sly suggestions either.

Love, Luther

To say that the late Luther Vandross is the most beloved R & B male vocalist of this generation is a gross understatement. For many, the silky smooth balladeer is the quintessence of love-making soul music.

An intro to Street Beats

We listened to everything from Sam Cooke to Al Green to Jimmy Smith to the Beatles while growing up.