Various Artists - Smooth Grooves: Smooth Jazz, Vol. 3 (2000)

"...the music on the package creates a tapestry of hip, smooth, groove-oriented music, offering the very best in the sophisticated smooth jazz experience."

The third of three discs in this smooth jazz series from the Rhino label. With one outlier from 1990, the tunes selected are from the years 1976-85, which is my sweet spot as that's when I was discovering the genre, often through the very albums represented here. This volume is a little more adventurous than volume 2; it includes selections from albums that never charted, which means more variety and new adventures. And while this CD can't quite match the quality of the previous volume, I'm all in.

The liner notes lack insight and I found at least one error in the booklet - very un-Rhino-ish.

 
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: 12 tracks, 63 minutes. Included with the title and artist  below is the album and it's peak on the Billboard Jazz LP chart (if you have an interest in those and other jazz charts, you might enjoy the charts I compiled and posted over at albumcharts.wordpress.com).

1. Freetime by Spyro Gyra from the 1981 album Freetime (#1).
2. Tokyo Blue by Najee from the 1990 album Tokyo Blue (#1).
3. Give It All You Got by Chuck Mangione from the 1980 album Fun And Games (#1).
4. Wizard Island by The Jeff Lorber Fusion from the 1980 album Wizard Island (#1).
5. Water Children by Roy Haynes from the 1977 Vistalite  (did not chart).
6. One Wish by Hiroshima from the 1985 album Another Place (#8).
7. Out Of The Blue by Caldera from the 1976 album Caldera (did not chart).
8. Take It To The Sky by Billy Cobham's Glass Menagerie from the 1982 album Observations & (#23).
9. Let's Just Say Goodbye by David Sanborn from the 1981 album Voyeur (#1).
10. Theme From The Planets by Dexter Wansel from the 1976 album Life On Mars (did not chart).
11. Now You Know by Steps Ahead from the 1984 album Modern Times (#11).
12. Rain Dancer by John Klemmer from the 1976 album Barefoot Ballet (#3).

I like 'em all, but it was great to be introduced to the tracks from Roy Haynes, Caldera, and Dexter Wansel tracks. And man-oh-man, it's always good to hear stuff from that Steps Ahead album.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None.

Previously revisited for the blog:
Volume 2