In my personal desire to broaden my genre appreciation, I want to challenge everyone to link me to a representative sample of your personal favorite song on YouTube. A song that best defines the genre.
But I'll start you off lightly, here's Monty Alexander, jazz pianist extraordinaire, playing Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" as a jazz piano trio song.
Incidentally, Monty played keyboards in the studio for Bob Marley's original cut of this and many other Wailer's hits.
I play this one in my piano sets, try to do it justice, one of the things I'm always on the lookout for are songs that can be played as jazz that people of a younger generation will be able to recognize, such often serves as a way to interest the uninitiated into the jazz side of music.
I too have a lot of favourites, so as I have to compress it to one it would be The Carpenters for their absolutely stunning arrangements, singing and naturally Karen´s voice that IMO so far is completely unparallelled ! What could be better than Karen and Richard singing Burt Bacharach, my favourite composer !:))
That is just KILLER! I often wondered how that song would sound played in different styles, this answers that question. Ashamed to say I've never heard this one before . . . soooo many great performances and sooooo little time.
Thanks for the post.
Don, I too have tons of favorites (and of course a new one today) and will post some later when I get some down time.
I think you have started a good thread here ma friend.
Naturally it is difficult to place such a versatile group as The Carpenters in any special genré as they did so many quite different tunes ranging from country to jazz. If I have to I would put them in a a genré close to pop jazz ? ( That is where I would put Bacharach´s music also)
I think its safe to categorize The Carpemters' work as Pop.
Pop Music, really "Popular" Music, actually covers a wide range if you take the entire history of it into consideration.
I too, used to marvel at their performances. An entire band with perfect pitch and real musical training and experience in both Classical, Jazz and Pop musics. Wow.
If you listen carefully to the example of them posted, at one point Ken and one other male member do some background vocals, rather quick moving harmony part - and they were so dead on the tempered scale pitch that it sounds like today's Autotune was in use, snatching every note sung to dead on pitch. Only there wasn't any autotune when they were recording. That's just how good they could hear.
Okay, Don, your song for today comes from the reigning king of jazz Hammond Organ, Joey Defrancesco.
Here we have an outstanding example of Joey's mastery of the technique of "Noodling" on the Hammond, where Melodies are played as block chords with one hand while the other hand plays the walking bassline, said bassline punctuated by stabs with the footpedals, typically happening on a tritone of the root, to simulate the plucking of a string bass.
The art of jazz music consists basically of taking a well known and popular song that has interesting changes, stating the song at the head as the Melody and then proceeding to improvise on that and at the end, repeating the head once more.
Here we see Joey D doing that fantastically with "Speak Softly" theme from The Godfather movie. Many jazz "standards" have historically come from movie and television themes and other songs originally appearing there.
At the bottom of ALL modern western musics is the Blues. I'm not referring to the lyrics of the blues here, I'm not referring to all that "paid yer dues" thang, but to the fundamental music that is played behind the lyrics, in jazz we try to pay tribute to the many developments that blues music (and gospel musics) brought to the continuing development of western music.
Joey D never loses track of that bluesy/gospel aspect, which can turn almost any piece that has appropriately nice changes into a toe-tapper. And that's important, because music without sung lyrics should emulate DANCE.
BTW -- Joey DeFrancesco can not read music. Like those other rare talents, he somehow bypassed that in favor of just absolutely understanding music theory and patterns innately.
New Jersey, USA born Rhoda Scott, who emigrated to live in Paris. Her father was an AME minister and she gravitated to the organ at an early age. Then she went to music school *grin* . She may be called the mentor of the younger Barbara Dennerlein above.
Both ladies use the Hammond pedals for their walking basslines, rather than the Jimmy Smith style of LH walking while foot "plucks" ala Joey D.
The fast footwork usually indicates an organist who studied the Cathedral Organ classical first, then moved on into the world of jazz.
Here's Rhoda Scott back in '73:
And here is one of the organ summits where both Rhoda and Barbara have at it together:
Rhoda, unlike many of us, never turned her back on her classical organ work either, she simply added the jazz genre to her accomplishments.
Here is Rhoda playing the well known Bach Tocatta in D minor:
Let me take you to my own genré which is barbershop ! I´ll think you´ll enjoy this live performance by the world champion chorus Ambassadors of Harmony ! Quite a performance and arrangement ?
And here is another barbershop world champion chorus Westminster Chorus performing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" a fantastic arrangement and a fantastic chorus too !
As the ol´Irishman you are you might like their performance of Danny Boy also, a pity that the sound quality is not always what these performers would deserve, but that is Utube !
PS: I am myself a 14 year member of Nashville-based Barbershop Harmony Society and I sing barbershop on a weekly base. In barbershop the tenor sings the high notes ( enhances the overtones the other voices produce) lead= the melody line is mostly under the tenor, the bass sings mostly roots and fifths and the baritone fills in with all the chromatics that the other voices don´t !:))
To "ring" or lock a chord in barbershop so that you start hearing overtones is more than an addictive experience and it is easy to understand that people get hooked on this pure american art form !:))
Over on this side of the pond we don't tend to think of large choruses as being "barbershop" however, that descriptor is reserved for smaller ensembles, quartets, as in the famous Barbershop Quartet, as well as maybe up to six singers at most in some instances.
The Inernational Barbershop Quartet competition is a great way to enjoy the acts of many of the best.
Here are the 2012 champions, The Ringmasters:
"Stormfront" - the 2010 champions, sounded like this in compettition:
Injecting humor into the act is becoming more and more a part of Barbershop, here's Acoustix performing a crowd pleaser Medley of Television Theme Songs:
Nothing is safe from the assault of the modern Barbershop Quartet, here we find the High Fidelity Quartet has gone full Trekkie mode:
If you liked part 1 above, here is Part 2 of that performance:
Those who view their music listening on the myopic side of things probably don't realize that when major studios and labels send a young act out to obtain some vocal coaching, the teachers often assign them some Barbershop. Nothing gets the close harmonies practice needed to belt out in perfected intonation than this genre does.
Want your band to have killer vocals, well worth the time spent working out one single Barbershop tune and getting to the point where you can belt it out. -- And, you can add it to your show repertoire and yield amazing audience responses.
Another aside, Band in a Box has been spotted in use among the best of Barbershop Arrangers, using nothing more exotic than the BB's built in MIDI harmonies to automatically assign the parts to a single Melody line.
Official Barbershop builds on competition and has done so almost from the start of SPEBSQSA = The Society for Preservation and Encouragement Of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America ! I won´t go into any more detail, but I only note that SPEBSQSA (nowadays BHS) was founded in 1938 ! Before that Bshop had been sung as far as we know from around 1850 or so. In the beginning everything was more or less improvisation, someone coming up with a tune and the other guys harmonizing to the melody. Written arrangements came into the picture much later. BHS even has an affiliated organisation called AHSOW (Ancient and Harmonious Society Of Woodshedders) if I remebered the word right ? This is for the purists that like to woodshed as they did back in time !
The winner of the first quartet competition was Bartlesville Barflies back in 1939 and the Chorus competitions started as early as 1954 (with an invitational competition in 1953) ! Every barbershopper knows the basics regarding history. We know that everything started with quartets and that was in fact really very long ago. Today, most quartets are offsprings from choruses and the guys ususally sing in choruses. F.i. Ambassadors of Harmony has 2 in fact three barbershop world champion quartets: Gas House Gang (not active) Crossroads and Vocal Spectrum. If you follow AOH:s rendition of "Higher" on Utube you can see (and hear Crossroads on the left seen from you, and Vocal Spectrum on the right ! I have met many of these guys and I am proud to say I have got to sing with them also (what a treat)!
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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
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