I recently purchased the Prince in Jazz CD. I prepared myself for the possibility that I would play it once and never want to play it again. However, I have been pleasantly surprised for the most part. It is an enjoyable listen for the when one is in the mood for smooth jazz or to hear Prince in an entirely different context. I know from a closed topic on the org that the songs were older ones that were compiled for this CD. I was curious about what others thought about the set as a whole or certain songs in particular. Here are a few early reactions of mine.

1. While Nina Simone and Sign O' the Times theoretically seem like a good match, her ravaged voice by the time she covered this was unfortunately a sign of the times for her.

2. The absolute surprise of the set for me was Cream. What an adventurous take of one of Prince's least adventurous songs. I love it!

3. Already familiar with the wonderful N'Dami version of Soft and Wet, yet I enjoy it here too.

4. I usually can't deal with hearing others playing his iconic songs, but I enjoy When Doves Cry here. It is different enough from the original that it doesn't make me compare the versions while listening.

5. I still don't enjoy any version of Purple Rain other than Prince's. Obviously the guitar is missing here, but what is missing in all versions is the tension between the plaintiveness and hopefulness in Prince's voice in the song. No one else has done this and it certainly is absent in this smooth jazz version. I can't help but miss it.

Curious to here your thoughts!

muchtoofast said:

Ordered! (Only three left in stock at that big giant seller).

I hope you post again on the thread once you hear it.

Possibly no need for Prince in Jazz, when you have Prince doing Jazz?

Oh.

jdcxc said:

muchtoofast said:

jdcxc said:

Too bad Miles was not included. Hopefully the Estate will release all their collabs and related music. Loved this version of Calhoun Square recorded by some young jazz all-stars- https://m.facebook.com/st...F&_rdr

That was DAMN good! Thank you!

yep, nothing this funky on the album.

gandorb said:

muchtoofast said:

muchtoofast said:

gandorb said:

I hope you post again on the thread once you hear it.

I just had a listen to the entire CD and for me this was money well spent. There are two or three songs I will skip over but all in all a very interesting and enjoyable collection. I’m not going to get all technical about why I liked certain songs because I’d probably get laughed at here but wow I was seriously impressed by most of the songs. Definitely a nice gift to myself. Strollin’ is awful, as is Kiss, Purple Rain is dull but not as dull as Cream. My faves are Question of You, Soft and Wet, When Doves Cry, Crazy You, Thieves in the Temple, I Feel for You, and Nothing Compares 2 U. [Edited 11/12/18 1:18am]

Glad you are enjoying it. I agree it is a rather mixed bag but still worth it. I am not knowledgeable Cream is an outlier in that it is definitely more abstract and less smoth jazz. We just differ in our evaluation of it's differentness (it is my favorite). Such is life in the Prince tribe .

gandorb said:

I love the Osunlade version of Crazy You and N'Dambi's version of Soft and Wet isn't bad, but for me that's where the album stops being entertaining. Prince covers are always tricky....

.

It'd be more interesting to get a good overview of Prince trying to make jazz, which has been hit (like Madhouse' 8) and miss (like Madhouse' 16).

[Edited 11/17/18 1:37am]

mediumdry said: