Blue 72

Founded in the early ‘90s, New York’s Jazzhole were one of the original acid jazz crews. Here they look back to the early ‘70s to cover several FM staples of the day. Acid jazz is typically more about vibe, groove, and a downtempo sense of pop craft, which usually makes great background music for lounges, clothing stores, and restaurants. But here, the strong crop of vocalists helps keep this from being an exercise in dressed-up easy listening. One wonders why the band would mostly eschew classic soul material of the era (Stevie Wonder and Al Green come to mind), but they do put a new coat of paint on Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” and America’s “Ventura Highway” (the latter two sung beautifully in Portuguese by Lindsey Webster). And there are also some excellent new versions of soul classics like Luther Ingram’s “If Loving You Is Wrong” (featuring Marlon Saunders) and Joe Simon’s “Drowning in a Sea of Love.” All in all, it’ll work well for fans of Zero 7, Sade, or Brand New Heavies.