Okay folks, here's another thread in my series of "Best Of/Favorites" threads for 2003. For this one, I'm simply asking you to list your favorite contemporary jazz or smooth jazz vocal song released in 2003, and then list your next two favorites to round off your top three. In addition to smooth jazz, these songs can also come from contemporary jazz vocal albums by artists such as Lizz Wright, Cassandra Reed, Cassandra Wilson, or Kurt Elling, etc. Also, since I know it's hard to limit your selections in threads like these, after listing your top three, you can make mention of any other of your favorite vocal songs if you'd like. Enjoy!

1.My favorite vocal for 2003 is Steve Cole's "Tonight It's On." Oh, man. This song just does it for me. This song is just bright and happy and it makes me feel good. There's not anything that I DON'T like about this song.

2.My second favorite vocal of 2003 is Hiroshima's "I Just Want To Hang Around You." What a killer song. Yeah.

3.My third favorite is Steve Cole's "Caprichosa." What a wonderful song. It strange, but I was thinking that this song was going to tie for second place with "I Just Want To Hang Around You," but after listening to "Hang Around You," I realized that it was going to be my second favorite and "Caprichosa" was going to be my third.

Hey Greg,

Hiroshima's "I Just Want to Hang Around You", is it the same song George Benson did before?

"I get so hypnotized when I look in your eyes"

Barbary Coast (from Jaco Pastorius Big Band's Word of Mouth Revisited)
17 Mile Drive (from The Rippingtons' Let It Ripp)
Party of Seven (from Spyro Gyra's Original Cinema, edging out Film Noir)

Whoops. I just realized you said "vocal."
That disqualifies me as the only vocal jazz album I got - that was released in 2003 - was The Manhattan Tranfer's Couldn't Be Hotter.

Off the top of my head I have enjoyed:

1. "Man In the Air" - Kurt Elling

2. "Friday Night Special" - Janis Siegel

3. "Something Cool" - Tierney Sutton (purchased in 2003 but released in late 2002)

Hey, Woody, why don't you read the premise of this thread, in the original post of this thread?

Laura, I think it is, although I think someone else did it before. Also, is "I get so hypnotized when I look in you eyes" a song, or are you talking to me?

Well yes Greg, I am talking to you, and being as I haven't seen your eyes yet I can't speak from experience but those were the first lyrics to "I Just Wanna Hang Around You" that popped into my head.

But back to your eyes, I'm sure they are very nice. Brown, Blue, Green, Hazel? Help me out here.

On a jazz recording:
Paul Taylor - "Someone Watching Over You" featuring Sharon Youngblood on vocals

Brown. A deep, dark brown.

I just got Kirk Whalum's new CD in the mail a couple a days ago, and I all have to say is that this CD is EXCELLENT! There's a vocal song on it called, "I Loved You In Memphis" sung by Isaac Hayes and Wendy Moten that I immediately fell in love with.(Actually, I immeadiately fell in love with the whole album. ) I was just thinking that "In Memphis" may end up tying with "Caprichosa." Also, Ars, Paul Taylor's "Someone Watching Over You" is a very nice song, and it along with Nelson Rangell's "Whisper," were the next runner ups in my list of songs.

Much as I love vocals, I can't say that I've heard anything this year vocaly that has blown me away. Nothing that has interested me.