I woke up with this song stuck in my head again this morning and so, accordingly, I attempt to exercise it here. Aretha Franklin's cover of Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald's classic yacht-rocker made popular by the Doobie Brothers is a manic slice of synth-indulgence that's, like many an Aretha song, dead catchy. Beware. Just give it thirty seconds of warming up and you'll be in the zone, the smoooooth R&B zone.

Aretha Franklin - "What A Fool Believes"

It has been revealed today by Aretha Franklin's family that the fabulous Queen of Soul has cancer. They have not specified what type, but this certainly must be what was behind her recent surgery and canceled tour dates. Hurry back to health, Miss Aretha! 

Here she is back in 1968 performing "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)":

In celebration of the Amoeba Hollywood Jazz Blowout sale, I’ve been spending time on my computer checking out older Jazz videos. In the process, I have rediscovered the many great performances from the Montreux Jazz Festival, which is held in Switzerland during the month of July. The festival, which started in 1967, was originally held at the old Montreux Casino until, of course, it burned down in 1971. The fire was apparently caused by “some stupid with a flare gun” while Frank Zappa was playing. You might heard about it in a little ditty by Deep Purple called “Smoke On The Water.” The casino was rebuilt but due to the enormity of the festival, it is now held at the larger Convention Centre in Montreux with two main stages and several small stages.

Perhaps every legendary jazz artist you can think of has played Montreux. Over the years the festival has become less about jazz and has opened its doors to all kinds of music. Still, for any musician, this is the place to be seen. Over two hundred thousand people attend the festival every year and even more see the performances via television, web casts and through the many DVDs that have been released over the years.

Just watching the highlights of the forty-two year history of the festival on Youtube was overwhelming. There have been thousands of solos of all kinds and excellent musicianship throughout; however, it's the vocalists that provide some of my favorites performances. I picked three videos that feature Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Elis Regina.