Mid-November arrives right on queue and I find myself in a jazz mood. I suppose this is because I’ve found myself sitting around in the bog listening to music more lately — and sitting around music tends to be, for me, some light jazz and lighter, worldly sounds. The breakdown goes something like this:

In other words, childcare has bumped me into the final category and to that end, I’ve more often found myself perusing the jazz shop over at iTunes, checking out new releases and sampling from the low-hanging albums. A couple of the gems?

Chris Botti | Italia

Even I know there is nothing much original here, but Botti does some amazingly smooth renditions of some old favorites on his horn. This is the kind of album you put on in the background and just enjoy at a moderate volume. The tracks were just released a few days ago — and I’ve had them on my iPod for about as long — but I’ve chalked up a few listens since. My affinity for jazz and rag, admittedly, goes back only to 2001 when I spent a mere handful of happy mid-winter evenings in the lounge aboard the Carnival Destiny cruising the Caribbean with the family. A dozen or so people with a captive jazz band and comfortable chairs in the middle of the ocean — and reasonably priced drinks for a cruise ship. Sightseeing by day, lounge jazz by night — something clicked in my brain and I often think back to that combination. Now, despite an apparent tilt to the punk, electronic, pop side of the music equation, I can easily find a place in my play-list for an album like this one.

Paul Potts | One Chance

I’ll admit it. Karin was watching Oprah one day a couple weeks back (grumble-grumble) and a guest appearance by Mr. Potts caught my attention and reminded me of this little internet meme of a tenor sensation that swept the web over the summer. If you don’t recall — or haven’t seen the YouTube video (click) — Mr. Paul Potts, a none-too-glamorous cell-phone salesman in England psyched himself up enough to get on a reality show in Britain, easily wowed the audience and the judges, and became an Internet viral video star — all within a matter of days. I sought out and downloaded his recently produced album on a bit of a whim shortly after the (gag) Oprah reminder and promptly pumped it through the new stereo system. Not everyone likes Opera (and definitely not Oprah) but I’ll admit it — I have a soft spot in my otherwise cold heart for a well sung aria any day. Again, nothing new: old and modern classics with stunning technique and voice — but well worth the listen, considering the other surviving, modern tenors aren’t getting any younger. And if nothing else, it relaxes the girl enough to put her to sleep on my chest after a bout of crying.

Right. After my previous recommendations leaning towards the modern electronic end of the spectrum you likely were not expecting these two track-clusters. But a guy has to diversify, after all. I’m well into my thirties now — I’m allowed to have more mellow tastes.