New Tributes to Stevie Wonder

There’s only a handful of musicians that can be called “living legends.” Stevie Wonder is undeniably one of them. There no shortage of covers or tributes to this still vital musician. Here are a couple of jazzy tributes that have been released recently.

Vibraphonist Bill Ware, whose Groove Thing CD This Is No Time… is a favorite of mine, offers Wonder Full with his enhanced trio, Vibes. Half of the ten selections were recorded live, and the other half are from a studio date. This isn’t a Stevie Wonder greatest hits covers recording. Check out what Ware chose (Amazon, iTunes).

Guitarist Vernon Neilly has gathered some friends for A Tribute to Stevie Wonder. Among them: Greg Howe, U-Nam, and Michael Paulo (where have you been, Mr. Paulo?). It should be interesting. The product description indicates that this is a “multi-genre project that has progressive, jazz fusion, smooth jazz, heavy metal, and R&B singles on it.” Hear for yourself at Vernon’s site, his MySpace page, or at Amazon.