There are plenty of songs about booze, pot, cocaine, etc., but when's the last time you heard a good crackhead song?

Scofield is acknowledged as one of the top jazz guitarists of recent times, right up there with Bill Frisell and Pat Methany. He's certainly got the credentials, having played with Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Charles Mingus, Gary Burton and Miles Davis among others. I really like his weirdly distorted funk-rock sound, but this tune is more of a straight-ahead smooth jazz item that I chose mainly for its title. Put on your fez and enjoy it (I'm wearing mine right now).

This is one of the more accessible tunes from John Medeski, Billy Martin and Chris Wood, at least for those of you not into their avant-garde post-bop acid funk groove jazz, with it's cooler than cool jazziness that evokes way more things than I can describe here. Just put on the headphones and let yourself sink into this one. It's reassuringly familiar and refreshingly new all at once.

All right, it sounds like the band has been drinking, but as any Spike Jones fan can tell you, it's really hard to make things sound that easy. Lester Bowie, more than almost any other artist (Louis Armstrong comes to mind) gives his trumpet an astoundingly human voice, and isn't afraid to inject a little humor into it as well. The Brass Fantasy (four trumpets, two trombones, a french horn, tuba and drums) creates a true aural fantasy with this dreamily weird cover; the album includes some other covers and a couple of Bowie originals. Original is definitely the word to define Mr. Bowie.

Sadly, Amy and the Men have parted company after just two albums. But Amy's still around, having recently performed her evening-length song cycle "The Secret Language of Subways" for voice, electronics and cello trio (the Cello ChiXtet). For today's selection, here are Amy and the Men putting their own unique electronic art-rock cabaret spin on an old King Crimson song.

Yes, that's her real name. And yes, this is her real voice. It's sometimes described as childlike, Betty-Boop-like, etc., but keep listening. Her arrangements are impeccable (they simply cannot be pecked!), infused simultaneously with charm and sardonic wit, and elevated by her seemingly effortless piano playing. If you can catch her live, she's still playing the cabaret/supper club circuit, mostly in New York and occasionally in London.

This is a lovely, if somewhat odd, ballad in which the grass is chided for telling secrets to the blabberin' trees. Sandy Denny did a great version of this song, but I think this is the definitive version. It shows up on a lot of Ink Spots albums, this is the so-so disk I had on hand.

One of the most creative and entertaining a cappella groups now making the rounds. I first saw The Bobs at a benefit in a beautiful church in Oakland, Ca., and bought this CD from Amy "Bob" herself. She wrote this tune, and is the featured performer. Of course she's from New Jersey.

A cover of a great Tom Waits song. The Archers tell the story well, plus there's the most interesting grunt going throughout the tune. This is an excellent album overall; it introduced me to many bands that I probably wouldn't have listened to if they weren't doing Tom Waits songs.

I first found this song on the web, and didn't believe it was really Ani till I did some research. We usually think of her in a modern feminist vein, and this is about the most sexist song of all times (gangster rap excluded). The song advises a young woman to do everything to please a man, and in reward..."you will be his!" If you're going to go to all that trouble, I would think he should be yours, if there really needs to be an ownership issue at all. Also, this is the theme to a fairly awful movie featuring Julia Roberts being utterly selfish right to the unredeeming end. But anyway, this is a great cover, better than the original, a very creative arrangement with some great rhythm (listen to the drums).

I much prefer her great bluegrass stuff to her pop-country efforts. This tune is somewhere in between, but it's a great cover with some beautiful harmonies. And what's not to like about a fiddle-playin' child prodigy who manages to grow beyond those early expectations. Plus, on occasions (like this album cover) she looks astonishingly like a young Linda Ronstadt.

(Parental Advisory!) Balkan fever hits Seattle in a wacky mulitcultural frenzy of jazzy punk politics. No, I don't know what that means either.

Imagine this fellow deep in Southern Siberia, listening to Iron Butterfly doing "In a Gadda Da Vida," and being inspired to render it in his unique Tuvan style. It's wonderful. It's insane.

A classic 60's girl group showing their New Orleans roots with this afro-creole-mardi-gras nursery rhyme of a song.

Bette goes south of the border with this funny and very catchy tune.

Wild Balkan Gypsy music goes funkadelic! This'll make you want to buy a tuba and dance down Main Street.

If you're from New Jersey (and who isn't!) this tune is for you.

Fabulous voice, intriguing lyrics, stunning orchestration, and possibly the best use of a bell ever!