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Weekends are made for music — whether you’re getting glam with your friends for a fabulous Friday night out, having mandatory Saturday brunch, or strolling through the Sunday Farmer’s Market. The right soundtrack can make anyone’s everyday errands feel like a momentous celebration. In remembrance of one of modern music’s most legendary jazz singers, these diverse picks are perfect for fans of swinging rhythms and confessional lyrics — with a fresh twist. So if you only spin three albums this weekend, let it be these soulful masterpieces guaranteed to keep you moving and grooving.
‘My 21st Century Blues’ (2023)
Artist: Raye
Following her Glastonbury 2025 performance, Raye is making the rounds on social media thanks to her impossibly fast riffs from her upcoming single “Where The Hell Is My Husband?” And in late 2022, TikTok users were seen using the sped-up version of one of Raye’s hooks from her single “Escapism”: “the man that I love sat me down last night and told me it was over. Dumb decision.” But Raye is no regular “viral” artist, and she is far from an industry plant. The now 27-year-old has been in the professional music industry since the age of 17. Signing with Polydor Records in 2014, the dreams she was promised as a solo artist diminished when she became stuck in limbo in her four-album contract.
After years of working on an assortment of projects — having written songs for Little Mix and John Legend — and being unable to release her solo album under her label, My 21st Century Blues became a cathartic release for the artist who had been keeping it all to herself. Serving as her official debut studio album, the project was independently released after she departed from Polydor. The opener, “Oscar Winning Tears,” is grand and dramatic with a sweeping symphonic backdrop that feels made for Royal Albert Hall. By contrast, “Hard Out Here” immediately pivots into gritty territory, driven by hard-nosed rapping and dark pop elements. The constant back and forth between lush arrangements and biting tracks reflects Raye’s determination to break free of the boxes she was once confined to.
On top of Raye’s strong vocal runs — not surprising since she grew up with musical parents — My 21st Century Blues is a diary of Raye’s life. It’s one thing to be an artist constrained by label bureaucracy, but it’s a different story when you’re a woman. “Mary Jane” recounts her struggles with substance abuse, detailing alcohol, cocaine, marijuana, and the painkiller Codeine. “Body Dysmorphia” has Raye addressing her battles with body image growing up, obsessing over her appearance to the point where, at one time, she would wear three Spanx and a corset underneath her waist.
But the highlight of My 21st Century Blues is “Ice Cream Man,” where she notes the interaction-by-interaction of being sexually assaulted by someone she worked with in the industry. As one of Raye’s more important works — if not the most — it’s a song that not only shows how hard it is to be a woman, but how dangerous it can be in the music industry. Served with the promise of advancing their careers, female artists are often trapped in situations where they must compromise themselves or guilt-trip into making uncomfortable, sometimes even illegal, sacrifices. A song that brings Raye to tears live, she emphasizes that despite what happened, “music is medicine, and this song saved [her] life.”
‘Frank’ (2003)
Artist: Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse was a star who left the world far too soon. Years before her untimely death, she became the constant target of ridicule from the scathing English press. Following the release of her 2006 album Back to Black, paparazzi pushed their lenses deeper into her personal life and ongoing struggles. In the same year that pop powerhouses like Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, and Rihanna dominated the charts, Winehouse stood out as the black sheep of the music industry. With her messy beehive hair, winged eyeliner, and tattoos, she was labeled unruly and unfiltered compared to the more manufactured artists of the era. Sadly, her appearance, addiction battles, and volatile marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil only fueled paparazzi cruelty. The more broken Winehouse appeared, the more profitable she became.
While Back to Black cemented her image as the “tortured artist,” her debut album, Frank, revealed a younger Winehouse years before the press ate her alive. Think of Back to Black and Frank as night and day. Sonically, Back to Black is darker and moodier, built on soulful belting and “big voice intensity” reminiscent of Motown classics. Meanwhile, Frank — named after Frank Sinatra — leans toward lighter, jazz-infused grooves, toying around with playful vocal phrasing with a modern touch of minimalistic hip-hop beats. Listening to Frank is like listening to a friend sharing her revelations as a young woman — Winehouse was only 20 when she released the album. Her lyrics are confessional and conversational, showcasing a lighter, more optimistic side to Winehouse as she reflects on love and relationships. In “In My Bed,” she sings about sleeping with an ex while wanting nothing more than physical intimacy. The nervy “Amy Amy Amy,” though clearly age-inappropriate, details a crush on her science teacher. Meanwhile, “F**k Me Pumps” highlights her sharp English humor, offering biting social commentary on the WAGS phenomenon, mocking women obsessed with becoming footballers’ wives for wealth and looks.
Despite Frank’s cheekiness, Winehouse’s smoky, contralto voice demands your serious attention. The young adolescent took on the daunting task of covering the 1936 jazz standard, “There Is No Greater Love.” Winehouse’s rendition adds to the previous covers by revered singers like Aretha Franklin, Nat King Cole, and Etta James. In between her gushings about her romantic affairs, “What is It About Men” addresses her father’s infidelity and her fear of becoming a mistress to a married man. It’s one of her songs that made her learn more about herself, and what she perceives is the true nature of cheating men.
One way to enjoy Frank is not simply by listening to it as a standalone album, but by also watching Winehouse’s live performances of its tracklist. A striking example is the opener “Stronger Than Me,” a song that vents about a flaky guy who fails to meet her wants and needs. The studio version alone is already fantastic, but after watching her 2003 performance on Later… With Jools Holland, followed by a stripped-back set in a small record store, the verdict is clear: Winehouse never delivers the song the same way twice. That unpredictability is the mark of a truly gifted musician — someone who could improvise on a whim, sing straight from the heart, and make it all look effortless.
‘Travelling Without Moving’ (1996)
Artist: Jamiroquai
When Dua Lipa brought Jamiroquai to her Wembley debut in June 2025, the performance proved that the seasoned band still got the funk. But let’s get one thing straight: although cultural awareness wasn’t as huge a discourse back in the ‘90s, it’s never okay for a non-Indigenous person — in this case, Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay — to wear a Native American headpiece. While the war bonnet became one of his most recognizable stage costumes, his usage is deeply disrespectful. Now that the air’s been cleared, Jamiroquai were undeniably central to the UK’s acid jazz movement, standing alongside acts like Brand New Heavies and Incognito. At a time when Britpop giants like Oasis and Blur were taking over the charts, Jamiroquai carved out their own space, bringing jumpy grooves and an infectious, nightclub energy to the homogenous, rock ‘n’ roll musical landscape.
Although Jamiroquai got their first taste of success with their 1993 and 1994 albums, their third album, Travelling Without Moving, pushed them into mainstream success. Having sold more than 8 million copies worldwide, the album is acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the best-selling funk album in history. True to its name, Traveling Without Music is inspired by Jay Kay’s love for automobiles (he’s even got the fastest lap on Top Gear). He’s so obsessed with fancy sports cars that the music video for “Cosmic Girl” features a black Ferrari F355 GTS, a purple Lamborghini Diablo SE30, and a red Ferrari F40.
From steady bass-heavy lines in “Traveling Without Moving” to the sheer rush of “Alright”, every song is a ride, and listeners are invited to join them on their sonic trip. True to the spirit of travel, listeners are carried across genres — or even worlds — through their sudden musical shifts. After the first three funk-heavy tracks revved up the pace, the tracklist slows down with the silkier “Everyday.” Soon after, “Drifting Along” picks up the pace again with a ska-inspired rhythm, complete with bouncy guitar riffs and the shimmer of steel drums. But the biggest curveball comes with “Didjerama,” an instrumental piece built around the didgeridoo — a traditional Australian Aboriginal wind instrument known for its deep, continuous drone that instantly takes listeners to a different dimension.
Travelling Without Moving is what the band envisions the future would be, and there’s no better example than its lead single, “Virtual Insanity.” In 1996, Jay Kay was already lamenting about the turmoil advanced technology might bring to humankind, resulting in the loss of connection. The cherry on top is that Jonathan Glazer (the same guy behind the Oscar-winning The Zone of Interest) directed the music video for “Virtual Insanity,” — a fitting choice considering Glazer’s ability to illustrate surreal, disorienting realities. Written during a time when the Internet was in its early years, and social media had yet to exist, “Virtual Insanity” scarily foreshadows this generation’s unhealthy relationships with our screens.
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