The Best of Acker Bilk: Stranger on the Shore and 15 Other All-Time Hits
While the English clarinetist Acker Bilk--the English counterpart to Al Hirt--is by no means a major jazzman, he is an important precursor to the jazz-pop fusion made so popular by Kenny G and others. His trad jazz-inflected easy listening is still popular with older audiences, and his early '60s "Stranger on the Shore" was nearly as big an instrumental hit as "Telstar." While Bilk is of little interest to jazz fans, his '60s output remains a staple of "beautiful music" radio, and "Stranger on the Shore" is still well loved by the older generations.--Skip Heller