Jim Chappell

Featuring piano and nothing else, Jim Chappell's 1986 debut album exudes an intimate, homespun feel. The pianist self-produced Tender Ritual when he wasn't serving time at UCLA as accompanist for the dance department. Amazingly enough, he personally sold over 11,000 copies of the record while playing gigs up and down the West Coast. While Chappell would go on to release far slicker albums, there's something totally endearing about Tender Ritual's smooth and melodic mix of light jazz, new classical and adult contemporary pop.