After successfully tracking down playlists from Jenna Wolfe and Erica Hill, I turned to Weekend TODAY's co-anchor and esoteric music aficionado Lester Holt to hear what he was grooving to. Here's what he had to offer. - Alex, TODAY.com editor/producer
I was asked to submit my playlist for TODAY.com a month ago. It may be the hardest assignment I've been given in years, because my iPod contains about two dozen playlists that represent virtually every type of music, from opera to country, with a mood or environment to match each one. There's a "workout" play list ("Rev"), there is the "don't bother me on the subway can't you see I'm jammin' out" playlist ("R&B"), the "late night hanging on the sofa with a glass of pinot noir" playlist ("Quiet Storm"), the "long overseas flight" playlist ("Heathrow)", as well as the sitting in a West Village cafe sipping a cafe latte and reading my iPad" playlist ("Coffee House"), and so on, and so on.
As a musician, I embrace every type of music, and I like tunes that stand the test of time, which is why you'll rarely find current -- as in this month's top 40 -- hits on my iPod. Jazz is my first love and so the eclectic playlist I have put together tends to lean more in that direction. Enjoy.
Because Lester's picks were so diverse, a couple of his choices weren't available via Spotify. As such, here are two more songs Lester cited. - Alex, TODAY.com editor/producer
"Time Difference" by Hiromi's Sonicbloom
"Find Me" by Christina Grimmie