Joe Jackson’s seventh album is a mix between jazz and pop, and has also been reviewed as so called sophisti-pop. I’ve written about that genre before. Sophisti-pop grew out of the British new wave, with added polished instrumentations. Before it was Johnny hates jazz. That was polished. What Joe Jackson delivers here has the vibe of jazz, but is pop. An interesting mix.
Body & Soul was recorded in the Masonic Hall in Manhattan. A peculiar place that still serves as the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York. Jackson liked the acoustics there, and it was next door to Vanguard studios, who used it for their classical recordings. The place is indeed big enough to accommodate a full symphony orchestra.