Straight No Chaser - A Jazz Show

Listeners to Straight No Chaser know I have great fondness for the music of the piano trio, an art I consider one of the highest forms of jazz in terms of improvisation and collaboration. The music these groups make grows richer over time, so those groups that stay together can often take their sound to another level as they mature.

Pianist Omer Klein has made some of the most intriguing piano trio music of the recent past. His latest album Life & Fire marks an anniversary – Klein and his trio partners bassist Haggai Cohen-Milo and drummer Amir Bresler have been together for ten years. Over this period, they have produced four albums and shared their common musical experience with audiences worldwide. To celebrate the group took both music from the past repertoire and new tunes, and recorded in a small studio with an audience of friends and family, making Life & Fire sound not just intimate, but celebratory.

In our conversation Omer talks about how the group has grown together, how he individually continues to work outside of the trio – he has written scores for dance and performed with classical musicians – and the music scene in his hometown of Frankfurt, Germany. Musical selections are “Niggun” with a challenging 11/8 meter, and the melodic “Tzuri,” written for his late grandfather.

"I'm freer than I've ever been in my personal life, and I'm freer than I've ever been in my music. I'm accepting who I am. I love who I am. And as I continue to evolve – my artistry, my sexuality, and my overall humanity – my music will continue to become more and more personal ” - Eric Reed

Pianist Eric Reed has been a key component in memorable bands led by Wynton Marsalis, Joe Henderson and Freddie Hubbard, but I've founds the recordings he has made as a leader in his own right the most moving. Reed has been a strong advocate for rethinking what songs and songwriters should make up the American muscial canon, and he continues that trend on his latest release on Smoke Sessions Records.

Black, Brown and Blue features music written by jazz masters like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Buddy Collette, and Buster Williams, along with jazz-conversant pop/R&B songwriters Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers. In addition, Reed's new bandmates on this session – bassist Luca Alemanno and drummer Reggie Quinerly – each contribute a new piece of their own that works well in this setting.

Reed continues to bring his own gospel-tinged sound to these classics, and he and his bandmates shine when they mix and match the tunes into witty commentary on others (Horace Silver's "Peace" matched with McCoy Tyner's "Search for Peace" with a tasty quote from Ornette Coleman's "Peace" for good measure.

Reed shares his personal views on his music, on Thelonious Monk, his students at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his place in the jazz world as a member of the LBTQ+ community. Muscial selections for Podcast 952 include his cover of "Lean on Me' featuring a fiery vocal from veteran minister and vocalist Calvin B. Rhone and Thelonious Monk's "Ugle Beauty."

To hear the interview I reference in this podcast, go to WRTI.org .

Wayne Escoffery was riding high the morning I spoke with him. And why not? Just that weekend he had become the first person of color to conduct a performance of Charles Mingus' epic "Epitaph.," a piece he had played before under the direction of Gunther Schuller. His latest album, Like Minds , ws just out on Smoke Sessions Records, and featured top notch guests like Gregory Porter, Tom Harrell, and Mike Moreno joining Escoffery’s quartet of David Kikoski, Ugonna Okegwo, and Mark Whitfield, Jr.

Whitfield Jr is the new hand on board, as longtime drummer Ralph Peterson Jr. had passed away in March 2021.. This is a top notch group, and the selections are brilliantly assembled with Escoery tunes, most written during the lockdown days of the pandemic.

New for Wayne is the recording of tunes for which he has written lrics, and who better to sing them than Gregory Porter? Particualrly stunning is the group's talke on the reggae classic "Rivers of Babylon," which had been oft-heard in the Escoffery household during his youth.

Podcast 951 is my conversatioin with Wayne (an apology for some of the audio distortion from cellphones) as we talk about the importance of his longtime collaborators to his sound, and what they bring to the studio when they all get together. Musical slections include "Like Minds" and "Rivers of Babylon."

A new face on the New York jazz scene, 25-year-old guitarist-composer Tomer Cohen made his debut as a leader earlier this year with the release of Not the Same River , an album that shows how painting with sound and silence can create often striking musical moods.

Accompanied by the highly interactive rhythm tandem of drummer Obed Calvaire (a ubiquitous figure on the NYC scene and currently a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis) and stalwart bassist Matt Penman (formerly a linchpin of the SFJAZZ Collective and sideman on over 100 recordings), Cohen demonstrates his unique fingerstyle-and-pick technique on eight thoughtful compositions that reflect his pastoral upbringing, from age 4 to 21, on a kibbutz in Israel.

From the wistful title track to the odd-metered, Middle Eastern flavored “Connecting Dots,” the meditative “Hithadshut (Regeneration)” and the intricate, briskly moving “Empty?,” Cohen distinguishes himself as a fresh new voice through his affecting compositions and considerable six-string skills. Other tunes like “Pastures” and “Sunrise” show his unique ability to evoke a sense of place in a composition, while the energized groover “Probably More than Two” and the sublime ballad “First Laps” each harken back to more personal memories for the composer. The extraordinarily sensitive and complimentary playing of Calvaire and Penman throughout Not the Same River only serves to elevate the proceedings from track to track.

Podcast 950 is my conversation with Tomer, as we dsicuss his writing techniques, his thematic choices for compositions, and his choice of gear to create the sonic landscapes of Not the Same River , Musical selections include “Connecting Dots.”

If you think Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s remarkable, 1960 interpretation of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1892 ballet, The Nutcracker , is the final jazz word on the popular orchestral work, think again. Performed by drummer/leader Joe McCarthy’s New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band, The Pan American Nutcracker Suite is a distinctly different take on the famous score, integrating the polyrhythms and distinctive percussion from across the world, most notably McCarthy’s playground of choice, Latin America

The New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band includes some of the finest players in jazz. Session conductor Vince Norman led Nick Marchione, John Chudoba, Brandon Lee, and Alex Norris, trumpets; followed by Andrew Gould, lead alto saxophone; Alejandro Aviles, alto saxophone; Ben Kono and Luis Hernandez, tenor saxophones; and Frank Basile, baritone saxophone. Mark Patterson, Ryan Keberle, and John Yao played trombones, James Borowski, bass trombone. McCarthy, of course, handled drums, while directing the rhythm section of Luis Perdomo, piano; Vinny Valentino, guitar; Boris Kozlov, bass; and Samuel Torres, percussion.

Downbeat Magazine hailed Joe McCarthy, writing “The Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band, captained by drummer Joe McCarthy, occupies a singular spot in the timeline of Afro-Cuban ensembles, at once a torchbearer of the genre’s storied history and also one of its fiercest innovators." Nine McCarthy-led recordings preceded The Pan American Nutcracker Suite , including Caribbean Jazz Project/Afro Bop Alliance featuring Dave Samuels , winner of the Latin Jazz Album Grammy of 2008. The album was also nominated in the Latin Jazz category at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Podcast 949 takes us into the thought process behind the innovative arrangements to the ubiquitous holiday sounds,.

If it’s June, then jazz festival season must be underway. As always, the early highlight for me is Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, held in lovely Saratoga Springs’ Performing Arts Center June 24-25.

Impressario Danny Melnick has a strong lineup for the festival this year, with acts performing on two stages, along with juried crafts, food and drink. The line-ups for Saturday, June 24 include Snarky Puppy, Angelique Kidjp, Tower of Power, Chucho Valdes, Cory Wong and the Cindy Blackman Santana Band on the Amphoteater Stage, and Kurt Rosenwinkel, Emmet Cohen, Claudia Acuna, Carolyn Wonderland, Glen David Andrews and Nduduzo Makhathini on the Charles R. Wood Discovery Stage

Sunday’s talent on the Amphitheater Stage kicks off with Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye Project, Hiromi’s Sonicwonder, St. Paul & The Broken Bones and ends with Bonnie Raitt. The Discovery stage gives them great competition, as Grammy darling Samara Joy will be performing, as will Melissa Aldana. Mark Guiliana, Jupiter & Okwess and the Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars, featuring Todd Coolman, Clay Jenkins, Dennis Mackrel, Jimmy Greene, Michael Dease, Bill Cunliffe and Dave Stryker.

So listen up as Danny and I give you the inside information on the Festival, with some great backstory and insight into how and why these great artists are set to perform. Musical selections include tunes from Nduduzo Makhathini, Cindy Blackman Santana Band, and St. Paul & The Broken Bones.

It’s been a while, but I’m pleased to say that Straight No Chaser is back in business! There is a lot of great content coming up, so please spread the word.

We’ll kick things off with my conversation with singer/songwriter/arranger Ann Hampton Callaway. Ann has a new album out on Palmetto Records, and it’s her tribute to one of her earliest music heroes, Peggy Lee.

The recording come on the heels of Callaway’s show, Fever: The Peggy Lee Century , a 100th birthday celebration of the singer at the New York City supper club 54 Below for which she just received a BroadwayWorld nomination for Best Celebrity Show. The album, Fever: A Peggy Lee Celebration! features the vocal strength we’ve come to expect from Ms. Callaway.

She has assembled a crack band to support her interpretations of Lee tunes, led by long-time collaborators Ted Rosenthal at the piano and Martin Wind on bass. Tim Horner is on drums, and guest guitarists Bob Mann and John Pizzarelli add some extra pizzazz.

Ms. Callaway has wisely focused on Miss Lee’s compositions rather than the tunes she covered. The author of over 270 songs in her lifetime, Ann calls her “the first singer-songwriter” in our conversation. In addition to the nine tunes Peggy wrote or co-wrote, Ann shines on the singer’s signature material, like “Fever” and “Black Coffee.” Of special interest is “Claire de Lune”, with music and arrangement by Ann andwords by Peggy Lee from an unpublished poem.

Podcast 947 is my conversation with Ann Hampton Callaway, as we discuss Peggy Lee, Ann’s recent explorations of the Linda Ronstadt Songbook, and some exciting future projects she has coming our way. Musical highlights include “Claire de Lune” and a medley of “ This Is a Very Special Day /It's a Good Day.”

Looking for some new Christmas jazz tunes to brighten your hoilday spirit? Our annual consumer guide gives you a chance to hear a track or two from recent releases of holiday music. This year features "new" releases from Norah Jones and Vince Guaraldi (deluxe versions of previous albums) and a comprehensive collection from Louis Armstrong. There are also single/EP only tunes from Laila Biali, Samara Joy, and Matt Wilson.

I'm featuring two tracks from Andy James' Bells Are Ringing (Le Coq Records). The first is an instrumetal original, "It's Christmas Time" composed by Andy, Piero Pata and Jon Cowherd and featuring an all-star group: Piano - Cowherd, Tenor Sax - Marcus Strickland (solo), Organ Melody - Ronnie Foster, Percussion - Alex Acuña, Drums - Clarence Penn, Bass - Christopher Thomas, Trumpet - Terell Stafford, Trombonist - Michael Dease, Alto Sax - Bob Sheppard). The vocal song from the album is the venerable "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),"recorded at Capitol Studios with Nat King Cole’s very own Steinway piano. Arranged by Bill Cunliffe who accompanies on piano, along with Drums - Joe LaBarbera, Bass - Chris Colangelo, Guitar - Jake Langley, Vibraphone - Lolly Allen, and Violin - Calabría McChesney.

Podcast 946 features:

Richard Williams - "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (with Alex Stiles)" from Hollywood Christmas
Laila Biali - "My Favorite Things"
Chris Ruggiero - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Christmas with Chris Ruggiero
Louis Armstrong - "Winter Wonderland" from Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule
Joe McCarthy's New York Afro-Alliance Big Band - "Waltz of the Flowers" from The Pan American Nutcracker Suite
Norah Jones - "Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones)" from I Dream of Christmas (Deluxe Edition)
John Beasley - "Away in the Manger" from Holidaze
Vince Guaraldi - "Skating (#7, Take 2 - September 22, 1965)" from A Charlie Brown Christmas [Super Deluxe Edition ]
Andy James - "It's Christmas Time" from Bells Are Ringing
Andy James - "The Christmas Song" from Bells Are Ringing
Chris Ruggiero - "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" from Christmas with Chris Ruggiero
Richard Williams - "Here Comes Santa Claus/Jingle Bells/Frosty the Snowman (with Hayley Kirkland, Connor Ross, Company B)" from Hollywood Christmas
Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O - "MariahParushka"
Samara Joy - "O Holy Night"

We heard from promising young jazz singer Samara Joy in Podcast 943 last week, and today it’s Tawanda’s turn.

When she tied for first place with Gabrielle Cavassa in the 9th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, the feat was all the more impressive given that Tawanda had performed her first full show just a year before. Raised in the deep south of New Mexico on the border with Texas, she is proudly a first generation American with a mother from Germany and a father from Mozambique. This unique background has served her well, giving her access to a world of music styles that few can access. Under the tutelage of singer/educator Mirabai Daniels, she was recommended to Resonance Records founder George Klabin who pushed her to perform live and enter the Sarah Vaughan competition.

Her first album, Smile , was produced by Klabin, who brought veteran pianists Tamir Hendelman and Josh Nelson to accompany the young singer. The end result neatly mixes jazz standards like “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” and “Lucky to Be Me” with interpretations of pop numbers like Sting’s “Sister Moon”and Donny Hathaway’s “Sack Full of Dreams.” She only cuts loose a few times, most notably on a scatting “Out of This World,” but it’s clear there is not only a singer with the necessary pipes here, but one with the ability to inhabit and interpret a song.

Podcast 944 is my conversation with Tawanda, as we discuss her sudden rise to touring performer and recording artist, what she looks for in a song to add to her repertoire, and what projects she hopes to tackle in the near future. Musical selections from Smile include “Out of This World,” and “Sack Full of Dreams.”

On Straight No Chaser this week, we feature two promising young female vocalists and their most recent releases. Both Samara Joy McLendon and Tawanda Suessbrich-Joaquim have professionally dropped their last names. Both were winners of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition, in 2019 and 2021, respectively ( Tawanda’s competition was originally slated to be held in 2020 but delayed due to COVID). Both are following well-worn paths of singing standards and modern pop songs with small group backing. And the sky seems the limit for both.

Samara's major label debut on Verve Records is Linger Awhile , an often thrilling collection of standards and lesser known gems. Recorded at Sear Sound in New York City, it features a crack band of Pasquale Grasso (guitar), Ben Paterson (piano), David Wong (double bass), and Kenny Washington (drums) behind the singer. Whether she is singing classics by Gershwin or Monk, or digging deeper for the title track and tunes by Fats Navarro what stands out is that voice - cutting through the material, and emoting for all she is worth.

Music has always been a guiding presence within Samara’s family. Her grandparents, Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, led the well-known Philadelphia-based gospel group, The Savettes, and her father toured with the renowned Andrae Crouch. Although her earliest influences are the gospel and R&B sounds of Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, George Duke, and Musiq Soulchild, Samara fell in love with jazz while attending Fordham High School for the Arts, where she performed regularly with the jazz band and eventually won Best Vocalist at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington competition. Samara attended SUNY Purchase and recently graduated as the Ella Fitzgerald Scholar.

Podcast 943 is my conversation with Samara Joy, recorded on Zoom while she was on tour recently. We talk about how she came to fall in love with jazz, how she chooses material and works on the arrangements, and what her next step (hint: Christmas music and tour) will be. Musical selections include "'Round Midnight" and the title track.

Back in the early 70’s, drummer Mike Clark and bassist Paul Jackson were best friends, living in East Oakland, playing flatbed gigs at Black Panther rallies and generally raising hell. Cooking was not their forte, so the barbecue joint next door became a hangout. Mrs. Jones (of Everett and Jones) asked them to write a song to promote the spot, and they came up with the first version of ‘God Made Me Funky.’ Bill Summers worked with Jackson at the local record store, and he jumped at an opportunity to open a show for Herbie Hancock in the Bay Area. He got the call to audition for Herbie’s band, joining Herbie for the album Headhunters . The result was the first platinum selling Jazz album in history. The lineup on that first album: Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason, and Bill Summers. Mike Clark replaced Mason afterwards, and the lineup continued on several hugely influential Herbie Hancock releases such as Thrust and Flood .

"God Made Me Funky" and it's sampled drum loop helped define early hip-hop, and cemented the reputation of the two percussionists forever. Mike Clark and Bill Summers are two of a kind - they share a love for music that never dies. The pair kept The Headhunters alive, releasing two albums in Survival of the Fittest in 1975 and Straight From The Gate in 1977 with Herbie as featured guest. The chemistry between them is undeniable: They have persevered for over 40 years through industry setbacks, the death of band members, and more, to stay true to their mission with the same energy and zeal that the music demands.

11 years after their last release, The Headhunters are set to release Speakers In The House , a new full length album featuring Summers, Clark, NEA Jazz master Donald Harrison, Stephen Gordon, bassist Reggie Washington, and organist Jerry Z. The album also features Scott Roberts and Fode Sissoko on kora. The Headhunters spirit is alive and well on the album, which fuses the band’s African and New Orleans influences with their ever-present technical jazz-funk, rooted in music history and growing in the present moment.

It was a real treat to get both Clark and Summers together on a Zoom call a month back, and let the two do in conversation what they do in musical conversation onstage - exchange ideas, riffs and thoughts in lightning speed, keeping a great rhythm going at all times. It was a blast.

And you can hear it on Podcast 942, where they talk about the new album, how they have stayed together for forty plus years, and their recent solo projects, Summers' Forward Back and Clark's Blues on Top with Leon Lee Dorsey and Mike LeDonne. You'll get a chance to hear the re-arranged and performed "Actual Proof" as the two remember the late, great Paul Jackson.

Bobby Watson continues to carry the Hard Bop torch well into the 21st century. And he sounds as vibrant as ever on his latest release, Back Home in Kansas City (Smoke Sessions Records), which was released last month. He’s joined by some familiar faces – his longtime rhythm section of bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Jones along with two stars in their own right - pianist Cyrus Chestnut and trumpeter Jeremy Pelt.

The album is made up of Watson tunes old and new, as he finally got around to recording a few tunes that he had on the shelf. He has three contrafacts as well – his takes on classics from “Maiden Voyage” to “Back Home in Indiana” to “Giant Steps.”

As his Jazz Messenger boss Art Blakey taught him, your sidemen can bring in great tunes as well. Jones contributes the stealthy “Red Bank Heist,” and Chestnut contributes the sparkling “A Star in the East,” an easygoing waltz that thrives on the rich melody shared by Watson and Pelt. The trumpeter’s offering is the tender “Celestial,” highlighted by his own muted eloquence.

In addition, old friend Carmen Lundy comes by to join the band for “Our Love Remains,” co-written by Watson and his wife Pamela. In instrumental form, the song was the title track for his 1986 album Love Remains and was recorded again for 1992’s Present Tense . The vocal version has previously been recorded by Kevin Mahogany and Melissa Walker, and Lou Rawls was planning his own rendition prior to his death.

Bobby shares insights into the writing and recording of Back Home in Kansas City , and shares how he reharmonizes tunes to get them to sit best on his alto horn. Want to know what he has planned next? Listen to Podcast 941.

Marshall Gilkes keeps one foot firmly in the world of jazz, and another in the classical world. On any given night in New York, you might find the trombonist playing with the New York Philharmonic, filling in a Big Band brass section, or soloing with a salsa band. He is in demand as part of the Maria Schneider Orchestra and the WDR Big Band, as well as the Slide Monsters Trombone Quartet, and leading his own projects This has led to his producing six critically acclaimed albums, along with his latest work, Cyclic Journeys (Alternate Side Records).

Something of a throwback to the “Third Stream” compositions of the late Fifties, Cyclic Journeys finds Marshall writing for jazz quartet – himself on trombone, Aaron Parks on piano, Linda May Han Oh on bass, Johnathan Blake on drums – as well as classical brass octet - Brandon Ridenour-trumpet, piccolo trumpet, flugelhorn, Ethan Bensdorf-trumpet, flugelhorn, Tony Kadleck-trumpet, flugelhorn, Adam Unsworth-horn, Joseph Alessi-trombone, Demondrae Thurman-euphonium, Nick Schwartz-bass trombone, and the inimitable Marcus Rojas-tuba. The resulting long-form composition moves deftly through musical styles, while refusing to be put into any one musical box. Take the tune “Genre Battles,” which offers contrasting brass octet sections against the jazz quartet absolutely burning over Rhythm Changes.

Podcast 940 is my conversation with Marshall, as we discuss the difference in writing and arranging for, and playing with, jazz and classical players. Marshall also talks about his early days as a budding musician, following in his father’s footsteps on the trombone, but carving out his own path to acclaim.

I enjoyed having author Sammy Stein on the podcast so much (check out Podcast 810 ), when I learned she had a new book out, I had to have her back.

The Wonder of Jazz: Music That Changed the World is slim in size but not in scope, as she takes both the jazz newbie and the aficinado on a tour of jazz past, present and future. Backed with a long listening list, it represents the ideal read for those looking to get deeper into this great music. Early Christmas present anyone?

Her previous book, All That’s Jazz (Tomahawk Press), received critical acclaim, and her Women in Jazz (8th House) gained the JazzTimes Distaff Award, made the Gearbox list and was nominated by the Jazz Journalists Association for best jazz book. She has curated several radio series and has appeared on Jazz FM, BBC, Jazz Bites Radio and more. Sammy organized the London Jazz Platform mini-festival event and was named the Jazz Journalists Association International Editor.

In our conversation we try to define exactly what jazz music is, where it might be going in the future, and how the pandemic changed things for musicians in her home UK as well as around the world.

A pivotal member of New York's Jazz scene for 40 years, pianist Bruce Barth's inspired vision and generous accompaniment has always led to rich musical collaborations, none more so than with his working trio of many years with bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Montez Coleman. Their collective voice found its perfect setting, which makes the release of Dedication a profound and emotion-filled moment, as Montez passed away 5 months after the recording session at the age of 48. Celebrating the joy and camaraderie Montez brought to their work, the thread of relationships, inspiration, guidance and gratefulness that imbued the recording revealed itself, leading Barth to present the music as a display of mindfulness of those gifts. Dedication is for the ones who give, and is filled with life, dance and above all, swing.

Beyond paying tribute to Montez, Bruce has written songs that are dedicated to other figures who have touched him in one way of another, including Tommy Flanagan, McCoy Tyner and George Floyd. While moving, it is never elegiac – there is a deep feeling of hope in Barth’s playing here, and heaven knows we need more of that these days.

Bruce has performed on over 125 recordings and movie soundtracks, including fifteen as a leader. He is equally at home playing solo piano leading an all-star septet and composing for a variety of ensembles. Within a year of moving to Brooklyn in 1988, Barth toured Japan with Nat Adderley. He started working with Vincent Herring and Stanley Turrentine, and joined Terence Blanchard's quintet in 1990. During the next four years, he toured extensively with Blanchard, recorded six CD's and several movie soundtracks, and played onscreen in Spike Lee's film, Malcolm X .

Bruce has had extended collaborations with Terell Stafford, Steve Wilson, Luciana Souza, Steve Nelson, and Tony Bennett. He has performed with James Moody, Phil Woods, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Branford Marsalis, Art Farmer, and the Mingus Big Band. Finally, Bruce is a dedicated teacher, currently on the faculties of Temple University and Columbia University.

Podcast 938 is my conversation with Bruce Barth, as we talk about the new album, the loss of Montez Coleman, and his future projects. Musical selections from Dedication include "Courage," dedicated to front line workers who braved the pandemic, and "Memoriam," dedicated to Geore Floyd and those who fight for racial equity.

I must confess that any album that features Brazilian-born singer Luciana Souza is going to be on my radar immediately. A brilliant interpreter of both American and Brazilian pop and jazz classics, she collaborated brilliantly with Yellowjackets in 2018, and Vince Mendoza and the WDR Big Band Köln in 2020.

Her latest collaboration is another smashing success. Grammy-winning Cuban-born drummer, composer, bandleader, and 2011 MacArthur “Genius” Fellow Dafnis Prieto wrote songs and lyrics for his latest album Cantar , (on his Dafnison Music label) a great vehicle for Luciana’s talents. Prieto and Souza are joined by a trio of masterful improvisers on the album, including Peter Apfelbaum (Woodwinds, Melodica, Percussion, and Keys), Martin Bejerano (Piano), and Matt Brewer (Acoustic and Electric Bass). Recorded in September 2021, the project is co-produced by Grammy-winning producer (and Souza’s husband), Larry Klein, and Eric Oberstein, Prieto’s collaborator for the past half decade.

Songs with lyrics are something new for Prieto, but you’d never know if from the songs he (and on several, Souza) wrote in three languages — English, Spanish, and Portuguese — making it a truly global affair. Dafnis moves between his award-winning Big Band, the more supple sextet and this smaller group with little effort, driving the sound with his patented percussion. Ms. Souza is once again at the top of her game, her voice more than merely a device for the lyrics, but a true instrument in itself.

Podcast 937 is my conversation with Dafnis Prieto, as we hear the story behind the making of Cantar , his desire to write the lyrics for an album of his music, and why he tapped Luciana Souza for the gig, Musical selections include the wordless vocal of Luciana on "To the Concert." and the collaboratively written "The Muse."

“Musically, I have the very clear feeling that my stretching out and being creative has a much better chance of happening organically, avoiding alienation and stiffness, when done in energetic connection with my roots – with the sensuality and groundedness of the hymns and the spirituals and the lullabies.” – Tord Gustavsen

Piano players who record on ECM are in some heavy company. Many of the legends of the ivories – Jarrett, Corea, Bley, Iyer – have all had some of their finest work appear on the now legendary label. Tord Gustavsen seems to shrug off these rarified heights as he continues his recording career on ECM. And for good reason.

Changing Places , Gustavsen’s 2003 recording debut with his first trio, was ECM’s most successful debut in a decade. He followed with two more trio recordings, before launching a new, more flexible ensemble, which released the album Restored, Returned in 2009. The line-up included Tore Brunborg on saxophones and Kristin Asbjørnsen on vocals. This was followed in 2012 by an instrumental quartet album called The Well . He remains one of their most consistent sellers, and his releases are critically lauded.

The Tord Gustavsen Trio that recorded Opening , his latest release, has someone old and someone new in the band. Long-time drummer Jarle Vespestad is still here, but bassist Steinar Raknes is new to the fold. His playing is perfectly matched for this piano and drums, and he is not afraid to step out and take the lead on a few tunes as well. Steinar's use of elctronics, which Tord has touched on before, adds additional depth and texture to the recordings. As at least a few critics have pointed out, this music is the epitome of what ECM has stood for over the years, and one of the finest releases of 2022.

Tord was born in Oslo in 1970 and grew up in the Norwegian countryside. He began playing the piano aged 4, and was composing and improvising before he learned to read music and perform classical pieces. His first stages were in churches, and he still calls on hymns and folk melodies in his compositions today. At the age of 19, he began his studies at the University of Oslo and his interest in jazz started to flourish. He was accepted into the jazz department at the Conservatory of Music in Trondheim in 1993, where he formed several bands and toured all over Scandinavia.

I caught up with Tord via Zoom recently and we discussed his desire to move between piano trio and other ensemble sizes, why the addition of Raknes on bass was so important to the new album, and his plans for the rest of 2022. Musical selections from Opening include the ironically titled "Helensburgh Tango" and the melodic "The Circle."

Following the success of his digital showcase series of solo guitar tributes to giants like Monk, Powell, and Ellington, Pasquale Grasso has cast his musical net a bit wider. His latst album, a trio recording from the Sony Music Masterworks release called Be-Bop!, is an often dazzling tribute to be-bop pioneers like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.

Backed by his working trio of bassist Ari Roland and drummer Keith Balla, the Grasso trio is in sync through super-up-tempo, challenging fare like “A Night n Tunisia.” “Groovin’ High,” “Cheryl,” “Ornithology," “Be-bop" and “Shaw ‘Nuff." Although the tunes are all staples of the jazz repertoire, it’s a pleasure to hear Pasquale use his guitar and fleet fingers to give a different voice to the memorable melodies and harmonics.

Special guest vocalist Samara Joy, who has been collaborating with Pasquale since 2020, appears on one track, the lesser-known jivey mid-tempo swinger “I’m in a Mess” (originally sung by Joe Carroll on Gillespie’s 1951 album, School Days ). The two have great chemistry, and it’s no surprise that he will be on her debut album, now available on the Verve label.

Born and raised in Ariano Irpino in Southern Italy’s Campania region, Grasso relocated to New York City in 2009 and has since been wowing audiences with regular appearances at Mezzrow, Smalls and The Django, where he has showcased his tremendous command of the fretboard by freely moving between single notes, chords and independent bass lines while flashing Art Tatum-esque filigrees with uncanny speed and precision. In 2015, Pasquale won the Wes Montgomery International Jazz Guitar Competition in New York City, including performing with guitar legend Pat Martino’s organ trio. Grasso was subsequently signed to an exclusive deal with Sony Masterworks, which led to his initial series of digital releases in 2019.

Podcast 935 is my conversation with Pasquale, as we delve into his love of the be-bop classics, his studies with the late Barry Harris, how he came to jazz – a family thing – and his working relationship with Samara Joy. Musical selections include “Groovin’ High” and A Night in Tunisia.”

Tomasz Stańko – one of Europe’s most original and beloved jazz musicians – was born on July 11, 1942, in Rzeszów, Poland, and he passed away in Warsaw on July 29, 2018. In many ways, his life traced the course of modern jazz in Europe, beginning with his tenure – when barely into his twenties – in the band of the great Polish composer-pianist Krzysztof Komeda, through his association as a leader with the iconic German art-house label ECM Records that would produce a dozen masterful albums up to his final release, December Avenue , in 2017.. To mark what would have been his 80th birthday year, an all-star memorial concert – “Remembering Tomasz Stańko” – will be held at Brooklyn’s Roulette at 8:00pm on September 18, 2022, with tickets free of charge. The event will include musicians who worked closest with Stańko in his last, highly productive decades and others who collaborated with him on special latter-day projects.

“Remembering Tomasz Stańko” will include two illustrious soloists on trumpet: Wadada Leo Smith and Ambrose Akinmusire. The night’s revolving cast of musicians will be anchored by the rhythm sections from both Stańko’s New York and Polish quartets: pianist David Virelles, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gerald Cleaver, from the former; and, from the latter, pianist Marcin Wasilewski, bassist Sławomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michał Miśkiewicz. Stańko discovered the Poles when they were just teenagers; in addition to working as an established trio, they now play with saxophonist Joe Lovano – who will also join them for this event. Guitarist Jakob Bro, who played on Stańko’s Dark Eyes album, will be on hand, as will saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Craig Taborn – who were part of a special band that Stańko put together for a concert at New York’s Jazz Standard in 2011. Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and bassist Dezron Douglas will also perform; they, along with Virelles, featured in a quintet that recorded POLIN , a suite that Stańko composed for an exhibition at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

I spoke with Dezron Douglas about his time with Stańko, the man he calls “my Polish O.G.” Dezron has a strong sense of the history of jazz, and his love and respect for Tomasz was clear in our conversation. Douglas knows the masters of this music well – he was tutored as a teenager in Hartford, Connecticut by his great-uncle Walter Bolden, as well as saxophone legend Jackie McLean. Since then, he has become one of the foremost bass players in the business, leading his own group and playing with acts as diverse as Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Mulgrew Miller, Enrico Rava and more, including his current spot with jam band master Trey Anastasio.

Podcast 934 is my talk with Dezron, as he remembers his time with Tomasz Stańko, and shares insight into how he moves effortlessly between genres of music. Musical selections include the title track from POLIN.

After several weeks of bad news in the jazz world, driven by the untimely deaths of Jaimie Branch and Joey DeFrancesco , a little sunshine has appeared. After two years were spent reorienting to the pandemic with modified operations including livestreams, sidewalk concerts, and outdoor dining, Smoke Jazz Club made a long-awaited return as a world-renowned full-time destination earlier this month. The revered Manhattan institution has undertaken an impressive expansion and renovation that readies itfor the post-pandemic 21st century. And signing a thirty year lease extension doesn't hurt either.

Despite being closed to indoor performances and dining for over two years, Smoke has survived and doesn't seem to have missed a beat in its musical presentations. A new, separate lounge and enlarged stage will make performances even more memorable from this point forward. Husband and wife co-owners Paul Stache and Molly Sparrow Johnson have much to be proud of.

The club was first opened on April 9, 1999 by co-founders Stache and Frank Christopher, taking over the space that had been Augie's Jazz Bar for 25 years. Since then, not only have Stache and Ms. Johnson operated and grown Smoke for jazz performance, they also have also have created a Grammy-nominated label, Smoke Sessions Records, and a celebrated streaming
concert series, Smoke Screens.

Podcast 933 is my conversation with Paul Stache, as we talk about the long road to Smoke's reopening, the elements of its expansion and plans for the future.

After an impressive foray on her debut album, Azalea, rising star vibraphonist Sasha Berliner has followed up with a vigorous, unabashedly avant-garde sophomore recording, Onyx on JMI Recording. Her band is packed with familiar names who happen to be fellow students and friends of Sasha’s, including Marcus Gilmore on drums, Burniss Travis II on upright and electric bass and James Francies on piano and Fender Rhodes. Special guests include Jaleel Shaw on alto saxophone, Julius Rodriguez on analog synths and vocalist Thana Alexa.

The album has a dense, shaded sound, creating soundscapes that serve as strong backing for Sasha’s nimble mallet work. If at times melodies seem fleeting, each accompaniment imposes an array of feelings that serves the music and the musicians well. Perhaps the most resonant example of abandoning jazz tradition is presented in Berliner’s two-part arrangement of the standard “My Funny Valentine.” Propelled by her entrancing solo on the first, listeners ride through a forlorn, dreamlike exploration, waking up in a vibrant Part II where a brash and swift conversation between the band ensues.

A Bay Area native, Sasha was the 2020 Downbeat Critics’ Poll winner of the “Rising Star - Vibraphone” category, becoming both the first woman, and at 21, was the youngest individual in the poll’s history to be granted the win. Sasha graduated from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music with her Bachelor's degree in Jazz Vibraphone Performance and a minor in Non Fiction writing from the adjacent Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts.Since then it’s been onward and upward, not just with her own bands, but working with her friends and established stars like Christian McBride and Tyshawn Sorey.

Podcast 931 is my in-depth conversation with Sasha Berliner, as she delves into the songs on Onyx and talks about her transition from drums to vibes in her teens. Musical selections include “Jade” and “Polaris.”

After the deaths earlier this week of legendary producer-record label impresario Creed Taylor and brilliant young trumpeter jaimie branch, the jazz world had another shock on Friday, when the news spread that legendary organist Joe DeFrancesco had died suddenly at the age of 51. No cause of death was immediately released.

I had the pleasure to see Joey D several times, and to have two podcast interviews with him (Podcasts 666 and 846 ). first fell in love with the music of Joey DeFrancesco twenty years ago, when I booked him on an epic Organ Summit triple bill with the late Charles Earland and recently departed Dr. Lonnie Smith for the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz. What an evening that was! Significantly younger than the other greats sharing the stage that night, he more than held his own, and seemed as excited as any fan in attendance to be part of a very special event.

During his thirty plus years as a performer, he went from part of the Philly music scene that included Christian McBride and Kurt Rosenwinkel to playing with everyone from Miles Davis and John McLaughlin to Van Morrison and the Count Basie Orchestra. He matched musical wits with the great Jimmy Smith, and in his most recent recordings, sought to stretch his sound by working with Pharoah Sanders. A well written obit for Joey D can be found here.

Podcast 932 honors the music Joey DeFrancesco made during his too-short life, including some of my favorite tracks. It ends with the last track he recorded on his last album, More Music with the appropriate title of "Soul Dancing":

Joey DeFrancesco - "Cherokee" from Authorized Bootleg

Miles Davis - "Intruder" from Live Around the World

Joey DeFrancesco - "Blue 'N Boogie from The Philadelphia Connection

Grover Washington Jr - "Keep in Touch" from Strawberry Moon

Joey DeFrancesco and Bobby Hutcherson - "Speak Low" from Organic Vibes

Joey DeFrancesco - "Vibrations in Blue" from In the Key of the Universe

John McLaughlin - "Tones for Elvin Jones" from After the Rain

Joey DeFrancesco with Jimmy Smith - "Dot Com Blues" from Legacy

Christian McBride Big Band - "Pie Blues" from For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver

Joey DeFrancesco - "Soul Dancing" from More Music

Brian Lynch is well known for his work in Latin, Afro-Carribean and other global sounds, as well as for a Hard Bop trumpet sound that never gets tired. His latest release, Songbook Vol. 2: Dance The Way U Want To finds him bringing new life to older Lynch compositions, backed by his crack band Spheres of Influence.

Spheres of Influence represents some of the best of the Miami jazz scene, with a core rhythm section of Rodner Padilla (electric bass), Hilario Bell (drums), and Murphy Aucamp (percussion) backing Lynch's trumpet. Other players moved in and out of the sessions including Alex Brown (piano), Tom Kelley (alto sax), and Aldo Salvent and Chris Thompson-Taylor (tenor sax).

Lynch’s “Songbook” series reclaims the many original compositions that he recorded for other labels throughout his career on his own label Hollistic MusicWorks, in new and improved renditions. Coming directly after the critically acclaimed (one of JazzTimes’ Best Albums Of 2021) Songbook Vol. 1: Bus Stop Serenade , Dance The Way U Want To continues the project with a focus on works chronicling Lynch’s uniquely personal mixture of straight ahead modern jazz style with Afro-Caribbean musical elements, reflecting his long and distinguished career in both idioms.

Dance The Way U Want To features music fashioned over a period of almost forty years, mostly from Brian’s long association with the Criss Cross and ConClave labels. The album includes two new compositions recorded here for the very first time: "E.P.s Plan B", dedicated to Eddie Palmieri; and "The Disco Godfather", a shout out to Black humorist and pioneering filmmaker Rudy Ray Moore.

Coming out of the Midwest, Lynch cut his teeth working with the great Charles McPherson in San Diego, before moving to New York and spending time with Horace Silver and and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. He recieved acclaim for his work with Phil Woods and Art Blakey, but most notably for playing with Eddie Palmieri, leading to a Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz album for 2006's Simpatico . He won a second Grammy for the Brian Lynch Big Band's album, The Omni-American Book Club in 2020. Brian has taught at The Frost School Of Music at The University Of Miami since 2011.

Podcast 930 is my conversation with Brian, as we talk about how the influences of Blakey, Silver and Palmieri have shaped his music, and the joy he found in "rediscovering" his older material. Musical selections include

A conversation with keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer crossed another name off my list of top-notch artists I have not had the pleasure to meet. His career began with roles in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and bands led by Ray Brown and Art Farmer, all before his 30th birthday. Since then, he has grown as a writer, performer, arranger and band leader, to say nothing of being a first call sideman for the likes of Benny Golson, Christian McBride, and Chris Botti.

On his 23rd album as a leader, Keezer continues to augment and refine his distinctive style. Playdate , on his own record label, MarKeez, is the perfect title for the project, as he has put together a group of distinguished collaborators, to create a new edition of “Geoffrey Keezer and Friends.”

On Playdate , collaborators Shedrick Mitchell on organ, Ron Blake on tenor and soprano saxophone, Richie Goods on acoustic and electric bass and Kendrick Scott on drums create the perfect partners for Keezer's musical productions. He has added guitarists Aayushi Karnik and Nir Felder , percussionist Munyungo Jackson, a String section and French Horns from Rachel Drehmann.

Though his intention was to remain “old school” with a Blue Note-style blowing date, Keezer found inspiration in his love of strings and percussion amidst his writing and decided to expand. From the Hard Bop sound of “I.L.Y.B.D. ” (“I Love You But Damn”) to the funky arrangement of “Tomorrow” (from The Brothers Johnson by way of Quincy Jones) and the string soaked "Bebah," there's an awful lot to like in Playdate.

In Podcast 928 we talk about the new album, his times playing with Art Blakey and Art Farmer, and how he almost joined up with Miles Davis. Musical selections include the album closer, "M’s Bedtime Blues.” The tune is based on a melody that Keezer and his wife, vocalist Gillian Margot, created when their son began to play with his drum kit over nightly FaceTime sessions with Keezer's late father.

Over the years, the drummer-less trio of Steve Cardenas (guitar), Ben Allison (bass) and Ted Nash (reeds) has recorded wonderful interpretive albums to celebrate their favorite composers. First came Quiet Revolution (2016), drawing from the compositions of Jim Hall and Jimmy Giuffre and then Somewhere Else: West Side Story Songs reinterpreting the music of Leonard Bernstein.

Now we have Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley (Sunnyside Records).The trio plays a wide range of Bley-penned tunes written between 1958 and1987, including classics like "Ida Lupino" and "Lawns", along with lesser-known compositions such as "Ictus" and "Donkey". The tunes are constructed to give top improvisers plenty of room to work, and the results are often striking. These three have developed an awesome chemistry.

In a career that spans over 30 years, Allison has developed his own instantly identifiable sound. Known for his inspired arrangements, inventive grooves and hummable melodies, Ben draws from the jazz tradition and a range of influences from rock and folk to 20th century and a broad range of music from around the world, seamlessly blending them into a cinematic, cohesive whole. Ben is also well kn own as an educator and advocate. Ben served as an advisor to the Doris Duke Foundation, helping to establish Chamber Music America’s New Works – Creation and Presentation program. He served two terms as President of the Board of the New York chapter of the Recording Academy and chaired the Advocacy Committee from 2012 until 2019.

Musical selections from Healing Power: The Music of Carla Bley include "Lawns" and "Ictus."

It's past the midpoint in summer in New England, so why not some summer themed music for what may still be lazy, hot days? Today is August 16th, the feast day of Saint Roch, the patron saint of Dogs, so why not celebrate the "Dog Days"? Plus, Saint Roch's name is to be invoked to avoid plagues, so need I say anything more?

The Romans associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog), as well as the brightest star in the night sky. The term "Dog Days" was used earlier by the Greeks in Aristotle's Physics .

The Dog Days originally were the days when Sirius rose just before or at the same time as sunrise, which is no longer true, owing to procession of the equinoxes. The Romans sacrificed a brown dog (Apologies to Angus and Hamish, my two miniature dachshunds!) at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius, believing that the star was the cause of the hot, sultry weather.

I've now done eight previous Dog Day postings, Podcast 292 , Podcast 225 , Podcast 442, Podcast 492 , Podcast 546 , Podcast 588, Podcast 632 , Podcast 695 and Podcast 838 if you'd like some more summer-themed music. There may be a few repeats between these posts, but what the hey. It’s all grooving or relaxing music for soaking in those wonderful warming rays. As they said on Game of Thrones , "Winter is Coming", so let's grab all the warmth we can get.

Musical selections for Podcast 929 include:

Joey Alexander - "Summer Rising"

Elan Trotman's Tropicality - "Thoughts of Summer"

Clark Burroughs Group - "Surf's Up"

Ronnie Foster - "Sultry Song"

Marilyn Scott - "Summer Night"

John Patitucci - "My Summer Vacation"

Al Jarreau - "Somebossa (Summer Breezin')"

The Rippingtons - "Summer Lovers"

John Scofield - "Endless Summer"

Stacey Kent - "The Summer We Crossed"

Michael Henderson - "Stay With Me This Summer"

Blue Mitchell - "Summer Soft"

Bud Shank - "The Summer Wind"

Michael Franks - "Dragonfly Summer"

Podcast 926 completes my conversation with noted trombonist Steve Davis. Steve's latest album is a sextet release on the Smoke Sessions label called Bluesthetic , and it features Steve on trombone, Peter Bernstein on guitar, Steve Nelson on vibes, Christian McBride on bass, Geoffrey Keezer on keys and Willie Jones III on drums.

In Part Two of our conversation, Steve talks about his times with the likes of Jackie McLean and Art Blakey, as well as his coming projects with the collective One For All. Musical selections include the Davis composition "Fire Waltz" from One For All's album Incorrigible . The band is composed of Davis on trombone, Eric Alexander on sax, Jim Rotondi on trumpeter and flügelhorn, David Hazeltine on piano, John Webber on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums.

Year in and year out, Steve Davis is at or near the top of the trombone category in all the important jazz polls. A veteran writer-performer-educator his career runs from the final version of the Jazz Messengers through runs backing the likes of Jackie McLean and Chick Corea. He has lead any number of bands under his own name, and co-leads the collective One For All. During my time as a member of the Hartford, Connecticut scene, Steve was always a key figure in playing, teaching and organizing important events for the community.

His latest album, Bluesthetic (Smoke Sessions label) presents something of a throwback sound. Steve has put together a group with two old collaborators - vibraphonist Steve Nelson and guitarist Peter Bernstein - and keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer, bassist Christian McBride and drummer William Jones III for a swinging set of originals. Nelson, Bernstein and Davis had joined forces for a 1998 album Vibes Up! and return to that unique front line here, with a wonderfully satisfying result.

Podcast 925 is the first of a two-part conversation with Steve, as we discuss the latest album, and he recalls his time working in the Origin and Spanish Heart Band (the latter of which won Steve a Grammy). Musical selections from Bluesthetic include the title track.

Part Two of our conversation with focus on Steve's work with other musicians, his plans for recording in the fall, and his new gig teaching at Berklee in Boston.

Podcast 924 is the final part of my conversation with bass legend Jimmy Haslip. A founding member of Yellowjackets, he's been at the epicenter of bass playing for the past thirty years, with over 400 sessions and almost 200 productions under his belt. His latest project is a trio record that came together during the pandemic shut-down period, when long-time friend Barry Coates, who plays a unique synth guitar, shared music he was working on with Jimmy. From there came virtual sessions with drummer Jerry Kalaf, resulting in New Dreams . Haslip plays both fretless and fretted bass on the album, adding to an ethereal sound harkening back to the glory days of ECM Records.

We conclude our talk with Jimmy's reminisces on a session he played with KISS, how he began playing the bass (he's self-taught) and how he hones his craft today when he practices. Musical selections include "Postcards," a tune that Jimmy co-wrote with Russell Ferrante for Yellowjackets' 1987 album Four Corners on the GRP label.

And now back to my conversation with ace bass player Jimmy Haslip! Having been the producer or co-producer on more than 190 recordings, and having recorded over 400 records, Haslip continues to thrive on the road and in the studio.

His latest project is a trio record that came together during the pandemic shut-down period, when long-time friend Barry Coates, who plays a unique synth guitar, shared music he was working on with Jimmy. From there came virtual sessions with drummer Jerry Kalaf, resulting in New Dreams . Tune into Podcast 922 for more details.

Part Two of my conversation allows us to go back into his history as a recording artists, producer, and arranger having worked with the likes of jazz artists like Al Jarreau, Lee Ritenour, Billy Cobham, Pat Metheny, George Duke, Branford Marsalis and the Jeff Lorber Fusion to pop. rock and soul stars like Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, , Crosby, Stills & Nash, Anita Baker and Bruce Hornsby.

Here we discuss some of my favorite recordings in which he was involved. Musical selections for Podcast 923 include:

-"Magnolia" from Yellowjackets' 211 album Timeline . The track was co-written by Jimmy and keyboardist Russell Ferrante, and features a guest guitar from fellow founding member Robben Ford. Jimmy spent 34 years as a regular member of Yellowjackets, leaving only when the travel commitments became too great for him.

-""Candleglow" from singer Michael Franks' 2018 release The Music in My Head . The track was produced and arranged by Haslip, and features his bass as well.

- An edited version of "It Must Be Jazz" from the quartet of the late Allan Holdsworth, Alan Pasqua, Haslip and Chad Wackerman, from the 2009 Blues for Tony double album. Jimmy co-wrote the tune with the other band members. Jimmy has a hand in organizing a new album of previously unreleased material from this quartet, to be titled Protocosmos and released this fall.

Part Three of my conversation with Haslip will be released later this week. Then we talk about his beginnings as a player, his practice regimen, and how he came to play bass on a session with Kiss.

Simply put, Jimmy Haslip is one of the legends of the electric bass.

Producing over 190 recordings, he also has himself recorded on over 400 records. Haslip is a founding member of the group Yellowjackets, and was a member for 34 years. He has 22 Grammy nominations and 3 Grammy wins. Haslip has toured and recorded with over 180 artists and bands in 52 years, from jazz artists like Al Jarreau, Lee Ritenour, Billy Cobham, Pat Metheny, George Duke, Branford Marsalis and the Jeff Lorber Fusion to pop. rock and soul stars like Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, , Crosby, Stills & Nash, Anita Baker and Bruce Hornsby.

His latest project is a trio record that came together during the pandemic shut-down period, when long-time friend Barry Coates, who plays a unique synth guitar, shared music he was working on with Jimmy. From there came virtual sessions with drummer Jerry Kalaf, resulting in New Dreams . Haslip plays both fretless and fretted bass on the album, adding to an ethereal sound harkening back to the glory days of ECM Records.

Haslip has been getting back on stage slowly, with short tours backing drummer Dennis Chambers and guitarist Oz Noy. His most recent productions include a session with singer Marilyn Scott, an old musical buddy, working with Yellowjacket Russ Ferrante on her album The Landscape .

Podcast 922 is the first of a multi-part conversation with Jimmy, as he talks about his recent projects. Musical selections include “Towner” from New Dreams , and the title track from Marilyn Scott’s The Landscape .

Podcast 921 takes us inside "New York Jazz Stories", in written and now video form. Based on the Joe's Pub at the Public residency, this series of stories interacts with the lives of the people involved. From 2012 to 2020, Cadence writers and interviewers asked subjects to present stories in their own words. Under David's expert eye, we can enjoy them now.

These are stories about Sonny Rollins, Annie Ross, Sarah Vaughan, Miles Davis, Herbie Nichols, Thelonious Monk, and many others both historic and contemporary. The music features Bernard Purdie, David Haney, Jay Clayton, Adam Lane, Nick Lyons, Kirk Knuffke, and Dave Storrs.

Click here to get started with your viewing fun.

David Haney studied composition with Czech-American composer Tomas Svoboda and piano with jazz pianist Eddie Wied. He has recorded with the likes of Roswell Rudd, Julian Priester, John Tchicai, Bud Shank, Andrew Cyrille, Bernard Purdie, Adam Lane and more. As a leader, Haney has over 25 albums on CIMP-USA, Cadence-USA, Big Round Records, SLAM-UK, NoSe-So-Argentina, La Gorda-Argentina, and Canada Jazz Studio-Canada.

He has received grants and commissions for his creative work from the U.S. State Department; Alberta Film Works; and the Oregon Ballet Theatre. He was awarded a travel grant from the U.S. State Department to present the music of composer Herbie Nichols in concerts throughout Argentina and Chile. His releases Conspiracy a go go and Clandestine were both selected Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2009 (Cadence Magazine ).

Red List , the new Palmetto album by multi-woodwind specialist Brian Landrus is dedicated to bringing awareness to some of the world’s most endangered animal species. Landrus is backed by a top-notch band of Ryan Keberle (trombone), Geoffrey Keezer (keyboards), Nir Felder (guitar), Rudy Royston (drums), Ron Blake and Jaleel Shaw (saxophones), Lonnie Plaxico (bass), John Hadfield (percussion), Steve Roach (trumpet) and vocalist Corey King.

Long an animal lover, Brian found himself learning more about the plight of many potentially doomed species. Seeking a way to call attention to the world-wide problem, he decided to do an album dedicated to the plight of 13 endangered species. The album title comes from The Red List, compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk of animal, fungus and plant species. He reached out to friends and musicians recommended to him, and found likeminded individuals to work on the album. Released last month, Landrus will be donating 20% of all proceeds and 100% of the profits to Save The Elephants, which has been helping to ensure a future for African Elephants for nearly 30 years.

In ou conversation, Brian explains how the compositions flowed once he began working on the album, and how the entire thing came together in the studio during only a few rehearsals and sessions. Despite its serious themes, the music captures the joys of these animals’ existence rather than dwell on their possibly grim fate.

A veteran of the New York scene since moving to town in 2007 following four years at New England Conservatory in Boston, Landrus has performed with some of the world’s great jazz musicians, including Fred Hersch, Esperanza Spalding, Billy Hart, George Garzone, the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Ken Schaphorst Orchestra, and his teacher and mentor Bob Brookmeyer. He also toured with such national pop acts as The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Coasters, The Drifters and Martha Reeves. Landrus, who hails from Reno, Nevada, earned his doctorate from Rutgers University and is joining the faculty at the Berklee School of Music in Boston this fall.

Red List is his sixth album as a leader, and he continues to grow as a player on baritone sax, baritone clarinet and other woodwinds, as well as a composer. The podcast features musical selections from Red List including the reggae-tinged “Leatherbacks,” for the Leatherback Sea Turtle, and “The Distant Deeps,” where vocalist Corey King delivers Herschel Garfein’s evocative lyrics with uncommon sensitivity.

In Part One of my conversation with Danilo Pérez, we talked about his latest release, Crisálida, a collaboration with Pérez’s Global Messengers. The group consists of alumni from Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Institute, run by Danilo. The musicians, and the instruments they play, create a crazy quilt of musical history and styles, but Pérez seems more than capable of bringing them together.

In this podcast, we cast a wider net, and talk about his most recent Grammy-wining collaborations with saxophonist Wayne Shorter and vocalist Kurt Elling . With Shorter unable to tour due to a number of medical issues, the other members of his quartet, Pérez on piano, John Patitucci on bass and Brian Blade on drums have formed a trio, Children of Light, which released an album as well.

Danilo explains how he came to work with Elling, and how the resulting album, Secrets Are the Best Stories , has changed how he plays the compositions to which Elling added lyrics. Musical selections for the podcast include the Elling-Pérez version of Danilo's composition "Gratitude." here retitled "Gratitude [For Robert Bly]." We'll also hear "Gratitude" as performed by Children of Light in an April 23, 2018 show at the Fasching Jazz Club,in Stockholm, Sweden .

With the release of Crisálida (Mack Avenue Records), which in English translates to “chrysalis,” pianist/composer Danilo Pérez moves closer to creating art that bridges the many gaps that exist between peoples of the world. In our conversation, he said forthrightly, “We all need more positive thoughts.” The new album is nearly an hour of musical positivity.

Composed of two suites, Crisálida is a collaboration with Pérez’s Global Messengers, consisting of alumni from Berklee College of Music’s Global Jazz Institute. The musicians, and the instruments they play, create a crazy quilt of musical history and styles, but Danilo seems more than capable of bringing them together. The Global Messengers features percussionist Tareq Rantisi (Palestine), laouto player Vasilis Kostas (Greece), violinist and vocalist Layth Sidiq (Iraq, Jordan), cellist Naseem Alatrash (Palestine) and singer Farayi Malek (United States). Guest appearing on several cuts are batá drummer Román Diaz (Cuba), Ney flutist Faris Ishaq (Palestine), Zárate (Chile), singer Erini Tornesaki (Greece) and the Kalesma Children’s Choir of The Ark of the World (Kivotos tou Kosmou) (based in Greece).

Pérez credits his mentor Dizzy Gillespie for the foundation of the idea, as Danilo’s career was boosted by participation in Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra. A native of Panama, Pérez has built upon the many musical influences he absorbed there, becoming as he puts it, “a global citizen of music.” Danilo is a UNESCO Artist for Peace, the Cultural Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, and the Founder and Artistic Director of the Panama Jazz Festival.

He has released more than a dozen critically acclaimed albums as a leader and served as a key member of the highly regarded Wayne Shorter Quartet with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. We’ll talk more about Shorter and other artists with whom Danilo has worked in Part Two of the conversation.

Musical selections in Podcast 918 include the opening movements of the two suites that make up Crisálida : “Rise From Love “ from the La Muralla (Glass Walls) Suite , and “Adrift” from the Frontera (Borders) Suite .

I posted Podcast 689 - "Independence Day 2019 - Red State Blue State" with the hopes that the coming year and election might improve things in America. To some degree the ousting of the Trump administration has helped. However, America remains hopelessly, and I feel forever, divided.

I prepared a Podcast which intends to bring across in music the great frustrations so many of us feel about America. I begin once again with “America the Beautiful” – a song sung by an African-American (Ray Charles), the son of a sharecropper, with lyrics written by a woman (Katherine Lee Bates) and music by a man (Samuel A. Ward). But the message must be refracted through the lens of the rest of the songs I have chosen, all questioning whether we are crowning our good with brotherhood in 2019, and if there is a chance we can regain some of our common sense and grace:

Ray Charles - "America the Beautiful"

Noah Preminger – “A Change is Gonna Come” from Meditations on Freedom

Delfeayo Marsalis presents the Uptown Orchestra – the Title Track from Make America Great Again!

Wadada Leo Smith – “America, Pts. 1-3” from Ten Freedom Summers

Brad Mehldau – “The Prophet is a Fool” from Finding Gabriel

Ratetet – “Red State, Blue State” from Arctic

The Dirty Dozen Band featuring Chuck D – the Title Track from What’s Going On

Charlie Haden and the Liberation Orchestra – “This is Not America” from Not In Our Name

I end with an element of hope – but not a lot of faith:

Mavis Staples – “Build a Bridge” from If All I Was Was Black

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones - “The Star Spangled Banner” from Flight of the Cosmic Hippo

Click on the hyperlink above to download or listen.

(Note: This version of "The Star Spangled Banner" was arranged during the Battle of Wadi Al-Battle in Iraq in1991and was recorded a day after the battle started.)

In the previous podcast, Kirk Knuffke discussed the making of his trio album, Gravity Without Airs , with pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist Michael Bisio. Part Two of my conversation with Kirk Knuffke begins with a chance for him to look back at some of the great talent he has worked with or learned under. While he has played and recorded with the likes of Roswell Rudd, Marshall Allen, Tootie Heath, Frank Kimbrough, William Parker, Myra Melford, Billy Hart and Ben Allison, we discussed three other players in some detail.

Kirk has been a member of the Matt Wilson Quartet for more than a dozen years and he shares his insight into Matt’s unique talents and wonderful sense of humor. Wilson has been a guest several times on the show, and I have found him one of the most personable and engaging artists in jazz today.

Knuffke also has recorded with Matt to make up the trio that recorded Mary Halvorson’s Sifter in 2013. Kirk has a fondness for working with guitarists, and Halvorson and Charlie Hunter are two of the finest he has spent time backing. His time with the extraordinary Hunter included the release of one of the best album titles I can recall, Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth .

Knuffke remembers one of his great teachers and friends, fellow Coloradan and cornetist Ron Miles, who passed away in March., and shares a number of stories about the influence Miles had on his playing. Kirk also shares insight into how he decided to play jazz. We'll also discuss the release of several projects he has been working on over the past year, and rest assured, they are many and varied.

Musical selections in the Podcast include “How Ya Going” from the Matt Wilson Quartet’s release with pianist John Medeski, Gathering Call , and “We Don’t Want Nobody Nobody Sent,” a bluesy number from Charlie Hunter’s Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth.

Cornetist Kirk Knuffke has made some 20 albums as a leader or co-leader over the past two decades, while also being a key member of groups led by Matt Wilson , Alison Miller (Boom Tic Boom) and Mary Halvorson (Sifter). His latest release, an intimate, double album. Gravity Without Airs, features him with pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist Michael Bisio. On the album they perform Knuffke compositions as well in a number of free improvisations, making for a a constantly changing and engaging release.

Gravity Without Airs (digitally and on 2CD & 2LP by TAO Forms imprint) was recorded in a lengthy session, often with little or no prompting from any of the musicians as to where the music should go. Kirk shares his thoughts on this demanding practice, and why he finds working with musicians like Shipp and Bisio so rewarding.

Originally from Colorado, Knuffke was self-taught on the trumpet and cornet, later benefiting from the private tutelage of Ornette Coleman, Art Lande and Ron Miles. Knuffke began playing with Butch Morris after moving to New York City in 2005. This friendship resulted in four recordings and several European tours. In 2009, he joined the Matt Wilson Quartet, and began collaborations with such sage musicians like Roswell Rudd, Marshall Allen, Tootie Heath, Frank Kimbrough, William Parker, Myra Melford, Steve Swell and Billy Hart. He is or was a member of projects led by Wilson, Halvorson, Charlie Hunter, Ben Allison, Ray Anderson, Mark Helias, Bill Goodwin, Karl Berger, Ted Brown and Bisio.

Podcast 916 is Part One of my conversation with Kirk Knuffke, as he shares insight into the Gravity Without Airs recording and writing, as well as plans for performing live with the trio. Musical selections from the album include the wholly improvised “Stars Go Up,” and his composition “Today for Today,” which closes the album.

Part Two of my conversation, Podcast 917, with appear in the first few days of July.

Drummer and composer Keith Hall spent nine years on the New York scene, as well as a lengthy time backing vocalist Curtis Stigers and as part of Betty Carter’s prestigious Jazz Ahead. He returned to the Midwest where he has been deeply immersed in the Kalamazoo, Michigan community for some 20 years. After playing with the likes of Wycliffe Gordon, Sir Roland Hanna, Janis Siegel, Luciana Souza, Terrell Stafford and Steve Wilson, Hall now makes his long-awaited debut as a leader. Made in Kalamazoo (Trios and Duos) is a free-wheeling set of high-energy music that is a love letter of sorts to a place Hall appreciates for its vibrant arts community, dynamic industries and vital personal connections. The album documents the drummer’s most accomplished and compelling playing and writing to date.

Roughly 100 miles east of Lake Michigan (across the lake from Chicago), Kalamazoo provided the inspiration for this invigorating summit between Hall and two of the finest collaborators he could ask for: Andrew Rathbun , a fellow jazz studies professor at Western Michigan University and transplanted Kalamazooan himself, on saxophones, bass clarinet and effects; and eminent Detroit-born bassist Robert Hurst III, currently teaching at the University of Michigan.

Made in Kalamazoo finds Hall in a few different modalities with the players involved. There are three solo drum features — placed at beginning, middle and end — in which Hall pays homage to the towering role models Billy Hart (his mentor), Elvin Jones and Max Roach. There are seven tracks with the full trio, including three compelling Hall originals (“Coming of Age,” “Creative Force,” “Well of Hope”) and four tunes that the leader co-composed with Rathbun (“Douglass King Obama,” “Kzoo Brew,” “The Promise,” “Boiling Pot”). And there are 10 spontaneously composed duo tracks for drums and reeds, giving Rathbun creative space to “plug in” at times with signal processing, dirtying up the sound and leading the duo onto new and shifting terrain.

In addition to his busy playing and professorial schedules, Hall is the Artistic Director of the Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive, a one-of-a-kind jazz drum camp, now 15 years and counting. He is also the Executive Director of TUNED IN, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting the power of music education to change lives. He has authored the instructional books Jazz Drums Now! Vols. 1 & 2 and is the radio host for Jazz Currents on WMUK, the NPR affiliate in Kalamazoo.

Podcast 915 is my conversation with Keith, as we talk about the joys of jazz outside the New York City orbit, and the talent he finds while teaching and running his camp. Musical selections from Made in Kalamazoo include "Get Up Get Out," a duet with Rathbun, and the album opener, a solo "Be Curious (For Billy Hart)" plus "If I Were a Bell" from Hooray for Love , an album Keith made with Curtis Stigers.

The hard-swinging saxophonist Grant Stewart has been leading quartets for years. His latest album, The Lighting Of The Lamps (Cellar Music), features regular collaborators, bassist David Wong, pianist Tardo Hammer and drummer Phil Stewart. However, in a twist, the group is joined by special guest trumpeter Bruce Harris for a searching, straight-ahead date.

The Toronto-born bandleader has collaborated with the likes of Jimmy Cobb, Harold Mabern, Louis Hayes and Clark Terry in the past, as well as recording over twenty albums as leader or co-leader. I'm especially fond of his three "Reeds and Deeds" albums with co-leader Eric Alexander.

The Lighting Of The Lamps doesn't break any new ground, but for Stewart that's not necessarily a bad thing - his albums are full of tunes that swing and ballads that lilt with style and excitement. The addition of Harris to the mix adds another color to the musical palette, and he rips off a few furious solos to boot.

Podcast 914 is my conversation with Grant (apologies for some poor sound quality at times - Grant was outside for our call and there was some noise pollution) as well talk about his choice of Bruce Harris to work with, and why he returns again and again to compositions by Elmo Hope, Clifford Jordan and Thad Jones. Musical selections from The Lighting Of The Lamps include "Mo is On" and "Little Spain."

June 15th is the 100th anniversary of the noted pianist Jaki Byard, and Podcast 913 celebrates his diverse musical talents with an hour plus of tunes in which Jaki is leader or sideman.

Byard played a number of instruments, but is best known as a pianist. Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, after spending much of the 1950's in the Boston club scene, he moved to New York and immediately hit it off with Charles Mingus. Byard worked with a wide variety of artists, from then on, from early days with Maynard Ferguson through his time with cutting edge artists like Mingus, Eric Dolphy, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He could play New Orleans gutbucket blues as fluently as free jazz, solo piano as well as larger ensembles, and was a key member of bands for Booker Ervin and Sam Rivers.

His solo work on Prestige Records paired him with top sidemen, and his recordings with Ron Carter, Bob Cranshaw, Paul Chambers and Richard Davis on bass; Billy Higgins, Roy Haynes and Alan Dawson on drums and George Benson on guitar are uniformly outstanding.

Byard was a charter faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music, helping to establish its jazz studies program, initially named 'Afro-American Music'. He stayed there for more than 15 years, becoming highly influential as a teacher and mentor. He died in a still-unsolved homicide in 1999.

Musical selections for Podcast 913 include:

Jaki Byard - "D.D.I.J."

Booker Ervin - "Groovin' High"

Jaki Byard - "Blues for Smoke"

Rahsaan Roland Kirk - "Roots"

Maynard Ferguson - "Mangos"

Jaki Byard - "Ode to Prez"

Charles Mingus with Eric Dolphy - "Orange was the Color of Her Dress, the Silk Blue"

Jaki Byard - "Spanish Tinge"

Eric Dolphy with Booker Ervin - "Far Cry"

Sam Rivers - "Downstairs Blues Upstairs (Alt. Take 1)"

Jaki Byard - "Medley: I Know a Place/Let the Good Times Roll"

By day, Stephen Philip Harvey appears to be a mild-mannered saxophonist, music teacher and choir director in sleepy Salisbury, MD. But when he leads the estimable team of musicians known as the Stephen Philip Harvey Jazz Orchestra, he shows his superpowers as composer and bandleader. With the release of the big band’s debut album, Smash! ( Next Level label), that identity should become a lot less secret.

It was Saturday morning cartoons, not comics, that introduced Harvey to the superhero mythos. The days when kids could only feast on sugared cereals and watch their heroes on television all morning seem to be long gone in the streaming era, but the sound of this album is what Harvey imagined aurally when he thought back on those characters and themes.

He assembled a crack group of 14 musicians from Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh in particular) and Northeast Ohio, and the results are smiling inducing from the first track. Harvey left his saxophone home when it was time to record, deciding instead to let players he viewed as technically superior to him bring his written creations to life.

Podcast 912 is my conversation with Stephen, as we discuss the inspiration for Smash!, how he came to jazz late in his musical development, and his plans for his New York debut at the Jazz Gallery in Manhattan on June 23rd. Musical selections include "Hero's Journey" and "Vigilante."

Hargrove , a vérité style documentary chronicling the last year of legendary trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s life, will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 8PM at Waterfront Plaza at Brookfield Place (230 Vesey Street, NYC). Executive produced by Janine Sherman Barrois and Erykah Badu, Hargrove offers unprecedented access to Roy like never before through intimate and insightful interviews along with stunning live performances. A Q&A, moderated by music and culture critic Nelson George featuring first-time director Eliane Henri and musicians in the film, will immediately follow the June 12 screening.

Filmed in the jazz clubs of New York, Los Angeles and across Mediterranean Europe (Vienne, Perugia, Sète, Sorrento, and Marseille) on what would be his final tour, Hargrove shines a bright spotlight on the genius of Roy Hargrove and his enormous contributions to the art of jazz. Key conversations expand beyond Roy’s personal story and enter the terrain of what it means to be an artist, particularly in America. Hargrove dives into the significance of Black music in America while offering a glimpse into the politics of power and race in the music industry.

Scenes of conflict between Hargrove, Henri and Hargrove manager Larry Clothier add drama to the story, and serve as perhaps a warning for future African-American artists (Clothier, who controls Hargrove's music, would not allow Eliane to include any Hargrove compositions in the film). Elsewhere, Director Henri uses a deft touch to give the audience insight into Hargrove and performer, and finally as a complicated, talented man, facing his mortality.

Music icons Erykah Badu (a friend of Roy's since high school), Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, Questlove, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, Robert Glasper, and others pay tribute to Hargrove’s legacy as an acclaimed composer, improviser and friend in the film .

Podcast 909 is my conversation with Eliane Henri, as we discuss the bittersweet nature of the film, which was begun well before Roy's death, and only at its end becomes a meditation on life, death and art.

To enjoy Tribeca At Home: Hargrove as a Virtual Screening beginning Tuesday June 14, 2022 click here .

The name of this band tells you what you need to know - think of all the great post-bop soul-jazz sounds that came out of the 1950s and ‘60s, putting groove and feeling above analytics and theory. Decades later, here comes the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective, co-led by saxophonist John Fournier and trumpeter Marques Carroll, doubling down on this storied jazz idiom and allowing a new generation to dig the sound.

For their CSJC's third album, On the Way to Be Free , the group raises the ante by inviting Dee Alexander to join in. Chicago’s grand dame of jazz vocals (as well as a syndicated radio broadcaster), the internationally acclaimed Ms. Alexander elevates every project she undertakes. She’s a shape-shifter who ranges far and wide, from her groundbreaking work with Chicago’s famed AACM, to her own strikingly original compositions, to her celebrations of the music’s great divas, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, and Billie Holiday (as on Alexander’s guest appearance with the Metropolitan Jazz Octet on its 2019 album, It’s Too Hot for Words ). And as she proves here, she can sass and strut with the best. Just listen as she levitates the bandstand on the fiery protest/gospel tune “The Man Is Coming Back,” and then she settles into the soulful ballad “So Alive” and drapes it in all the plummy finery it deserves.

The CSJC is Keith Brooks II on drums; Larry Brown Jr. on guitar and vocals; Carroll on trumpet; Amr Fahmy on Rhodes electric piano, clavinet and organ; Fournier on tenor sax; and Andrew Vogt on bass with guests Victor Garcia on percussion and Dan Leali on tambourine. They make music that moves your soul as well as your feet, bringing some much needed joy to the world today.

Podcast 911 is my conversation with Dee Alexander as we discuss her collaboration with the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective, her history with the AACM, and her participation in a project honoring Chicago legend Von Freeman. Musical selections from On the Way to Be Free include “The Man Is Coming Back.”

In my opinion, Summer unofficially begins on Memorial Day, but officially kicks off when the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival takes place. This year the event is back at full strength after a COVID-reduced event in 2021. It will take place on the wooded grounds of SPAC on June 25 and 26th.

Danny Melnick of Absolutely Live Entertainment joins us again to discuss the bookings, surprises and future highlights of the event. The Festival will again have two stages, the large Amphitheater and the more intimate Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage. Acts will include:

Saturday, June 25 - Amphitheater
Booker T. Presents: A Stax Revue Robert Glasper Galactic featuring Anjelika Jelly Joseph Con Tumbao featuring Isaac Delgado, Robby Ameen, Oscar Hernandez, Conrad Herwig, Pedrito Martinez, Juan Munguia, Alain Pérez, Mike Rodriguez, Tony Succar & Miguel Zenon Ozmosys Band featuring Omar Hakim & Rachel Z Amina Figarova Sextet plus Strings Hot Club of Saratoga
Saturday, June 25 - Charles R. Wood "Jazz Discovery" Stage
Red Baraat Matt Wilson's Honey & Salt with Dawn Thomson, Nadje Noordhuis, Jeff Lederer & Martin Wind Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith Connie Han Trio Emmaline Dan Wilson Trio
Sunday, June 26 - Amphitheater
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis Ledisi SuperBlue: Kurt Elling featuring Charlie Hunter Eliane Elias Matthew Whitaker Garland Nelson's Joyful Noise
Sunday, June 26 - Charles R. Wood "Jazz Discovery" Stage
Cha Wa Tiempo Libre Carolyn Wonderland Ryan Keberle & Catharsis Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars celebrate George Wein featuring Mike Rodriguez, Steve Davis, Jimmy Greene, Bill Cunliffe, Dave Stryker, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel

“Since a while ago, all my concerts are totally improvised – no set list, nothing prepared, just let the music lead the way. I come on stage as a newborn, ready for a new life, a new journey, a new experience every time. My bandmates are part of that experience as much as I am myself, every note they play becomes part of this life we are living together on the stage.” - Jean-Michel Pilc

Alive–Live at Diese Onze Montreal (Justin Time Recors) is a rare treat for fans of improvised music in general, and piano trios in particular. For, pianist Jeam-Michel Pilc, bassist Rémi-Jean LeBlanc and drummer Jim Doxas, this concert recording was their "break-out" after COVID-19 had effectively ended live performance for 18 months or so. The crowd was ready, the musicians set - and the result captures one of those nights like lightning in a bottle.

While the tunes are standards like "Nardis," and "Softly, As In a Morning Sunrise" plus a pair of Pilc originals, titles do not accurately describe the music made by the trio. The best example comes on "All Blues," where the classic melody is barely quoted, and time, tempo and harmonic sensibilities are left behind as the band takes the tune to places Miles and Trane never contemplated.

Enormously prolific and multi-faceted as composer and pianist, including musical directorship for Harry Belafonte; a duet performance with operatic legend Jessye Norman; a large-scale commissioned work based upon a Charlie Chaplin classic; and over a dozen albums as a leader and almost as many as co-leader, Jean-Michel Pilc has become one of the most highly respected pianist/composers of the past 25 years. Alive may give him even wider acclaim and exposure

Podcast 908 is my conversation with Jean-Michel, as we talk about his refusal to categorize his music or let his choice of songs dictate where the improvisation will go. While I rarely post long tracks on my podcasts, the scintillating "All Blues" is included in its entirety.

Pianist Lynne Arriale's last few trio albums have had something of a thematic structure. Chimes of Freedom were tunes that expressed Lynne’s solidarity with democratic values and reaffirmed her support of cultural diversity and racial equality. Give Us These Days took on a spiritual flavor - given the unpredictability and impermanence of life, her music suggests, savor each moment.

Both of those albums feature Ms. Arriale with bassist Jasper Somsen and drummer E.J. Strickland, as does The Lights Are Always On , her latest release. This original music is a suite of compositions that reflect the world-wide, life-changing events of the past two years. Several of the pieces are named in honor of heroes around the world, including those who served as caregivers on the front lines of the COVID pandemic and as defenders of democracy.

Ever since winning the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in 1993, Lynne has been one of the most consistently engaging pianists around Her critically acclaimed albums have
topped the Jazzweek Radio Charts and have received “Best of” honors in major publications. She toured Japan with “100 Golden Fingers” with Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Monty Alexander, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, Harold Mabern, Roger Kellaway, Junior Mance and Ray Bryant. She is currently a professor at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, FL.

Podcast 907 is a return visit from Lynne (we last spoke in 2012 when she released an album of solo piano) as we discuss the strengths of her piano trio, how her compositions drive her topical titles and sounds, and how and why she tweaks her compositions, particularly in regard to tempo. Musical selections from The Lights Are Always On include the title track and "Sisters," plus "Take It With Me." the Tom Waits composition performed on Give Us These Days with singer Kate McGarry.

With the release of Return from the Stars (ECM) earlier this year, Mark Turner cemented his place as not only one of the top tenor saxophone players around, but also as an artist who can write and arrange at rarified heights.

The album, is a quartet project with Jason Palmer on trumpet; Joe Martin on double bass; and Jonathan Pinson on drums. The absence of a chordal instrument like piano leaves Turner and Palmer's sound suspended over the rhythm. By this I mean that the compositions, performance and always perfect ECM recording place the two lead instruments above and from time to time, within, the rhythm section,, forcing the listener to pay attention and enjoy their intertwining sound of three-part harmony. No safety net of a piano, and it's never missed.

Mark Turner has been a frequent and significant presence on ECM recordings of the last dozen years, bringing his saxophone artistry and his musical commitment to recordings with Enrico Rava, the Billy Hart Quartet, the cooperative Fly trio (with Jeff Ballard and Larry Grenadier), Stefano Bollani and, most recently, Ethan Iverson, on the duo recording Temporary Kings . Albums under Turner’s leadership, however, have been rare and Return from the Stars is the first ECM recording to feature his quartet since 2014’s Lathe of Heaven .

Podcast 906 is my conversation with Turner, as we discuss the making of Return from the Stars , why playing live with the quartet before recording made a difference, and how he fell in love with science fiction. Musical selections from Return from the Stars includes "Waste Land."

Acclaimed for creating concept albums that riff on gospel, heavy metal, and rhythm section-less big bands, Jacob Garchik ( #1 Rising Star trombonist, 2018 Downbeat Critics Poll) has released his jazziest album yet, but one that is still imbued with his sense of experimentalism and surprise.

The result is the aptly titled Assembly , and it continues to show Jacob as a musician who enjoys the cutting edge in composition, production and performance. His long-time friends and collaborators Jacob Sacks (piano) and Dan Weiss (percussion) are joined by two other “heavies” – bassist Thomas Morgan and saxophonist Sam Newsome.

In February 2021, in the isolation of the pre-vaccine pandemic, Garchik felt the frustration of so many musicians, unable to perform or jam with his peers in almost a year. He brought together a stellar quintet to record small group jazz in a studio with enough isolation booths to record simultaneously. This initial assembly, playing blues and standards with no heads, created a swinging jam session atmosphere. For the next 3 months Garchik used these recordings for another type of assembly, cutting, pasting, transcribing, composing, reordering and reworking. The band met for a second time in May to record Garchik’s original compositions and collages based on, and sometimes overlaid atop, their own playing.

Garchik has honed his craft by playing trombone with the likes of Lee Konitz, Miguel Zenon, Henry Threadgill and Mary Halvorson. In continuing to defy classification with his music, he has arranged over 100 pieces for the Kronos Quartet and backs the Mark Morris Dance Group on Ethan Iverson’s “Pepperland.” He also sits in with the fiery Slavic Soul Party playing funked-up Balkan music, and with the Mexican brass band, Banda de los Muertos.

Podcast 905 is my conversation with Jacob, as we discuss how he came to create the loops and sounds for Assembly , why he decided to return to playing jazz trombone, and how his musicians responded to the challenges he presented to them. Musical selections from Assembly include “Bricolage” and “Idee Fixe.”

Jacob Garchik will present the premier of "Assembly" at Barbes in Brooklyn, NY on March 25, 2022. Click here for further information.

Aaron Seeber is no rookie. A native of Washington D.C. and a graduate of the highly regarded jazz program at SUNY-Purchase, the drummer has been part of groups assembled by Tim Green, Pete Malverni and Warren Wolf, and hosted weekly after-hour jam sessions at Small’s in New York. First Move is the aptly titled initial release by Seeber as a bandleader, and what a band he has assembled! He repaid Green and Wolf for previous gigs by putting them in the front line, and added pianist Sullivan Fortner and bassist Ugonna Ukegwo to make a swinging quintet.

Recorded live in Brooklyn at Ornithology Jazz Club on October 19, 2021, First Move is mostly hot covers of lesser-played tunes. The album kicks off in style with Al Foster’s “Brandyn,” and goes on with tunes from the likes of Bennie Golson (“Out Of The Past”), Myron Walden (“Fire Waltz”), Geri Allen (“Unconditional Love”) and Mulgrew Miller (“Eleventh Hour”). The title track is a Seeber original, written with shifting time signatures and in a style that recalls mid-Sixties Miles Davis and Wayne Shorter. Through in a Mingus and Bird tune, and you’ve got a solid set of material performed at a high level.

Podcast 904 is my conversation with Aaron, as we talk about the album, his experiences writing tunes as a drummer, and the relevance of a collegiate jazz education (literally a million dollar question, he says). Musical selections from First Move include “Brandyn” and the title track.

On his debut album, Balance , Berlin-based saxophonist Fabian Willmann pairs himself with two long-time friends and mentors to create a consistently fresh sounding and lyrical work. Willmann's clear tone on the tenor saxophone recalls the best eras of a Dexter Gordon or a Stan Getz, or even Wayne Marsh. The rhythmic meshing contributed by bassist Arne Huber and drummer Jeff Ballard is starkly modern. keeping things consistently interesting and moving.

Willmann has been connected to Jeff Ballard since he was a student in Basel. Always captivated by the dynamics that the drummer can unroll, especially in trio situations, he quickly took him up on a standing offer to work together. Arne Huber has partnered up with Willmann within various contexts so it was natural to enroll him in the band. Guest Danish alto saxophonist Asger Nissen adds to the fun when he is called upon to work with Fabian on three tracks.

The album has five Willmann originals, and appears on the new CYH Label. Created by Patrik Zosso and Sarah Chaksad, CYH will release mostly new jazz artists, and we hope to have Sarah on the show soon.

Musical selections from Balance include "Trees, Birds, River, Sky," and the tune Fabian identifies as his favorite on the album, "Intro."

Like many jazz musicians today, trombonist Nick Finzer's success has come from working in a number of different capacities over a long period of time. There are his recordings and performances as a leader, and again as a sideman; his teaching, giving lessons, owning and operating his own label, and writing instruction books,

In his first Music Business book, Create, Connect, Repeat , Finzer reaches out to fellow musicians and unpacks his multifaceted approach to building an audience with work that matters to you. This might include finding sustainable practices for sharing your life’s mission, and finding creative ways to monetize that work across the multitude of platforms that are available to artists in 2022 and beyond.

At its core, Create, Connect, Repeat is designed to offer creatives a blueprint to success that focuses on both creating and sharing. It focuses on the generosity of artistry, creativity, and vision. It focuses on building one step at a time and focuses on finding one fan at a time and building the life you’ve been dreaming of.

Podcast 902 is my conversation about the book with Nick Finzer, as we discuss why he decided to share his outlook with others in written form, and artists he holds up as examples of those who have built and audience slowly, over time, We also touch base on his latest CD, Out of Focus , which combines quartet recordings with solo trombone interpretations. Musical selections from Out of Focus include "Single Petal of a Rose."

Ah, Record Store Day! This is the 15th year that the biannual event celebrates independent record stores, and increasingly popular vinyl records. There are a number of notable jazz releases seeing the light of day for the first time this Saturday, either as newly discovered works, limited edition or remastered vinyl. These include:

Dave Brubeck Trio - Live from Vienna 1967

Art Pepper - Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section

Max Roach - We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Suite

Podcast 901 brings back Zev Feldman to take us through some exciting albums that he has been responsible for, including Charles Mingus' The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott's (see Podcast 898 for more), Albert Ayler's Revelations - The Complete ORTF 1970 Fondation Maeght Recordings , the Chet Baker Trio's Live in Paris , and two from Bill Evans' South American tours, Morning Glory: The 1973 Concert At The Teatro Gran Rex, Buenos Aires and Inner Spirit: The 1979 Concert At The Teatro General San Martín, Buenos Aires .

Musical selections for the Podcast include Ayler's "Music is the Healing Force of the Universe" and Baker's take on the standard "Stella by Starlight."

What can we say here that hasn't already been said about Charles Mingus, not one of a handful of true geniuses of the jazz world, but one of the towering figures in 20th century music as a whole. Having learned music and composition from classical figures, his career began in the groups of Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory and Lionel Hampton in the 1940's. His work would covered jazz history for another three decades, playing bebop with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, Money Jungle with Duke Ellington and Max Roach, and leading large and small groups through increasingly charged work. He was a pioneer off the bandstand as well, creating the Jazz Workshop as a means of allowing artists greater control over their work.

As a composer, his work reflected not just his voluminous experiences, but his sharp wit, political anger, and desire to open new and exciting ways to play music. That's the side of music we pay tribute to in Podcast 900, choosing some of my favorite Mingus tunes, performed by a wide variety of jazz musicians.

Musical selections include:

Dannie Richmond - "Fables of Faubus"

Aaron Seeber - "Duke Ellington's Sound of Love"

Pepper Adams - "Song with Orange"

Tierney Sutton - "The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines"

Blue Moods - "Peggy's Blue Skylight"

Larry Coryell - "Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul"

John Hebert - "Remember Rockefeller at Attica"

Akua Dixon - "Haitian Fight Song"

Kevin Mahogany - "Mingus Medley (Boogie Stop Shuffle - Jelly Roll - Good-Bye Pork Pie Hat)"

Stanley Clarke - "Good-Bye Pork Pie Hat"

Resonance Records, the top U.S. independent label for previously unreleased jazz treasures, will issue The Lost Album from Ronnie Scott’s, a never-before-heard 1972 club performance by bassist/composer Charles Mingus’ powerful sextet, as a three-LP Record Store Day offering on April 23 (one day after what would have been Mingus’ 100th birthday). The album will be issued as a three-CD set and digital download on April 29.

The two live sets, comprising nearly two-and-a-half hours of music, were professionally recorded on eight-track tapes via a mobile recording truck on Aug. 14-15, 1972. However, the performance went unreleased, as Columbia Records reversed course in the spring of 1973 and cancelled all its jazz projects except that of Miles Davis. By the time Mingus’ band took the stage at saxophonist Scott’s celebrated London club, Mingus was experiencing a career renaissance: he had received a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship and seen his music adapted for choreographer Alvin Ailey’s The Mingus Dances in 1971. The following year saw the release of his potent autobiography Beneath the Underdog and his widely acclaimed big band album Let My Children Hear Music .

Though his group still featured the formidable saxophonists Bobby Jones (tenor) and Charles McPherson (alto), the sextet was in a state of flux, but the new members delivered on stage. Pianist Jaki Byard was succeeded by the relatively unknown John Foster, who showed off both his keyboard and vocal chops at Scott’s. Longtime drummer Dannie Richmond, who had joined the pop band Mark-Almond, was replaced by the ingenious, powerful Detroit musician Roy Brooks, who demonstrated his invention the “breath-a-tone,” which allowed him to control the pitch of his kit while playing, and, on a couple of numbers, his abilities on the musical saw. The trumpet chair was filled by the phenomenal 19-year old Jon Faddis, a protégé and acolyte of Dizzy Gillespie.

The Lost Album features nine performances captured during the two-night engagement; some of them – the then-new compositions “Orange Was the Color of Her Dress, Then Silk Blues” and “Mind-readers’ Convention in Milano” and a sensational version of “Fables of Faubus” – are epics that range around the half-hour mark.

Podcast 898 takes a deep dive into this fascinating new recording with the help of Resonance co-President Zev Feldman, who co-produced the set with David Weiss. Musical selections include "Pops (a.k.a. When the Saints Go Marching In."

It seems that most of the world’s religions have spring holidays. In fact, celebrating the beginning of spring may be among the oldest seasonal holidays in human culture. The earliest reference we have to such a holiday comes to us from Babylon, 2400 BCE. The city of Ur apparently had a celebration dedicated to the moon and the spring equinox which was held some time during our months of March or April.

For Christianity, today is Good Friday, at the end of Holy Week, culminating in the commemoration of the Passion with the celebration of Easter. The Jewish 8 day celebration of Passover begins tonight, commemorating the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. For Buddhists, spring is significant mainly for its connection with events in the life of the Buddha. Hindus celebrate the birth of the lord Rama with the festival known as Rama Navami, celebrated this past April 10th.

Native Americans celebrate the Yaqui Deer dance this month, a ceremony intended to integrate ancient rites of the Yaqui people of Arizona with the Christian Easter Rituals. According to Muslim tradition, Nis Sha-ban (celebrated a month ago this year) is the time when Allah Approaches the earth to call humanity to repentance and grant forgiveness off sins. On April 21, the Bahai faith begins a celebration called Ridvan, commemorating the twelve days that Baha u llah spent in the garden of Ridvan during his exile from Baghdad.

With all of these religious events happening in less than a thirty day period, it has been the Straight No Chaser tradition to assemble a Podcast of Spiritual Jazz to honor and embrace the spiritual aspects of life. Podcast 897 is no exception, with musical selections including:

Grant Green - "Sunday Morning"

Javon Jackson - "I Opened My Mouth to the Lord"

John Zorn featuring Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, Gyan Riley - "Devotion"

The Cosmic Range - "Palms to Heaven"

Pharoah Sanders - "Prince of Peace"

Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Grady Tate - "Sanctification"

Dave Douglas - "Agnus Dei"

Afro-Semitic Experience - "Go Down Moses"

Vibration Society - "Spirits Up Above"

Duke Pearson - "Christo Redentor"

Charlie Haden & Hank Jones - "Were You There When they Crucified My Lord?"

For those interested in previous Podcasts of Spiritual Jazz, please click the links that follow to listen to Podcasts 178 , 215 , 341 , 422 , 472 , 525. 617 . and 676 .

Broadway musicals have been the source of many notable jazz standards, so it should come as no surprise that the DIVA Jazz Orchestra’s latest release is DIVA Swings Broadway . The 15-piece band, fast approaching its 30th year as a performing group, lends their seemingly boundless talents to nine songs, some well known, and others which dig deep into the Broadway Songbook.

DIVA was founded by Stanley Kay, one-time manager and relief drummer for Buddy Rich and the band’s drummer and musical director, Sherrie Maricle. In 1990, Stanley heard Sherrie play, was impressed, and decided to create a band of like-minded players. In 1992 the search was on, and through nationwide auditions the foundation for DIVA was poured. From the world’s largest jazz festivals to television and even film (the award-winning documentary The Girls in the Band) there seems to be no stage too big for DIVA.

The band has a core of musicians who have spent a decade or more in the band, including Noriko Ueda (bass), Tomoko Ohno (piano), Sara Jacovino (trombone) and Maricle. Other great players such as Anat Cohen and Ingrid Jensen have passed through the band after lengthy stays. To the experienced players come a continuing flow of new talent that should stand DIVA in good stead for another thirty years or more.

Podcast 896 is my conversation with Sherrie Maricle, as talk about DIVA Swings Broadway , how she keeps a jazz orchestra together after the pandemic, and their plans for a 30th birthday celebration next year. Musical selections include “With Every Breathe I Take” from the Cy Coleman-penned musical City of Angels , and “Love Who You Love,” from the musical A Man of No Importance .

Podcast 895 is Part Two of my conversation with the extraordinary Dave Douglas. In Part One, we focused on the inspiration for, then writing and recording of Secular Psalms, now available on his Greenleaf Music label. Created as part of the celebration of the 600th anniversary of the Ghent Altarpiece painting "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb," Douglas and mostly European musicians recorded the spiritually uplifting music during the COVID pandemic. Dave discussed how they overcame travel and group restrictions, and produced a memorable piece of music.

In Part Two we continue discussing the musicians who helped create Secular Psalms , and then focus on recent projects with which Douglas has been involved, starting with Greenleaf Music. Dave shares insights on some new Greenleaf releases, as well as on future recording from Sound Prints, the group he co-leads with saxophonist Joe Lovano. Douglas also talks about the coming release of his album Overcome on vinyl for the first time.

Musical selections include the Douglas composition "Antiquity to Outer Space" from the most recent Sound Prints album Other Worlds , and "We Shall Overcome" from the album Overcome

With the start of the month of April, Straight No Chaser begins a month long celebration of the life and music of Charles Mingus, one of the most important jazz performers, composers and personalities ever.

Six years ago I interviewed Kris Gabbard , the author of Better Git It in Your Soul : An Interpretive Biography of Charles Mingus (University of California Press), who considered Mingus not just one of the most important figures in jazz, but in American 20th century music as a whole. At that time I wrote:

Classically trained on cello, (Mingus) moved to jazz music and played with virtually every major figure in the history of jazz in his lifetime, starting with New Orleans legends Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory. He played bass in the “Greatest Jazz Concert Ever” at Massey Hall in Toronto, sharing the stage with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell and Max Roach. He recorded with his father-figure Duke Ellington (Money Jungle ) , but also with Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton, and helped launch the careers of Eric Dolphy, Booker Ervin, and Paul Bley. As a composer and bandleader, his works moved from bebop to blues, from ballet scores to orchestral pieces, from in-your-face civil rights protests to moving elegies. At his death from ALS in 1979, he was working with Joni Mitchell on the album that would eventually be called Mingus .

To that I would add that his importance as a figure of African-American excellence and pride, of political protest, and as creator of artist-owned and run record labels and workshops, he is almost unparalleled in jazz.

It would take more than a month to truly explore his life, influence and music, and what better place to begin than with a young musician who carries the torch of his music as a member of the Grammy-winning Mingus Big Band? Sarah Hanahan plays alto saxophone, and will appear at The Django, home of the Mingus Big Band’s “Mingus Monday” performances on April 2 leading her own group.

A graduate of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz Studies at the University of Hartford, Sarah is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in jazz performance at Julliard. She not only is a member of the Mingus Big Band but plays lead alto in the current iteration of the Diva Jazz Orchestra, currently celebrating its 29th year of performing. She has shared the stage with the likes of Jason Moran, Javon Jackson, Christian McBride, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Rufus Reid and more She will tour Europe with the Ulysses Owens Jr. Generation Y Band in May, and be seen across the US with the Mingus Big Band and Diva Jazz Orchestra this spring and summer. She hopes to record her initial album this fall.

Podcast 894 features my conversation with Sarah Hanahan, as we talk her love of the music of Charles Mingus, what she has learned by her tenure in Big Bands and working with Jason Moran, and her plans for the near future. We’ll hear Charles Mingus play “Profile of Jackie” and Sarah play her own “Melodee.”

Dave Douglas, one of the most prolific writers, performers and recording artists in jazz today is also one of its widest-ranging stylists and important entrepreneurs. At the age of 59, his award-winning career includes more than fifty recordings as a leader, close to one hundred as a sideman, and more than five hundred published compositions. In 2005 Douglas founded Greenleaf Music, a record label for his albums, sheet music, podcasts, as well as the music of other modern jazz musicians. To date, Greenleaf has produced over seventy albums and continues to be an important independent source for recorded music.

Among Douglas’ interests are the history of the trumpet, his chosen instrument. He is the co-founder of the Festival of New Trumpet Music in New York, and has written varied pieces for the instrument, including for chamber orchestra. It’s this last area that led him down a long path to the creation of Secular Psalms , his latest release.

Dave began to formulate the work as part of a larger plan to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the famed Altarpiece “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” painted by Jan and Hubert van Eyck, with creation of new music. The polyptych was originally created for display in St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium in the early 15th century, and has had a history of being removed, stolen and finally restored to its initial glory.

Douglas finally arrived at music that would celebrate spiritualism in all its many forms, and the work at times takes the structure of a classic Mass. To bring the work to life, he assembled musicians form across the US and Europe, needing multi-instrumentalists who could handle both the tools of the 15th and 21st century.

The resulting group - Berlinde Deman on serpent, tuba, and voice; Marta Warelis on piano, prepared piano, and pump organ; Frederik Leroux on guitars, lute, and electronics; Tomeka Reid on cello; and Lander Gyselinck on drums and electronics – is joined by Douglas on trumpet, and for the first time, vocals as well. The music they make seems to defy time and space across the fifty-plus minutes of Secular Psalms , but is always moving and touches the listener’s heart and soul as well as intellect.

Podcast 893 is the first of two podcasts with Dave Douglas. In the first part, we talk extensively of the Secular Psalms project, beginning with his interest in the composers of the early 14th century French Ars Nova, most notably Guillaume De Machaut, This led to the writing and recording of Fabliaux with the Australian Monash Arts Ensemble in 2014. Secular Psalms may be considered a logical next step in Douglas’ interest in the past. Musical selections include “Ah Moon” and “We Believe.”

Part Two of the conversation with appear next week, and include discussions of recent Douglas projects, most notably his Sound Prints group with Joe Lovano, and Greenleaf Music.

One of the benefits we get as jazz listeners from the inactivity in recording and releasing of music due to the COVID-19 pandemic is the backlog of exciting music that is now coming out. Trumpeter Avishai Cohen describes his album as the outcome of a “two-year meditation.” He had been sitting with the main motif of Naked Truth since the start of Covid, and used the layoff to follow that melody to its inevitable conclusion, an 8 part suite with a spoken ending.

Naked Truth (ECM Records) was recorded by Avishai with his long-time musical comrades — pianist Yonathan Avishai, bassist Barak Mori and drummer Ziv Ravitz — who share an intuitive understanding, hyper alert to the music’s subtly-changing emphases. Alternately through composed and improvised, Cohen challenged his bandmates to successfully “play nothing,” while at the same time saying everything. To this listener, the challenge was more than met with a stripped-down arrangement and sound.

Avishai was born in Tel Aviv, and is part of the first-family of Israeli jazz, joining his brother Yuval and sister Anat in the jazz world. He plans to reunite with his siblings for some overdue concerts this June, while touring with his quartet and his band Big Vicious throughout 2022-23. Big Vicious had the misfortune of being released in March 2020, and the pandemic derailed plans to tour with Uzi Ramirez (Guitar), Yonatan Albalak (Guitar, Bass), Aviv Cohen (Drums) and Ravitz (Drums, Live Sampling).

Musical selections from Naked Truth , with it’s eight parts unnamed, are Parts 2 and 5, the former of which contains the root melody that Avishai developed into the entire musical statement over time.

Nourished by the abundant creative energies of the scene in his native Chicago, drummer and composer Kabir Dalawari has developed a unique musical on his vibrant debut album, Awareness . Dalawari fronts a talent-packed quartet with altoist Kyle Brooks, pianist Eric Arroyo and bassist Matt Ulery for a set of original pieces brimming with rhythmic animation, melodic richness and bristling interactivity.

Dalawari approaches music in part from the perspective of someone versed in neuroscience, given his collegiate focus on Jazz Studies and Cognitive Psychology at Loyola University Chicago. The resulting music can feature some odd time signatures and even odder chord structures at times but rewards the listener after repeated plays as a strong, coherent musical statement.

Podcast 891 is my conversation with Kabir, as we discuss the inspiration for tunes on Awareness , including the title track, dedicated to his brother. He also takes us on a tour of Chicago’s best jazz spots and talks about plans for live performances as well. Musical selections from Awareness include the title track.

Quentin Angus has received national and international recognition for winning three ASCAP 'Young Jazz Composer Awards', five Downbeat Magazine Awards in the 'Composition' and 'Soloist' categories. The State of Things is his third album as a leader.

He carefully chose his collaborators for the album, choosing the topnotch drummer Nate Smith as the core of his band. Pianist Can Olgun and bassist Desmond White solidly round out the rhythm section. Vocalist/lyricist Michael Mayo is a new talent to me, and based on his work here, most definitely deserving of wider recognition. The album is mostly Quentin originals, although some reharmonized standards are also here, most notably “Pure Imagination” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” both with revised time signatures.

Angus holds a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy), awarded with a 'Dean's Commendation', a Master of Music Degree (Jazz Performance) under the tutelage of jazz great John Abercrombie, awarded 'Summa Cum Laude', and a Bachelor of Music Degree (Jazz Performance). Angus' is the author of five original transcription books of Gilad Hekselman improvisations and has also been published by PickUp Music, Jazz Lessons Videos, Mel Bay, Jazz Heaven, and the NZMiC music journal. He has performed and recorded with jazz luminaries Nate Smith, Ari Hoenig, Kevin Hays, Shai Maestro, Linda May Han Oh, and Will Vinson.

Podcast 891 is my conversation with Quentin Angus, as we discuss his interest in composition over improvisation, his time under the tutelage of the legendary Abercrombie, and his views on the importance (in some cases) of a formal jazz education. Musical selections include “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and the original “Broken Bones.”

Since the 1991 release of his debut album A Guitar Thing , featuring Benny Green, Cecil Brooks III and Lonnie Plaxico, guitarist Ron Jackson has steadily built a robust reputation as a sideman and solo artist. Standards and My Songs is his ninth title as a leader on his independent label Roni Music, the logical follow-up to his. Standards and Other Songs . The seven-string guitar player put together a topnotch trio, with Ben Wolfe on bass and Willie Jones III on drums to tackle tunes that vary from the Seventies pop one-hit wonder “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” to the Broadway standard “This Nearly was Mine” to his own compositions.

Born in 1964 in the Philippines, though mostly raised just outside of Boston, Jackson started out as a rocker, but fell deep into the jazz realm under the influence of such legends as George Benson, Wes Montgomery and Pat Metheny. After studies at Berklee School of Music, Jackson lived and worked in Paris before moving to New York City and launching his high-profile jazz career.

A disciple of Bucky Pizzarelli, Ron moved to the seven-string guitar at his mentor’s urging, and has not looked back since. He’s played on dozens of albums (such as those by Ron Blake, Hal Singer, T.K. Blue) and working with such artists as Oliver Lake, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gary Bartz and Randy Weston.

Podcast 889 is my conversation with Ron, as he takes us through the technical and aesthetic virtues of the seven-string guitar, and how he uses the unique instrument to interpret old and new tunes alike. Musical selections from Standards and My Songs include “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl),” which adds organist Brian Ho to the mix, and “For Pat” which pays homage to another mentor, the late Pat Martino, and is loosely modeled after Martino’s own ballad “Country Road.”

Matt Slocum’s latest work is a long-form suite, performed by one of the best quartets I’ve seen put together in some time. Slocum, the drummer and composer of the songs on With Love and Sadness (Sunnyside Records), originally planned for a trio, but decided the music called for a fuller sound. The resulting group – Walter Smith III on saxophone, Taylor Eigsti on piano and Fender Rhodes, Larry Grenadier on bass and Slocum on drums – makes the album a must-listen and an early contender for the year end “best of” lists.

With Love and Sadness , made possible by Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works Program, was recorded on analog equipment, giving the resulting music a warm, immediate feel. Created to be listened to as a whole, the seven-part suite was inspired in part by Matt’s first trip away from home after the pandemic hit, a vacation at Maine’s majestic Acadia National Park. There is a strong sense of melody, and a harmonic unity that rewards the listener who enjoys the album in one sitting.

Slocum honed his craft as an undergraduate at USC under Peter Erskine, and has gone on to record with Steve Cardenas and Dayna Stephens on his Trio Pacific Vol.1 , Grenadier and Gerald Clayton on Sanctuary and Smith, Stephens, Clayton and Massimo Biolcati on his noted Black Elk’s Dream . He’s performed with those players in many different settings, as he has with Anthony Wilson, Ben Wendel, Sam Yahel, Lage Lund and Linda May Han Oh.

Podcast 888 is my conversation with Matt, as we talk about the inspiration behind, and the writing and recording of With Love and Sadness . He also shares some information on coming projects – is there another Trio Pacific album on the horizon? – and his hopes for playing the suite live. There is a release party planned at Mezzrow in Manhattan on May 12. Musical selections from With Love and Sadness include “An Evolving Alliance” and the concluding “America Revisited.”

It's been seven years since Tel Aviv-based saxophonist-composer Eli Degibri has released an album of original music. However, that drought ends this week with the release of his deeply personal album of tunes, Henri and Rachel.

Recorded on March 9, 2020, days before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Henri and Rachel is Degibri’s first album of original music since 2015, when he recorded Cliff Hanging , which earned a 5-star review from DownBeat (a 2018 release, Soul Station , was a tune-for-tune homage to one of Degibri’s heroes, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and his iconic 1960 Blue Note album of that name).

During those years, Degibri, an only child, was preoccupied not only with his musical production, but with caring for his aging and ailing parents, who both emigrated to Israel following World War II. His father, Henri, a native of Bulgaria who passed away in the fall of 2020, developed cancer; his mother, Rachel, born in Iran, developed Parkinson’s Disease and dementia. As a result, his compositions, whether consciously or not, are infused with a sense of longing, shifting feelings, and love.

Eli has worked with his current rhythm section – Tom Oren on piano, Alon Near on bass (the most recent member), and Eviatar Slivnik on drums – for the last four years, and their camaraderie translates into some wonderful playing. Whether it’s the aptly titled “Longing,” the melodic title track (performed in two versions, in two different keys, one for the masculine, the other the feminine) or the straight ahead “Preaching to the Choir,” the tunes and playing make for an emotionally satisfying listen.

Degibri has been in the spotlight since 1999, when Ron Carter – a mentor at the Thelonious Monk Institute, who in 2009 recorded on Degibri’s Israeli Song with Brad Mehldau and Al Foster – recommended him to Herbie Hancock for what would be a 30-month stint performing repertoire from Hancock’s Grammy-winning Gershwin’s World album. He further refined his artistry as a member of Foster’s group from 2002 until 2011, and as the leader of bands that included such internationally acclaimed musicians as Aaron Goldberg, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Street, Jeff Ballard, Kevin Hays, Gary Versace, Gregory Hutchinson, and Obed Calvaire. For years he was the artistic director of the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Eilat, a world-class event.

Podcast 887 is my conversation with Eli, as talk about the emotional process of turning his feelings regarding his parents’ decline and passing into music, and the importance of his close relationship with his band. He also pays tribute to Hank Mobley and Ron Carter, the latter of whom will celebrate his 85th birthday later this year. Musical selections from Henri and Rachel include the title track and “Don Quixote,” a tune dedicated to his late father.

In Part One of this two-part conversation, Bill Summers explained the long path he has followed to learn the art and the history of Bata, placing him firmly in a thousand plus year history of percussionists. We talked about Forward Back, his new project with his longtime friend Scott Roberts, a way to blend spiritual music with the sounds of the modern western world, especially hip-hop. That EP, Yellow Flowers, was released recently on the Ropeadope label.

Part Two follows Summers' 50 year career, as we talk about his time with Herbie Hancock, making Headhunters , Thrust and Flood , plus sessions with the likes of Quincy Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Sonny Rollins, Patrice Rushen and many more. We also talk about music in his home New Orleans, and delve into musical history and myth surrounding the legendary figure known as Bras-Coupe .

Musical selections include "Watermelon Man" from Headhunters; "My Ideal" from the Sonny Rollins album Don't Ask , which also featured guitarist Larry Coryell; and "Hang It Up" from Patrice Rushen's 1978 album Patrice .

Years ago, the study of percussion led Bill Summers to a particular ceremony in Brooklyn, where he was introduced to the rich history of religious, spiritual drumming by vocalist Leon Thomas. The path led him to Cuba, where he studied with a venerated master, immersed in a spiritual drum fraternity (Anya) that took him all the way back. He innately recognized the origin, the source, the foundation of all rhythm.

Learning the history of Bata in this deep way has been a 50-year process for Summers. All through his illustrious career with Herbie Hancock, The Headhunters, Los Hombres Calientes, and countless top names in music from Sonny Rollins and Ella Fitzgerald to Quincy Jones and Patrice Rushen, he has, with his longtime friend Scott Roberts (a/k/a One Drop Scott), sought for a way to blend spiritual music with the sounds of the modern western world.

His latest project, Yellow Flowers , is from the group he calls Forward Back. Summers and Roberts create music with a purpose, to, as he says, take the world on a journey BACK into traditional instruments to move the culture FORWARD by unearthing the rhythmic relationship between Africa, the Caribbean, and America.

The Forward Back concept is built on the back of African tradition: Summers plays three drums (bata), representing Father, Mother, and Child on each track. With the foundation in place, Summers and One Drop Scott were inspired to collaborate with music duo Cruzmatik and solo vocalist Simoné Mosley to cultivate not only a musical group but a family of artists who authentically make music influenced by their life experiences. Cruzmatic is Reggie Stephens a.k.a. Reggae Steel Bon, a former NFL player, rap artist, and producer, and J-Willz is a Rock & Reggae singer and a filmmaker. The duo brings a fresh, current sound to the recording, rooted in its own way to their community. Simoné Mosley is a Bay Area native who strives to combine her sultry voice, poetic insight, and life experience to bring healing and a sense of culture into the realm of self-reflection.

As we spoke, Summers became clearly excited about Forward Back, in which he melds his percussive tradition with hip-hop, funk and soul. Podcast 885 is the first of a two-part conversation, as we follow his path with Bata, and discuss the making of Yellow Flowers . Musical selections from the EP on the Ropeadope label include the title track, and “Buttafly”, which adds funk legend George Clinton to the mix.

Les Bon Temps Rouler!

It's Mardi Gras time in New Orleans, and this year the parades and parties are in full swing. So if you're not in the Big Easy to sample the music, food and fun, here's an hour plus of music to get you in the swing of things:

Kermit Ruffins - "Drop Me Off in New Orleans"

Marcus Roberts - "New Orleans Blues"

Cyril Neville - "New Orleans Cookin'"

The Hot 8 Brass Band - "New Orleans, After the City"

Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball - "I Just Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind"

Wynton Marsalis - "New Orleans Bump"

Booker Ervin - "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans"

Lil' Queenie & The Percolators - "My Darlin' New Orleans"

Dave Bennett - "A Funeral in New Orleans"

George Benson - "Walkin' to New Orleans"

Dr. John with the Donald Harrison Band - "You Ain't Such a Much"

Delfeayo Marsalis And The Uptown Jazz Orchestra - "So New Orleans!"

Harold Lopez-Nussa - "Van Van Meets New Orleans"

Harry Connick Jr. - "Mardi Gras in New Orleans"

Earl King - "No City Like New Orleans"

Self-titled albums are typically introductory statements reserved for an artist’s first release. In the case of trumpeter/keyboardist Rick Braun, it took until his 30th anniversary as a solo recording artist.to release Rick Braun – a stylistically eclectic, ultra-soulful/funky and exotica-tinged collection of 10 new songs.

While put into the box we call “smooth jazz” for years, Braun stylistically has been closer to his musical heroes Herb Alpert, Freddie Hubbard and later Miles Davis for years. In addition to the usual compliment of electric instruments that has become his trademark, a 10-piece live string section, arranged and conducted by Nick Lane, is heard on five tracks of the album, .paying homage to the sound of the classic 60’s and 70’s albums on Creed Taylor’s legendary CTI Records. Roy McClurg served as the album’s executive producer.

The album finds influences in world music (“Turkish”), dance music (“Da Funk,” “Feet First”) and the Latin tinge of “Back to Mallorca” and “Ampr de Mi Vida (Love of My Life).” All in all, it’s a satisfying collection that doesn’t break a lot of new ground, but since when is that a prerequisite for an enjoyable album of music.

Braun has gone from being a sideman for everyone from Crowded House, Tom Petty and Sade to Tina Turner, Rod Stewart and Glenn Frey to chart-topping front man and acclaimed producer. He has amassed over 20 Number 1 Smooth Jazz hits (including “Notorious" and "Grazin’ in the Grass"), produced chart-toppers for David Benoit, Marc Antoine and the late Jeff Golub, and created two of the genre’s most impactful dual albums ever (Shake It Up with Boney James and RnR with Richard Elliot). He still tours and records with Elliot, who he calls his best friend, and has recorded three hit albums as part of the all-star trio BWB (with Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown).

Podcast 883 is my conversation with Rick Braun, as we discuss his lifetime search for “the sound,” and how he tries to capture it. We talk gear, collaborators and how the new album came together. Musical selections from Rick Braun include “Return to Mallorca" and "Da Funk."

The music of Danish composer/performer Anders Koppel has defied genre almost since he learned to walk. The son of classical composer and pianist Herman D. Koppel, Anders Koppel was a child singer in the Copenhagen Boys Choir and studied piano with his sister and father from the age of five. He took up the Hammond organ in 1966 and the following year founded with his brother Thomas the legendary Danish rock group The Savage Rose. The band toured Europe extensively from 1967 to 1974 and even made a Stateside appearance in 1969 at the Newport Jazz Festival while also recording eight albums.

Koppel left the group in 1974 to make his first solo recording, and two years later he cofounded with bassoonist-clarinetist Peter Bastian and percussionist Flemming Quist Møller the trendsetting world music trio Bazaar. The band played together for 37 years until 2013.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Koppel wrote music for 50 plays, eight modern large-scale ballets and more than 100 movies. Since 1997, he has devoted himself to composing for classical ensembles and has completed 150 scores to date — solo pieces, chamber music, orchestral and vocal works, an opera and 33 concertos for solo instrument with orchestra. His saxophonist son Benjamin has been a featured player in six of his concertos. Father and son have also been playing together in recent years in a highly interactive jazz quartet setting with renowned bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade.

Anders merges his love of jazz and classical music while paying homage to his fellow countryman, the famed photographer and social reformer Jacob Riis, on Mulberry Street Symphony . Riis, who emigrated from his native Denmark to America in 1870, exposed the poor living conditions of impoverished immigrants in his groundbreaking photojournalism book, “How the Other Half Lives.” Inspired by Riis’ compelling photographs, Koppel created “Mulberry Street Symphony’, an epic work in seven movements, each one based on a different Riis photo depicting tenement life in New York City during the 1880s. Himself the child of immigrants, Anders responded deeply to the photographs.

Podcast 882 is my conversation with Anders, he takes us through the composting and recording of a work for a classical orchestra and sometimes improvising jazz trio. We discuss his life in and around music, and how working with his son, along with brilliant players like Colley and Blade fit into the Mulberry Street Symphony. Musical selections from the album include “Blind Man.”

Musicians who are “on the scene” in New York don’t always get wider recognition with jazz fans around the country, to say nothing of the world, unless they are lucky enough to constantly record. In the case of pianist Michael Weiss, he’s been busy playing in and around New York, but he hasn’t recorded as a leader since 2003’s Soul Journey .

Persistence - Weiss’ fifth recording as a leader and first on the Cellar Live label - brings together all the qualities that have made him such a valued member of New York’s jazz community since the 1980s.

The band Weiss has put together features the irrepressible saxophonist Eric Alexander, along with a rhythm section of Paul Gill and Pete Van Nostrand. Deeply swinging and emotionally rewarding, the recording features four vibrant originals by Weiss that are rich with memorable melody, harmonic color, rhythmic vitality, savvy pacing, and expressive detail. Weiss also arranged four standards that reveal his ability to put a thoughtful individual stamp on diverse material by Thelonious Monk, Fats Waller, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Jimmy Van Heusen.

Weiss has forged a formidable career working in the bands of jazz legends, most notably Johnny Griffin and Frank Wess, but also Art Farmer, Charles McPherson, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, and Lou Donaldson. He was a longtime member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and toured with the Jazztet and Mingus Epitaph Orchestra.

Podcast 881 is my conversation with Michael, as we discuss his lengthy absence from recording as a bandleader, how he adapts classic tunes by Monk and Jobim for the quartet, and his tour dates in his native Texas this month. He also pays tribute to the late Frank Wess, given the centennial of his birth last month. Musical selections include Thelonius Monk’s “Epistrophy” and his original tune “Apres Vous.”

Perhaps no song in the canon of the Great American Songbook is associated with Valentine's Day than Rodgers & Hart's 1937 classic "My Funny Valentine." The song was originally written as part of the score of their Broadway show Babes in Arms, which gave us classics like "Johnny One Note," "Where or When," and "The Lady is a Tramp." For a deep dive into the details of the song and the show, check out this posting at Cafe Songbook .

Perhaps no one knows as much about "My Funny Valentine" than writers and historian Will Friedwald. Friedwald included a lengthy discussion about the song in his 2002 book Stardust Memories: A Biography of 12 of America's Most Popular Songs .

Podcast 880 bring Friedwald front and center to discuss how one of the lesser performed tunes from the show (it was left out of the movie version starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney) became one of the most recorded standards by the end of the 1950's. During our talk, we talk about several of the most historic and memorable recorded versions of "My Funny Valentine," including the version Friedwald feels really launched the song from Frank Sinatra. While Chet Baker as part of the Gerry Mulligan group recorded the song first, it's Ol' Blue Eyes who Will states made the tune a must for crooners everywhere.

We'll also hear the Miles Davis Quintet's epic version, as well as one from Ella Fitzgerald's Rodgers & Hart Songbook which includes the oft-neglected opening verse. And just for good measure representing the many rock and pop singers who have covered the tune (Sting, Rod Stewart, Carly Simon, Jerry Garcia, Linda Ronstadt) is Elvis Costello's best Chet Baker impression.

Saxophonist Azar Lawrence has been seen as someone who can, as they say, cover both sides of the street. Lawrence has performed with numerous jazz titans that include pianists Horace Tapscott and McCoy Tyner; trumpeters Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, and Woody Shaw; percussionist James Mtume; and drummers Elvin Jones and Billy Higgins.

However, the Los Angeles-born Lawrence, has never been confined by conventional genre categories. His instrumental and songwriting work with iconic soul singers, like Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, and Phyllis Hyman; and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Earth, Wind & Fire is just as indelible.

So it will not surprise those who listen to him that his latest release, New Sky , is full of positive sounds and vibrations that can’t really be considered the work of a Coltrane disciple or an R&B shouter. The optimistic musical soundtrack – co-produced by him, guitarist James Saez and Tracy Hannah, looks forward with new Lawrence compositions, and backwards to revisit two of his compositions of the Seventies. Joining Lawrence on New Sky is a cast of musicians old and new that consists of pianists and keyboardists John Beasley and Nduduzo Makhathini; bassist Sekou Bunch; drummer Tony Austin; percussionist Munyungo Jackson; singers Calesha "Bre-Z" Murray, Oren Waters, and Lynne Fiddmont; harpist Destiny Muhammad; and guitarists Saez, Greg Poree and Gregory 'GMOE' Moore.

Podcast 879 is my conversation with Azar and his producer Tracy Hannah as we discuss the upbeat nature of the new album, and why Azar feels the new music can’t be put into any particular class or genre. He also speaks touchingly about his late friend Mtume, who we lost just a month ago. Musical selections from New Sky include “Ain’t No Doubt” and “Point of Love.”

Here’s an event perfect for jazz fans and those looking to delve more deeply into Black History Month – a combined lecture and musical performance by flutist and educator Galen Abdur-Razzaq chronicling how jazz musicians became advocates for the Civil Rights Movement. From stirring performances that called out injustice to performing benefit concerts that financed major events such as the Freedom Rides and the March on Washington, there is much to learn about how jazz influenced the Civil Rights movement, and vice versa.

The lecture will be infused with musical demonstrations from Galen on his flute. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and holds a Master’s Degree in Performance and Education from Rutgers University. A riveting speaker with an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz, Galen has recorded under his own name and with such luminaries as Sun Ra, Dr. Billy Taylor, Jimmy Heath, and Freda Payne .

Podcast 878 is my conversation with Galen Abdur-Razzaq, as we discuss some of the highlights of his presentation, and he shares first-person insight into the music that was made during this historic period. Musical selections to provide greater context for his presentation include John Coltrane’s “Alabama” and a live performance of Nina Simone and her incendiary “Mississippi Goddam.”

This event is being performed virtually and hosted at no cost to participants on February 15th at 6:00 p.m. EST by the Agawam (Massachusetts) Public Library . Please click here to register . Participants will be emailed a Zoom link on the day of the event.

Javon Jackson turns to one of the finest poets in America for inspiration on his latest release, The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni , on his Solid Jackson label. Jackson, in addition to leading his own group, is a faculty member of The Hartt School at the University of Hartford and director of its Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. It was in that capacity that he invited Giovanni, one of the world's most well-known African-American poets, once called “The Poet of the Black Revolution,” to speak to his students.

Their conversation about jazz influenced gospel music led to Jackson’s decision to ask Ms. Giovanni to pick ten of her favorite hymns for his next recording. The result is a kaleidoscopic view of tunes from “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” to “Wade in the Water” to “I’ve Been ‘Buked,” all with a strong spiritual feel and jazz sensibility. Jackson’s band, composed of pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist David Williams and drummer McClenty Hunter, recorded the album live in a South Windsor, Connecticut studio not far from the Hartt School campus, recording without earphones to bring an additional element of spontaneity. The exception to that was “Night Song,” with Ms. Giovanni singing the Nina Simone classic herself, which was recorded near her home in Virginia.

Javon has been a force in jazz since he left Berklee to join Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, playing sax in the band until Blakey’s death in 1990. Since then he has guested on albums by Ron Carter, Curtis Fuller, Freddie Hubbard and Elvin Jones, while recording twenty plus albums as a leader.

Podcast 877 is my conversation with Javon, as we discuss how he interpreted and reimagined gospel songs and hymns, and how his heritage and upbringing in the church helped inspire him. He also pays tribute to the late Dr. Lonnie Smith, with whom he performed and recorded with over the years. Musical selections from The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni include "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel?."

Keyboardist Bob James is so deeply associated with electric music from the 1970’s and the all-star band Fourplay that it’s easy to forget his roots lie in the acoustic piano trio. From his days working with Sarah Vaughan and then with a series of solid trios (check out The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions for proof), James has always had the chops to play in that demanding format.

His latest trio, with bassist Michael Palazzolo and long-time drummer Billy Kilson, recorded a “live in the studio" album, Feel Like Making LIVE! , that was released in audio and video formats at the end of January. The acoustic trio went deep into the James catalogue to reinterpret genre-defining tunes like “Nautilus”, “Westchester Lady”, “Nightcrawler”, “Angela” and the James-penned “Mr. Magic” a smash for Grover Washington, Jr. To those well-known tunes are added pop classics from “Downtown” to Elton John’s “Rocket Man” and jazz standards like “Nardis.” Full of the spontaneity and freshness that live recordings bring, it’s an album that will satisfy those who have followed Mr. James over the past few years, and surprise those who only see him as a fusion/smooth jazz player.

Podcast 876 is my conversation with Bob, who was just capping a month-long tour with a few shows at the Blue Note in New York, including a guest appearance with Talib Kweli and his live band, along with Old School rapper and record producer Slick Rick. We discussed his recent shows, how Feel Like Making LIVE! came together and how he approaches his old hits in a new format. He also shared a few hints as to the future of supergroup Fourplay, still dealing with the loss of guitar whiz Chuck Loeb almost five years ago. Musical selections from the trio recording include “Nautilus” and “Rocket Man.”

When I spoke with saxophonist Steve Slagle last summer, he had a number of projects ready to go. One of those, his first album of all ballads, Ballads: Into The Heart Of It, will be released in February on Panorama Records. The album features pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Ugonna Okegwo, drummer Jason Tiemann and Richard Sussman, who provides synth orchestrations and drum programming to great effect on three selections. Add to that lineup special guest Randy Brecker on trumpet, and you just know this is going to be good.

As Slagle says during our conversation, the album should really be “nine ballads and a burner,” as Brecker and Slagle take off on the final tune of the album, “Big Mac.” But it’s the slower tunes – never with heavy handed arrangements or cliched approaches – that shine, from the Miles/Bill Evans classic “Blue in Green” and Thelonius Monk’s “Reflections,” to a reimagined take on “My One and Only Love.” Slagle originals like “The Four Margarets” and “Si,See” stand up well against these classics, giving the band members ample time to shine.

Slagle has played at the highest level since his first days on the scene in New York, playing with the likes of Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Ray Barretto, Steve Kuhn, Lionel Hampton, and Charlie Haden. He continues to arrange and play with the Mingus Big Band, currently holding down weekly gigs at the Django in Manhattan. Ballads: Into The Heart Of It is another of his projects as a leader, and he hopes to get the band on the road through the early Spring. They are tentatively set to appear at Smalls on February 4th and 5th .

Podcast 875 is my conversation with Steve, as we talk how to pick and choose ballads, the unique challenges that come from playing slower tunes, and the genesis of a number of the songs on the album. Musical selections include the striking “My One and Only Love” and the seldom heard Stevie Wonder penned “Kiss Lonely Goodbye.”

Having spent four decades on the New York City jazz scene, pianist Pete Malinverni has crossed paths with countless revered artists and come away with a host of tales to tell. But few moments measure up to the time that Malinverni met the iconic composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein.

The seeds planted in that meeting decades ago come to fruition on Malinverni’s new album, On the Town – Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein . This top-notch trio recording reimagines nine Bernstein favorites, along with a new Malinverni original penned in tribute to the composer.

The band is Malinverni’s bassist of choice, Ugonna Okegwo, and for the first time, the legendary drummer Jeff Hamilton . Malinverni’s first opportunity to pay tribute to Bernstein arrived on the occasion of the composer’s 2018 centennial , when the pianist was commissioned to arrange many of these pieces for a four-horn ensemble featuring Joe Lovano at Purchase College, where Malinverni is Chair of the Jazz Studies Program. But when it came time to record the music, he determined to pare the music down to a trio setting.

Pete has recorded fourteen times as a leader, including in solo piano, trio, quartet, quintet, big band and choral contexts. Throughout his time in NYC, Malinverni has performed and recorded with a host of masters including Joe Lovano, Mel Lewis, Dennis Irwin, Jon Faddis, Karrin Allyson , Steve Wilson and more. Malinverni serves as Head of Jazz Studies at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, State University of New York. If that’s not enough to keep him busy, there is work at the Devoe Street Baptist Church in Brooklyn (Minister of Music), the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, NY (Pianist and Conductor) and the Pound Ridge Community Church (Director of Music).

Podcast 874 is my conversation with Peter, as we discuss the wonderful story of his meeting with Leonard Bernstein during a solo gig, the recording of On the Town , and how he penned a musical tribute to the maestro to close out the album. Musical selections include “Lucky to Be Me” and “A Night on the Town.”

Once he got over the funk that so many of us experienced during the COVID-19 shutdown of early 2020, Fred Hersch was musically active, streaming live from his home and playing music that made people smile and tap their toes. He began playing live again this summer, and now has a new recording of original material, Breath By Breath , the first time he has written for a jazz piano trio and string quartet.

Breath By Breath contains an eight-movement suite, entitled “Sati Suite.” The piece draws inspiration from the pianist’s longtime practice of mindfulness meditation, and so the movements take the listener through stages of the meditative process. Less you think this is ambient or "wallpaper" music, be assured that it is the kind of challenging yet joyous music that we have come to expect from Fred Hersch.

In part that’s due to the musicians he has enlisted for the album. Bassist Drew Gress was a member of the pianist’s first trio and has been an inspiring bandstand partner for more than three decades. Jochen Rueckert is one of the most in-demand drummers on the modern scene, having played with such greats as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, Melissa Aldana and Pat Metheny. The Crosby Street String Quartet, named for the NYC address where they first rehearsed with Hersch, combines four of the city’s busiest freelance string players: violinists Joyce Hammann and Laura Seaton, violist Lois Martin, and cellist Jody Redhage Ferber.

A select member of jazz’s piano pantheon, Fred is an influential creative force who has shaped the music’s course over more than three decades. A fifteen-time Grammy nominee, Hersch has long set the standard for expressive interpretation and inventive creativity. A revered improviser, composer, educator, bandleader, collaborator and recording artist, Hersch has been firmly entrenched as one of the most acclaimed and captivating pianists in modern jazz, whether through his exquisite solo performances, as the leader of one of jazz’s era-defining trios, or in eloquent dialogue with his deeply attuned duo partners. His brilliant 2017 memoir, Good Things Happen Slowly , was named one of 2017’s Five Best Memoirs by the Washington Post and The New York Times .

Podcast 873 is my conversation with Fred, as we talk about the writing and recording of Breath By Breath , how he assembled and rehearsed the musicians, and his plans for playing the material live. We also discuss an upcoming premiere of a Hersch-penned composition played by classical pianist Igor Levit, planned for Carnegie Hall on January 13th. You’ll get a chance to hear the second movement of the suite, called “Awakened Heart,” featuring Fred performing solo with the string quartet.

To all who are traveling on an evening that often becomes "amateur night" take extra care and pick that designated driver!

A perennial favorite song for New Year's Eve, and the Offical SNC Song of the evening is Frank Loesser's classic, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" Written in 1947, when Loesser was already an accomplished songwriter, having co-written hits like "Two Sleepy People" and "Spring Will Be a Little Late this Year".

However, his greatest work was just before him - in 1948 he was asked to score "Where's Charley?" for Broadway, which ran for more than two years. Buoyed by this success, Loesser turned out hits like "Guys and Dolls", "The Most Happy Fella" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". He won two Tony Awards and a Pulizter Prize for Drama for these works. In between, he won an Academy Award for the holiday standard, "Baby It's Cold Outside" from the film "Neptune's Daughter" (1949). Regrettably, Loesser died from cancer at the age of 59 in 1969.

This year's singer is Norah Jones, from her I Dream of Christmas CD. Click here to enjoy.

I'll be playing rock & roll with my band AXIS at the Drunken Rabbit Brewing in South Hadley, Massachusetts, so if you are in the area drop in and say hello. A happy and healthy New Year to one and all.

In a time when archival releases are becoming almost commonplace, it’s worth taking an extra moment to focus on A Time for Love: The Oscar Peterson Quartet – Live in Helsinki, 1987 from Two Lions/Mack Avenue Records.

The final gig of a long international tour that began with 4 concerts in Brazil, this date was the 14th of a European tour that took the quartet all over mainland Europe and Scandinavia. With a remarkable quartet of Joe Pass on guitar and the bass/drums tandem of Dave Young and Martin Drew – all of whom at the time of this recording were about halfway through their thirty-year affiliations with Peterson – the wildly enthusiastic Helsinki audience was treated to a marvelous performance.

The first set consists exclusively of Peterson’s own compositions – an important focus in his widow (and the album’s producer) Kelly Peterson’s efforts to further enhance his immortal legacy. The second set features Peterson’s enthralling exploration of time-honored jazz and songbook classics, including two virtuosic solo performances: Pass’ exquisite rendition of the iconic Disney tune “When You Wish Upon a Star” and Peterson’s delightful take on Bill Evans’ “A Waltz for Debby.” The encore is an explosive take on another Oscar original, “Blues Etude.”

None other than Duke Ellington tagged Peterson with the title “the Maharajah of the keyboard,” and the moniker was well earned. With eight Grammy awards and over 200 albums of his own, Peterson’s amazing ability to temper his own magnificence as a leader and soloist to be able to provide totally empathetic and subtle accompaniment to other musicians and vocalists – especially in his guitar-piano-bass trios with the likes of Herb Ellis and Ray Brown – made him a contributor to hundreds of other outstanding recordings, most notably as the virtual “house pianist” for his longtime manager Norman Granz’s Verve and Pablo Records. A professional since the age of 14, the Canadian born Peterson passed away at the age of 82 in 2007.

He was married to Kelly Peterson for twenty years, and she traveled the world with him. She was crucial to his continued playing and performing after a stroke in 1993 compromised his right hand. She now represents his Estate, producing and curating what is hopefully a series of previously unreleased or under-distributed work over the next few years.

Podcast 872 is my conversation with Kelly, as we talk about the legacy of Oscar Peterson, not just as a performer, but as a composer as well. We talk about his legendary collaborations with Pass, Ellis, Brown and more, and why musicians stayed with him for long stretches of time. Musical selections from A Time for Love include “How High the Moon” and “Blues Etude.”

It's December 24, which means that once again it's time to break out the Official Straight No Chaser Song of Christmas Eve. It's not really a song, actually, but Louis Armstrong reciting "Twas the Night Before Christmas", in his inimitable raspy voice.

Recorded on February 26, 1971 at his home in Queens, New York, this ended up being the final recording Armstrong made, before succumbing to a fatal heart attack on July 6th.

The poem, written by Clement Moore, is technically titled "An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas", was first published in the Troy Sentinel on December 23, 1823. A wonderful article by Peter Christoph tells that St. Nicholas was likely little known outside of the Dutch community when he published the work, setting into motion a cultural tradition still alive today. Further, I was surprised to learn it was Moore who first named the reindeer!

Here's hoping you'll be nestled all snug in your beds soon....

From Mad Magazine, circa 1960 - still gets a giggle sixty years later:

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pad,
Not a hipster was swinging, not even old Dad;
The chimney was hung in the stocking routine,
In hopes that “The Fat Man” would soon make the scene;
The moon and the snow were, like, faking together,
Which made the scene rock in the Day People weather,
When, what to these peepers should come on real queer,
But a real crazy sleigh, and eight swinging reindeer,
As sidemen in combos pick up as they stomp,
When they swing with the beat of a Dixieland romp,
So up to the top of my bandstand they flew,
With the sleigh full of loot, and St. Nicholas, too.
His lids-Man, they sizzled! His dimples were smiles!
His cheeks were like “Dizzy’s,” his break was like “Miles!”
His puckered-up mouth was, like, blowing flat E,
And his chin hid behind a real crazy goatee!
He blew not a sound, but skipped right to his gig,
And stashed all the stockings, then came on real big,
And flashing a sign, like that old “Schnozzle” bit,
And playing it hip, up the chimney he split;
And then, in a quick riff, I dug on the roof,
The jumpin’ and jivin’ of each swinging hoof.
As I pulled in my noggin, and turned around fast,
Down the chimney came Nick like a hot trumpet blast.
The tip of a butt he had snagged in his choppers,
And he took a few drags just like all cool be-boppers;
He had a weird face, and a solid reet middle
That bounced when he cracked, like a gutbucket fiddle!
He was wrapped up to kill, Man, a real kookie dresser!
And his rags were, like, way out! Pops! He was a gasser!
A sack full of goodies hung down to his tail,
And he looked like a postman with “Basie’s” fan mail.
He was shaking with meat, meaning he was no square,
And I flipped, ‘cause I’d always thought he was “longhair!”
But the glint in his eye and the beat in his touch
Soon gave me the message this cat was “too much!”
He flew to his skids, to his group blew a lick,
And they cut out real cool, on a wild frenzied kick.
But I heard him sound off, with a razz-a-ma-tazz:
“A cool Christmas to all, and, like all of that jazz!”

It's not the Christmas season until my wife Nancy and I hear "The Santaland Diaries ," David Sedaris' always hilarious account of his time as a costumed Elf named Crumpet at Macy's flagship department store in New York. Classic.

One of my favorite parts of the story comes when Crumpet, asked to sing a Christmas carol by the store Santa, decides to sing "Away in a Manger" as if he was Billie Holiday. Click here , since you have to hear it to believe it.

We continue to lose talented jazz masters at an alarming rate. All of the musicians featured in this podcast will be terribly missed. Take some time to listen to "Noted in Passing 2021" featuring the music of some of my favorite musicians who are now gone, but never forgotten so long as we can hear their music:

Barry Harris - " Uno Dos Tres"

Chick Corea (with the Akoustic Band) - "Humpty Dumpty"

Chris Barber (with Eddie Durham + Jazz & Blues Band) - "Jack Teagarden Blues"

Curtis Fuller - "Be-Back Ta-Reckla"

Mario Pavone (with Dialectic Trio +1) - "Philosophy Series"

Pat Martino - "Dearborn Walk"

Slide Hampton - "Little Sunflower"

Dr. Lonnie Smith, - "Too Damn Hot"

Pee Wee Ellis (with the WDR Big Band) - "The Prophet"

Jerry Grannelli (with the Trio) - "Your Mind is On Vacation"

Freddie Redd (with the Quartet) - "Time to Smile"

Ralph Peterson Jr., - "I Want to Be There For You"

Time and space prevent sharing more music and memories from George Mrasz, performer-critic Greg Tate, promoter and pianist George Wein, Milford Graves, Rick Laird (bass with Mahavishnu Orchestra), David Frishberg, Jon Hassell, Jeff Chambers, producer Bob Porter, and Sonny Simmons.

Stephen Sondheim is rarely mentioned in a jazz context, but he was the greatest Broadway composer of the second half of the 20th century, if not the greatest composer in all genres during this time. I will miss his brilliance every day.

As I do every year, this Podcast is "A Few of My Favorite Things" from 2021. It is not intended on being a Top Ten list - I do that for the Jazz Journalist Association , where I posted a list of 14 - but rather a grouping of recordings that got repeat play in my house, making me take notice among the many recordings I receive. While 2021 got off to a very rocky start here in the USA, there was much to be optimistic about in jazz recordings that came across my desk during the past twelve months. Further, music and musicians seem to have returned to our stages and clubs, and regardless of mutating viruses, perhaps to stay.

This year, I had the pleasure of hearing and rehearing the following stellar albums:

New Things From Old Friends:

Andrew Cyrille Quartet - The News

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels - Tone Poem

Kenny Garrett - Sounds of the Ancestors

Todd Cochran TC3 - Then & Again, Here & Now

Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas Soundprints - Other Worlds

Players Rising and Coming Into Their Own:

Johnathan Blake - Homeward Bound

Veronica Swift - The Bitter Earth

Brandee Younger - Somewhere Different

Sons of Kemet - Black to the Future

James Brandon Lews/Red Lily Quintet - Jesup Wagon

Collaborations and One-Offs:

Troy Roberts & Tim Jago - Best Buddies

Archie Shepp & Jason Moran - Let My People Go

Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

Jane Ira Bloom and Allison Miller - Tues Days

Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge with Gary Bartz - JID006 (Jazz is Dead)

Archival or Reissues:

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle

Roy Hargrove & Mulgrew Miller - In Harmony

Roy Brooks - Understanding

Bill Evans - Behind the Dikes: The 1969 Netherlands Recordings

Lee Morgan - The Complete Live at the Lighthouse

Tributes or Reimagination of Older Material:

Harold Mabern - Mabern Plays Coltrane

Terence Blanchard featuring E-Collective & Turtle Island Quartet - Absence

Nigel Price Organ Trio - Wes Reimagined

Chris Pattishall - Zodiac

Gerry Gibbs Thrasher Dream Trio - Songs From My Father

Musical selections appearing in the Podcast include:

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels - "Anthem"

Johnathan Blake - "Abiyoyo"

Allison Miller & Jane Ira Bloom - "Tues Day"

Lee Morgan - "Speedball"

Terence Blanchard featuring E-Collective & Turtle Island Quartet - "The Elders"

Every December since 1980, Paul Winter and his colleagues have celebrated the Winter Solstice at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine with a feast of music from cultures around the world. Over these past 40 years, Paul Winter’s Solstice Celebration has become New York’s favorite holiday alternative to the Nutcracker and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, as well as becoming a “can’t miss” for lovers of Jazz and New Age music.

This December, with their beloved cathedral closed for renovation, the 42nd Annual Winter Solstice Celebration will be a comprehensive video retrospective available to a worldwide audience. Entitled SOLSTICE SAGA , Paul Winter's 42nd Annual Winter Solstice Celebration will feature iconic performances from this legendary event’s four decades. This one-of-a-kind video will premiere as a livestream via Stellar at 7:00 p.m. EST on Friday, December 17; 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, December 18; and 2:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, December 19.

In keeping with the inclusivist embrace of the solstice and the welcoming, intercultural, ecumenical tradition of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, SOLSTICE SAGA will include performances by 12 special guests, including Brazil’s Ivan Lins and Fabiana Cozza; Russia’s Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble; Gary Brooker, lead singer of Procol Harum; Ireland’s Davy Spillane and Nóirín Ní Riain; Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul and Mary; and Abdoulaye Diabaté of Mali, along with the African drumming and dancing of the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre.

Paul Winter Consort players include Paul Winter on soprano sax, cellist Eugene Friesen, double-reed master Paul McCandless (formerly of Oregon fame), keyboardists Paul Halley and Paul Sullivan; flutist Rhonda Larson; drummers Jamey Haddad (Paul Simon) and Ted Moore; bassist Eliot Wadopian and gospel singer Theresa Thomason.

From the early days of his college jazz sextet, which toured 23 countries of Latin America for the State Department and performed the first-ever jazz concert at the White House for the Kennedys in 1962, to his later ensemble, the Paul Winter Consort, Paul Winter’s concert tours and recording expeditions have taken him to 52 countries and to wilderness areas on six continents, where he has traveled on rafts, dog sleds, mules, kayaks, tugboats and Land Rovers. He has recorded over 50 albums, of which seven have been honored with Grammy Awards.

Podcast 869 is my conversation with Paul, as we talk about the history of the Winter Solstice shows, how he “invented” New Age music, and how his travels in Latin America forever changed his musical approach. Musical selections include "Sun Singer" from Light of the Sun and "A Bun Dance" from Paul's Sextet Recordings Count Me In 1962-1963 .

More information about Paul Winter's 41st Annual Winter Solstice Celebration is available at the Stellar Tickets website .

Perhaps you are decorating your house for the holidays. Or wrapping gifts. Hanging with family and friends. Enjoying some seasonal food or libations.

Have I got a musical soundtrack for you!

Yes, it's the return of Straight No Chaser's "Nuthin' But Christmas Jazz" podcast, an hour of curated Christmas music for your enjoyment.

This year's podcast features:

Stan Kenton - "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

Kat Edmonson - "Happy Holiday"

Duke Pearson - "Go Tell It On a Mountain"

3D Jazz Trio - "I Wonder as I Wander"

Sharon Irving - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

Al DiMeola - "Greensleeves (What Child is This?)"

Josie Falbo - "The Christmas Waltz"

Kirk Whalum - "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

Diana Krall & the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra - "Let It Snow"

Jimmy Smith- "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen"

Eric Marienthal - "Christmas Time is Here"

Shirley Horn - "The Secret of Christmas"

Pete Ellman Big Band - "Silver Bells"

Dinah Washington - "Silent Night"

Gene Harris Quartet - "I'll Be Home for Christmas"

Sometimes a Christmas jazz album is more than just a holiday treat. That’s the way I heard Merry and Bright , the latest release from drummer Jeff Hamilton and his trio, bassist Jon Hamar and pianist Tamir Hendelman (Capri Records). Sure the classic tunes of the holiday are there, and there are a few more obscure tunes as well. But once the trio gets things going, the result is simply a solid, swinging performance by a top piano trio. The music on Merry and Bright transcends the Christmas music genre.

The album has been twenty plus years in the making, as Jeff tired of hearing versions of holiday classics that he felt were not up to snuff. The tunes were selected from Hamilton’s memories growing up in a family where everyone gathered around the piano and sang Christmas tunes in four-part harmony. Two of the pieces, “Caroling Caroling” and “Bright, Bright the Holly Berries” he learned from The Singers Unlimited, whose textured vocal harmonies are still a staple of Christmas morning listening at Jeff’s home in California.

Whether the trio is tackling “Here Comes Santa Claus” with an up-tempo Brazilian beat, or allowing Hamilton’s trademark brush stylings to shine on “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” this album is likely to move into that pantheon of classic Christmas jazz, right next to another album Jeff helped create, Diana Krall’s Christmas Songs .

I first spoke with Jeff back in Podcast 755 . His career has spanned almost every type of ensemble - the Big Bands of Woody Herman and Count Basie, the exotic quartet the L.A. 4 with Ray Brown, Bud Shank and Laurondo Almedida, and backing singers from Ella Fitzgerald to Diana Krall to Natalie Cole. Hamilton is both the leader of his this trio as well as one of the founders of the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, and the Akiko-Hamilton-Dechter trio.

In addition to Merry and Bright , Jeff has collaborated on two other albums that have been released this fall. The first is an organ trio album with Matthew Kaminski (L.A. Connection ), the Atlanta Braves stadium organist who has achieved cult status after playing jazz standards during the World Series, and guitarist Bruce Forman. The second, Major Influence , pairs Jeff and his long-time rhythm section buddies John Clayton (bass) and Tamir Hendelman (piano) with guitarist Graham Dechter. And just in case you felt he was not working hard enough, Jeff has put together a trio he calls the ”Poll Winners Revisited,” with Forman and Clayton, playing music inspired by, and using the actual instruments played by, the famed trio of Barney Kessell, Ray Brown and Shelly Manner.

Musical selections for Podcast 867 feature two tunes from Merry and Bright , “Bright, Bright the Holly Berries” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

One of the joys of listening to the music of saxophonist Kirk Whalum is diving deeper into the songs he selects and the way he performs them. I point to his series of The Gospel According to Jazz albums, where he interprets and refracts music from the church and gospel tradition through his jazz prism. If you’ve not heard them, stop now and give a listen.

So it was with great anticipation that I listened to Kirk’s second holiday-themed release, How Does Christmas Sound? I was not disappointed, since the album eschews seasonal lightweight fair like “Frosty the Snowman” or “Here Comes Santa Claus” for new and older tunes that take both an introspective and soulfully celebratory approach to music of the season. Even his choice of old chestnuts like “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve” and “Angels We Have Heard On High” serve as jumping off points for shifting time signatures and arrangements that probe the spiritual side of the music. If, as they say, the reason for the season is the birth of Jesus, then Kirk Whalum answers his musical question with both feet firmly in that camp.

A Grammy winner (with twelve nominations), Whalum has been a fixture on the smooth jazz circuit for years. Pop fans may know him best for work with Barbra Streisand and Luther Vandross, but especially for providing the memorable saxophone solo on Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” Jazz fans have enjoyed his collaborations with Joey DeFrancesco, Al Jarreau, Rick Braun, Dave Koz, Chuck Loeb and Norman Brown. Besides recording and touring, Whalum is a professor at Visible Music College in his hometown of Memphis, and an ordained minister with a Masters of Art in Religion.

Podcast 866 is my conversation with Kirk, as we discuss the reason for How Does Christmas Sound? , how he allows his religious devotion to shine through in his music, and the difficulties he sometimes faces in sharing those sentiments onstage. Whalum also talks about his two podcasts, “Bible in Your Ear ”, in which he invites listeners to hear him read through the Bible in a year, and “Humans Being .” Musical selections from How Does Christmas Sound? Include a dramatic re-reading of "All I Want for Christmas" and “Mary Did You Know?”, the latter powered by a vocal from rising R&B star Chantae Cann.

The story of Hanukkah is one of revolution and miracles: Greek influence over the Jews in the Land of Israel was getting out of hand. Hellenism was spreading, an affront to Jewish culture and religious practice. When the Greek ruler of the time, Antiochus, forbade Jewish religious practice, a small group of Jews, the Maccabees, revolted. The Maccabees were successful and, as a first order of business, restored the desecrated Holy Temple. The menorah in the Temple needed to be lit. Traditionally, the candelabrum burned continuously. The Temple liberators searched high and low but could find only one vial of olive oil, which seemed to be enough for just one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, which was just enough time to receive a new shipment. To celebrate the miracle, Hanukkah was instituted.

Today, Jews everywhere l ight menorahs on each night of Hanukkah. Traditionally, one candle or flame is lit for each night until the eighth night, when all eight lights shine together. The menorah has a ninth “helper” flame — known as the shamash — used to light the other candles. This is necessary because in Jewish law the Hanukkah lights serve no other purpose than declaring the miracle of the holiday. Jews place the lit menorah in a prominent window in order to fulfill this commandment.

Gift giving is now a common practice on Hanukkah, and it is therefore a beloved time for Jewish children. Fried potato pancakes (l atkes ) and doughnuts (sufganiyot ) are traditional fare, and a spinning top (dreidel or sevivon ) with four Hebrew letters has become synonymous with the holiday. The letters — nun , gimel , hei , shin — form an acronym for the message of Hanukkah: A great miracle happened there.

As a jazzy soundtrack for this year’s festivities, enjoy Podcast 650 , which includes tunes of the season by:

Don Byron – “Dreidl Song”

Event Horizon Jazz – “Maoz Tzur”

Kenny Ellis – “Sevivon, Sov, Sov Sov”

The Klezmatics – “Do the Latke Flip-Flip”

Ben Sidran – “I Have a Little Dreidle”

Jon Simon – “Oh Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah”

Dave Koz – “Eight Candles (A Song for Hanukkah)”

The Klezmer Conservatory Band – “Klezmorim At Chanukah”

Tim Warfield – “The Dreidel Song”

Straight No Chaser is always on the prowl for new and exciting jazz releases for the Christmas holiday season. This year has a number of wonderful releases, and we’ll be featuring several of the more exciting ones over the next week or so.

One of those releases is an EP by singer June Bisantz on the Arabesque label, a collection of unusual, upbeat holiday/winter songs written by Arnold Miller and Connie Pearce for June Christy in 1961. The EP combines a cool-jazz vibe with soulful introspection about the complex emotions evoked by the winter holidays. 7 Shades of Snow was begun in the winter of 2020 at the height of pandemic restrictions, and so eventually the project was conceived, arranged, and recorded remotely in seven separate studios with musicians who had never met - but are now forever connect­ed through this musical adventure. Bisantz’s vocals are ably backed by Jon Burr and his jazz sextet (Burr: bass, Mike Eckroth: piano, James Chirillo: guitar, Brandon Lee: trumpet, Marc Pfaneuf : saxophone, and Alvester Garnett: drums).

A talented singer, songwriter, visual artist and educator, Ms. Bisantz had long had a holiday recording among her creative plans. A lover of the holidays with their focus on love and celebration, she understands the holiday season is also a time of reckoning - with the year just past and the new one just ahead. Her search for material led her to make a recording that more than holds its own in the company of albums by singers who might be widely hyped, but not necessarily more accomplished in their artistic output.

A native of Connecticut and a featured performer on the Hartford jazz scene, June has toured internationally and performed and recorded with distinguished jazz musicians including Steve Swallow, Paul Brown, Mike Stern, Steve Davis, Lew Soloff, Jerry Neiwood, and Will Lee. Her 2018 collaboration with Alex Nakhimovsky, Love’s Tango , showcased her ability to move between straight ahead, Brazilian and modern jazz.

Podcast 865 is my conversation with June Bisantz, as we discuss how she discovered the material for 7 Shades of Snow , the novelty of recording remotely and her upcoming plans to return to live performances. Musical selections from 7 Shades of Snow include ‘ and the classic “The Merriest,” along with “11 Note Samba” from Love’s Tango .

The June Bisantz/Alex Nakhimovsky Quartet will appear at The Side Door in Old Lyme, Connecticut on December 3, 2021. Click here for more information.

Every year right after the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US, I post a podcast that serves as sort of a consumer guide to new jazz releases featuring Christmas music. I mean, really - how is the jazz fan to know what is fresh and new out there to listen to as they do there shopping, decorating and general making merry?

Here are thirteen tracks from new release, ranging from artists well known to the general public (Norah Jones) to those well known to jazz cognescente (Robert Irving III, Jeff Hamilton, Rodney Whitaker) to those whose music is not as widely played, but is worthy of a good long listen.

So enjoy, and follow the links to the artist or album titles to learn more about each release, and order a copy or two to supplement your holiday music collection. Podcast 864 includes:

Norah Jones – “Christmas Time is Here” from I Dream of Christmas

Robert Irving III (feat. Marlene Robsenberg & Ernie Adams) - "We Three Kings" from New Momentum

Rodney Whitaker with the Christ Church Cranbrook Choir – “Little Drummer Boy” from Cranbrook Christmas Jazz

Carolyn Lee Jones – “I’d Like You for Christmas” from Christmas Time is Here

Kirk Whalum – “Angels We Have Heard on High” from How Does Christmas Sound?

June Bisantz – “Hang Them On the Tree” from 7 Shades of Snow

Jeff Hamilton Trio – “Here Comes Santa Claus” from Warm and Bright

Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet – “Santa Dear, Where’s Mine?” from Fools for Yule

Pete Ellman Big Band – Title Track from The Twelve Grooves of Christmas

Lyn Stanley Big Band - "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" from Dancing in the Holidays

Tanya Wills Quartet - Title Track from Do You Hear What I Hear?

As Is - "O Holy Night"

Jan Daley – “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from Home for Christmas

Prior to 2019, I had just posted two songs that set the mood for Thanksgiving for me - George Benson's "Giblet Gravy" on the night before, to help out those cooking a festive meal, and Diana Krall's version of "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)". The latter, an Irving Berlin masterpiece, is often played for Christmas, but to me it sums up all that the day should be about - sharing with others as we realize the many gifts we are given each day and year.

This year, I put those two tunes in an hour plus of music you can dig all through the Thanksgiving holiday. To break it down for you, this podcast has :

Setting the mood for the day:

Vince Guaraldi - "Thanksgiving Theme"

Nicholas Payton - "Home for the Holidays"

Sonny Rollins - "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)

The symbols of the day:

Manhattan Brass - "Stuffy Turkey"

Wynton Kelly - "Autumn Leaves"

The main attraction:

Charlie Parker - "Carvin' the Bird"

George Benson - "Giblet Gravy"

Bernard Purdie with Thara Memory - "Grits & Gravy"

Lee Morgan - "Cornbread"

Steve Turre - "Ray's Collard Greens"

Organissimo - "Pumpkin Pie"

And to remember why we are all here:

Steve Kuhn Trio with Joe Lovano - "With Gratitude"

Diana Krall - "Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)"

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

There is no doubt that Christian McBride is one of the most versatile musicians on the music scene today. His artistry has been documented in recordings and performances with the widest possible range of musicians in the most varied settings and genres one might imagine. His collaborations have been as diverse as duets with the revered classical bassist Edgar Meyer and avant-garde composer and violinist Laurie Anderson; performances with iconic artists like Sting and James Brown; ensembles with his fellow native Philadelphian, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, of The Roots; not to mention a host of jazz masters from Sonny Rollins and Freddie Hubbard to Pat Metheny and the late Chick Corea. Add to that his work as broadcaster, educator, advocate and steward of New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), Jazz Aspen Snowmass, and the Newport Jazz Festival, and you still are just beginning to scratch the surface of his talent and accomplishments.

McBride leads a plethora of ensembles, from his Trio and Big Band to the Situation and New Jawn. My favorite is his quintet known as Inside Straight, featuring drummer Carl Allen, saxophonist Steve Wilson, pianist Eric Reed (who subsequently was replaced by Peter Martin) and vibraphonist Warren Wolf. Together for almost fifteen years, the group’s vast talents are well displayed on the new release on Mack Avenue Records, Live at the Village Vanguard . Recorded during a lengthy run of shows in 2014, the album features compositions by three of the five members, all allowing the band to swing hard. As Christian says in our conversation, he wanted a band that was “Vanguard Ready,” and he seems to have hit the mark once again.

When I spoke with McBride, he had just finished performing his large ensemble work "The Movement, Revisited," a four-movement suite dedicated to four of the major figures of the civil rights movement: Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at NJPAC. We discussed the audience response to the piece, his memories of his first show at the Village Vanguard as an audience member and a performer, and of his friend ship with the late George Wein. We also hear about his plans for the coming months, including a live recording at the Vanguard by the New Jawn, his group featuring Marcus Strickland (saxophone), Josh Evans (trumpet) and Nasheet Watts (drums).

Musical selections in Podcast 863 include “Shade of the Cedar Tree” (which McBride jokingly calls his “hit”) by Inside Straight, and “Brother Malcom,” a track from The Movement, Revisited which is also featured on a fund raising album to benefit the Jazz Foundation of America’s Musicians’ Emergency Relief Fund. That album, entitled Relief , is a collaborative work by a consortium of major jazz labels – Concord Music Group, Mack Avenue Music Group, Nonesuch Records, Universal Music Group’s Verve Label Group and Blue Note Records, and Warner Music Group – and their recording artists and can be purchased here .

Christian McBride and Inside Straight will be performing at the Village Vanguard in New York from November 30 to December 5, and Christian McBride’s New Jawn will appear there December 7 to 12. Tickets may be purchased here .

In 2019 boundary-breaking trombonist Joe Fiedler released Open Sesame , packed with inventive jazz readings of material drawn from his longstanding “day job” as an Emmy-nominated music director and staff arranger for the famed children’s show Sesame Street . The album gave long-time fans of the television show a chance to hear musicians reinterpret tunes that were part of their formative years, including “Rubber Duckie” and “Sing.”

Fuzzy and Blue ( Multiphonics Music), Fiedler’s second volume of Sesame Street songs, shines still more light on the extraordinary wit and melodic gift of the foundational Sesame Street composers Joe Raposo and Jeffrey Moss, among others. The album boasts the same top-tier lineup as Open Sesame , with a couple of twists. Trumpeter Steven Bernstein, who played on only part of Open Sesame , now becomes an integral cog in a nimble three-horn section, expanding and varying the palette and allowing Fiedler to bring his seasoned orchestration skills to the foreground.

Reedman Jeff Lederer plays tenor and clarinet and relies more heavily on soprano sax this time out, helping achieve the ideal blend of colors and registers that Fiedler was seeking. Drummer Michael Sarin and bassist Sean Conly keep the rhythms locked and creatively churning, from the Dr. John/Professor Longhair vibe of “Fuzzy and Blue” to the reggae feel of “Elmo’s Song” (by Tony Geiss), to the Hugh Masekela-inspired Afropop of “Ladybug’s Picnic.” The ensemble also gets a visit from vocal powerhouse Miles Griffith, the very model of a guest on Sesame Street , to provide fire for "I Am Somebody."

A native of Pittsburgh, Fiedler is an accomplished jazz improviser and bandleader with sideman credits including Andrew Hill, Charles Tolliver, Satoko Fujii, Eddie Palmieri, Celia Cruz and a host of others. In addition to his trio and other small-group lineups, Fielder leads the low-brass quartet Big Sackbut (three trombones & tuba), which has released the albums Big Sackbut , Sackbut Stomp and Live in Graz . He was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Music Direction and Composition in a Children’s Series in 2013 and 2016. He plays lead trombone on the 2021 movie soundtrack album for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights , contributing horn orchestrations for five major numbers and underscoring cues as well.

Podcast 862 is my first talk with Joe Fielder since his visit in 2012 , as we talk about his deep love and respect for the musicians and composers involved in Sesame Street , and how he and his bandmates find new and originals ways of interpreting the songbook. Musical selections from Fuzzy and Blue include the title track, “We Are All Earthlings,” and “I Am Somebody.”

Of said this of musicians before, but in so many ways, trumpeter Alex Norris is the personification of a working jazz musician. As a sideman, especially in big bands like the Mingus Big Band and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, he is a fixture. He’s called upon to contribute to recordings by legends like George Colligan and Pat Martino. He teaches and gives lessons online. And, when he’s not too busy and wants to relax, he records albums as a leader with his quintet of long-time colleagues.

His latest release, Fleet from the Heat , on the SteepleChase label, showcases Alex and his band (tenor saxophonist Ari Ambrose, pianist Jeremy Manasia, bassist Paul Gill and drummer Brian Floody) playing the kind of straight-ahead jazz that lovers of mid-Sixties Blue Note recordings will really dig. The band is tight, the compositions (all by Alex) are swinging, and the result is a highly satisfying listen.

Podcast 861 is my conversation with Alex, whose wry sense of humor permeates our talk. We talk about why his work schedule has been booked solid, working on Fleet from the Heat during the pandemic, how he writes and structures his tunes, and he recalls his work with the late Pat Martino on the 2017 release Formidable (Note - this conversation took place just prior to Pat's passing). Musical selections from Fleet from the Heat include “Quarandemic “ and the boogaloo “Dude, Where’s My Deli?,” both parts of what Alex calls “The Famous Original Pandemic Suite.” We also hear “On the Stairs” from Martino’s Formidable album, featuring Norris with organist Pat Bianchi, drummer Carmen Intorre Jr. and tenor saxophonist Adam Niewood.

Heir to a Hindustani classical lineage passed down from his father Partha Chatterjee (and his father’s teacher Pandit Nikhil Banerjee), virtuoso sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee moves into some new territory with the release of Unbounded - Abaad , his new album from the UK-based, South Asian-focused music media platform Sufiscore. The album reflects not only Chatterjee’s mastery of his native musical tongue but also what he calls “his love story with jazz” and his inquisitive approach to music of all kinds, blending a wealth of colors from master musicians around the world.

If you are going to try your hand at a fusion of multiple types of music, you’ll need a supporting cast that has gone down that road before. Purbayan wisely reached out to a series of jazz masters who have explored world music for assistance and collaboration - banjo pioneer Béla Fleck (whose duo work with the late Chick Corea was formative for Chatterjee); keyboardist Jordan Rudess of the progressive metal band Dream Theater; longtime Pat Metheny drummer Antonio Sanchez; Snarky Puppy bassist and founder Michael League; and Israeli-born jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen. To this group he added a number of Indian musicians who worked with guitarist John McLaughlin in his innovative acoustic fusion project Shakti, most notably table player Ustad Zakir Hussain.

The results are often striking, bringing the feel of jazz-rock fusion timing and speed with modern jazz sensibilities and Indian sense. Take for example “Sukoon — Catharsis,” a marriage of ghazal (sung poetry) and blues that juxtaposes the jazz and Hindustani vocal stylings (respectively) of Thana Alexa and Gayatri Asokan (lyrics by Rehana Qamar). Hussain, Sanchez and League make for a formidable rhythm section, and pianist Carmen Staaf supplies the western jazz harmony.

I spoke with Purbayan from Mumbai, where he discussed the genesis of the project - a visit with Pat Metheny - and the way he felt it logical to incorporate Indian classical sound and structure with jazz. Musical selections include "Shanmukhapriya [The Mystic]" and "Intezaar [The Wait]"

As I'm recovering from Hip Replacement Surgery, there will be no new "Spooky Songs" podcast for Hallowe'en this year. However, I wouldn't want you to miss out on all the past treats I've prepared, so feel free to visit the archives and dig on:

Podcast 166

Podcast 240

Podcast 309

Podcast 387 - The All-Devil Themed Podcast

Podcast 452

Podcast 598

Podcast 644

Be safe out there and enjoy Trick or Treat!

Podcast 859 is something of a follow-up from Podcast 839 earlier this summer. At that time, saxophonist Jon Irabagon talked about his involvement with a new organization based in Columbus, Ohio. Stephanie Matthews and her business partner, Bruce Halliburton, started "A Tribe For Jazz " in April 2021. It's a new nonprofit that works to market global jazz musicians, but it’s goals are far loftier.

Their Vision Statement reads: “Our vision is to advance the future of Jazz for generations by producing content, events and activities that transform, educate and lead to purposeful actions and impactful conversations surrounding the preservation of the genre.” It came into being with a mission to preserve the legacy and advance the future of jazz through storytelling, live and virtual performance, education, and community engagement.

In the collaboration between Irabagon and A Tribe for Jazz, Jon is showcased as never before in the innovative performance film Legacy: Jon Irabagon . Directed by Julian Melanson and produced by Ms. Matthews, the film features Irabagon completely solo, in a beautifully lit, artistically shot black-box theater environment, playing original compositions drawn from just about every stage in his career. Throughout the film, he reveals a formidable, deeply felt mastery of the tenor saxophone — arguably jazz’s most iconic instrument. Legacy: Jon Irabagon is both an extended reflection on the lineage of the horn itself, and a statement on Irabagon’s own considerable artistic legacy, still very much still in formation.

Podcast 859 is my conversation with Stephanie Matthews, as we discuss the founding of A Tribe for Jazz, the work with Jon Irabagon, and possible future projects with the likes of Fabian Almazon and Linda May Han Oh .

Legacy: Jon Irabagon is available on demand through October 31. Visit here for more information.

Pianist Helen Sung’s recorded work has grown more esoteric over the past few years – a duet album with trumpeter Marquis Hill (vinyl only) and a collaboration with poet Dana Gioia (Sung With Words ). One of her first releases, Sungbird , showed her classical chops. These albums show us a young artist willing to continue to push the envelope and move beyond the sounds of a successful band-oriented effort.

On her latest album Quartet+ , Helen is again moving in new directions. While the core of her previous bands – saxophonist and flutist John Ellis and drummer Kendrick Scott – return, she adds bassist David Wong and the strings of the Harlem Quartet. The result is a celebration of the work of influential women composers, crafting new arrangements of tunes by Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Mary Lou Williams, Marian McPartland and Toshiko Akiyoshi. And to make sure she got it right, violinist Regina Carter comes on board as a co-producer. The resulting album allows her to lead this group of musicians to explore new aspects of many of the tunes, never fearing to steer away from the standard structure or style of the originals.

A 2021 Guggenheim fellow, Ms. Sung attended Houston’s renowned High School for the Performing & Visual Arts (HSPVA) and continued her classical piano studies at the University of Texas at Austin. As you’ll hear in our conversation, attending a Harry Connick Jr concert made her rethink the way the piano can be played, and she went on to graduate from the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (at the New England Conservatory) and win the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition. It’s been onward and upward since then, as she has released eight previous albums as a leader, and supported Marcus Printup, Ronnie Cuber, Clark Terry and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on other records.

Podcast 858 is my conversation with Helen Sung, as we discuss Quartet+ , how she handled the pandemic shut-down, and where she is headed. The next few years promise to be very busy, as she will apply her Guggenheim Fellowship to a multi-movement piece for big band slated for completion in 2022. With a Chamber Music America Digital Residency grant, she’s producing a series of events this year using the tragic recent attacks on the AAPI community as a catalyst for interdisciplinary events with her quartet and a poet, a DJ and an installation artist. Sung also received a New Music USA 2021 Music Creator Development Fund grant for a collaborative project with dancer and neuro-rehabilitation researcher Miriam King to create a dance program with original music for dementia/Alzheimer’s patients. Music selections from Quartet+ include “

Podcast 857 is the second of my two-part conversation with Andrew Cyrille. The last twenty years has seen Andrew obtain some of the exposure that he so richly deserves, as his releases under his own name on ECM, TUM and Soul Note have been rapturously praised, as has been his work with Trio 3, joining Oliver Lake and Reggie Workman for ten albums.

Add to this sideman work on albums by Anthony Braxton, Dave Douglas, Uri Caine, and David Murray, and you see why he is rarely not working. The News , a quartet album with Bill Frisell , Ben Street and David Virelles, is his latest ECM release.

Podcast 857 takes us back to his time with Cecil Taylor , the pioneering avant-garde pianist who broke and then re-wrote all the rules of piano composition and performance. Andrew was his drummer for eleven years, and during that time, he says that Cecil never told him what to play. Together they made two of Taylor's seminal recordings, Unit Structures and Conquistador! on Blue Note Records.

We also discuss a forthcoming tribute album to Taylor featuring bassist William Parker and trumpeter Enrico Rava, and a new album for Trio3, both planned for 2022.

A force in improvisation for more than sixty years, Andrew Cyrille has played across the landscape of jazz from Coleman Hawkins’s The Hawk Relaxes to Cecil Taylor ’s Unit Structures , led his own bands, and worked extensively with Milford Graves, Walt Dickerson, David Murray, Muhal Richard Abrams, Oliver Lake , Reggie Workman and many, many more.

For The News , recorded at Sound on Sound Studio for ECM Records in New Jersey in August 2019, David Virelles was drafted as last-minute replacement for old associate Richard Teitelbaum, whose involvement had been ruled out by ill-health (Teitelbaum has since passed away). Virelles had previously played with Cyrille and bassist Ben Street in contexts including the group Continuum. Gently guiding from the drums, Cyrille gives his revised line-up plenty of freedom while also shaping, subtly, the group’s sonic identity with his flowing sense of pulse. Adding guitarist Bill Frisel l, who has recorded with Andrew since 2016, there emerges a daunting quartet.

Frisell is a veteran of many of ECM’s seminal recordings, and his work here makes it clear why. His playing is fluid, almost languid at times and there is no musical situation that he doesn’t maker better with his harmonic choices. This gives Cyrille the room he craves to add the rhythmic interjections that make him so unique. Street is there, as Andrew says in our conversation because “he watches their back” and ensures things move along as needed. The talented Virelles continues to show that his reputation as one of the top pianists around is well deserved.

Podcast 856 is the first part of my two-part conversation with Andrew Cyrille. In this first part, Andrew and I discuss the new album, why he chose to record a number of tunes he has previously recorded but in different arrangements, and why each member of the band was so important to the making of The News . Musical selections from the album include the title track, “The News.”

Andrew then leads us through the events that he believes made him the musician today. On this Podcast we talk about his formative years, growing up in Brooklyn, and becoming a drummer. Podcast 857 later this week will pick up with his association with Cecil Taylor, and discuss a new album that is forthcoming with Enrico Rava paying tribute to his friend and bandmate for eleven years.

Podcast interviews these days can sound like “How I Spent My Covid Vacation” at times. So many musicians used to traveling, gigging and recording at length became housebound. Some used the time to practice; others learned new instruments or worked on previously back-burnered material. Pianist/Composer Dan Siegel (no relation to your humble host) prepared his 22nd album as a leader, Faraway Places , by reaching out to his favorite players and bringing in a host of top sidemen to breathe life into his project via the internet.

Joining Siegel on the album are saxophonist Eric Marienthal, trumpeter/trombonist Lee Thornburg, guitarist Allen Hinds, acoustic bassist Brian Bromberg, electric bassists Abraham Laboriel and Dwayne “Smitty” Smith, percussionist Lenny Castro, and on two tracks Brazilian vocalist Rogerio Jardim.

The material seems divided into three different styles. The first is more accessible, radio friendly and closer to Smooth Jazz. The second is solidly straight ahead, closer to the styles of his past work. Lastly, the addition of accordion by Dan, a hymn-like choir of vocalists and the wordless vocals of Jardim are closer to a Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays collaboration, and have a spiritual feel.

Dan began playing piano at the age of eight, and has grown into a composer, pianist, producer and arranger for himself and others, from Herbie Hancock to Philip Bailey to Hugh Masekela. In Podcast 855 we discuss the making of Faraway Places , talk about his style of composition, and how the West Coast of the US has been fairing as musical life slowly reaches the New Normal. Musical selections include “Old School" and "Some Time Ago."

Dave Holland. Larry Grenadier. Miroslav Vitous. Barre Phillips. Eberhard Weber. Björn Meyer. All of these famous bass players have recorded and released solo bass recordings on the famed ECM label over the years. And now, we can add Marc Johnson to that list.

Overpass , recorded in January and February 2018 at Nacena Studios, in São Paulo, Brazil, was produced by Marc Johnson and his partner in life and music, pianist Eliane Elias . Johnson entered the studio with the idea of performing solo, but not quite sure of what the final results would sound like. He performed pieces that have been a standard part of his repertoire for more than forty years, like “Love Theme from Spartacus” and “Nardis,” both staples from his time in the Bill Evans Trio. Then there were other standards like Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance”, plus a reworked version of his tune from the Bass Desires album, “Samurai Fly.” Lastly, there are improvised pieces that took shape in the studio.

The result is a tribute not just to Marc’s improvisatory skills, but his intense sense of melody on the bass. The pristine sound allows the listener to feel Johnson’s physicality with the bass, and hear not only the melody and harmony, but the sound of strings and wood being used to make those sounds.

A product of the famous University of North Texas jazz bands, Johnson was playing with Bill Evans in the pianist’s final trio at the age of 25. Since then, he has been the sideman of choice for the likes of Joe Lovano, Michael Brecker, Stan Getz, Lyle Mays, Enrico Pieranunzi and of course, Ms. Elias. . As a leader, he has recorded more than ten albums under his own name, including two classic albums for ECM, Bass Desires (with John Scofield, Bill Frisell, and Peter Erskine) and Shades of Jade (Lovano, Scofield, Elias, Joey Baron and Alain Mallet).

Marc and I had previously spoken for the podcast almost ten years ago, so we were overdue for a conversation. Podcast 854 rectifies that situation as we talk about what motivated Marc to record a solo bass album, and how Overpass came together. We also talk about a forthcoming live album from the Bill Evans Trio on Resonance Records, and share insights into the Music from Man of La Mancha album he worked on with Eliane Elias, recorded in 1995 but shelved and finally released in 2018 on Concord Records. Musical selections from Overpass include “Nardis” and “Yin and Yang,” and from Music from Man of La Mancha , “The Barber’s Song.”

With the release of Sing to the World on the St. Petersburg, Russia label Rainy Days Records pianist Benito Gonzalez takes a stellar step into the future of his jazz journey. He’s assembled an impressive team of collaborators to perform the ten tunes, including Christian McBride, Essiet Okon Essiet, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Nicholas Payton as well as rising stars Russian drummer Sasha Mashin, trumpeter Josh Evans and saxophonist Makar Kashitsyn.

Gonzalez describes the album as a musical exploration into the concept of freedom, one that recognizes the dignity of us all as individuals. Music, he says in our conversation, is the way he communicates, and with which he hopes to make a change in the world. The opening track, “Sounds of Freedom” is inspired by “the troubling situations in our world today. People are looking for freedom in places like my home Venezuela, in Russia, the U.S. People are searching, fighting for freedom.”

In addition to his slow-to-upbeat originals, Gonzalez adds to the set list two compositions that have never been recorded by their composers: Roy Hargrove’s soulful “Father” and Jeff “Tain” Watt’s “412.” In our conversation, he describes the relationship he had with the late trumpeter, and also with his current favorite drummer, and how he came to record the tunes.

Born in Venezuela, Benito made his way to U.S. by a serendipitous route when an American cultural ambassador caught one of his trio gigs and later invited him to come to Washington, D.C. to play shows with Ghanaian master drummer Okyerema Asante. From there came a stretch with Jackie McLean, and then seven years in Kenny Garrett’s quartet until 2013. After his stint with Garrett, he played with saxophonist Azar Lawrence’s band, then in 2019 was enlisted by saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders to be his pianist/musical director. Sing to the World is his fifth album as a leader.

Podcast 853 is my conversation with Benito, as we discuss the new CD, what he seeks in his musical collaborators, and his coming world tour. Musical selections from Sing to the World include “ Sounds of Freedom.”

Though jazz composer and pianist Mary Lou Williams, who died in 1981, is not as well-known today as contemporaries such as Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie, her musical and spiritual legacy is lately the focus of renewed, and well-deserved, appreciation. She was on the cover of a recent issue of JazzTimes , and earlier this year we had Chris Pattishall on the Podcast discussing his version of her classic “Zodiac Suite” plus her former pupil Bill Cunliffe reminiscing about her. Now, a new biography of Ms. Williams explores the spiritual journey that led her to convert to Catholicism, and to spend the rest of her life sharing her gospel message that “jazz is love.”

In Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul (Liturgical Press), Deanna Witkowski, offers a poignant portrait of the pioneering jazz pianist-composer. Ms. Witkowski is a jazz composer, pianist, and interpreter of Williams’s work, whose forthcoming album, Force of Nature (MCG Jazz) features all Williams compositions. She presents the full Mary Lou: “a forward-thinking, breathtakingly original pianist and composer,” who mentored some of the greatest musicians of the twentieth century—including Powell, Charlie Parker, and Art Blakey—and a deeply spiritual person who found solace in the Catholic faith and believed in the healing power of jazz.

A liturgical jazz pioneer, Williams composed three Mass settings, and devotional works such as “Black Christ of the Andes,” honoring St. Martin de Porres. In the final years of her life, Williams finally had the chance to fully integrate her spirituality, music, and her teaching in her frequent performances of “Mary Lou’s Mass”, and her history of jazz demonstrations, around the world at at Duke University, where she made her academic home.

Deanna is an award-winning jazz pianist and composer who recently relocated to Mary Lou Williams’s hometown of Pittsburgh after spending twenty-three years as a New Yorker. Her seven recordings include the forthcoming Force of Nature (MCG Jazz) featuring all Williams compositions and Makes the Heart to Sing: Jazz Hymns (Tilapia Records), featuring 14 jazz arrangements of classic hymns alongside a companion sheet music book. As a frequent guest music leader, Witkowski has shared her original liturgical jazz in over one hundred churches throughout the United States. Musical selections include one part of the "Zodiac Suite", "Cancer" paired with "Act of Contrition," and "Carcinoma."

A Baby-Boomer like myself recalls when Freda Payne rode high on the Pop Charts with soulful tunes like “Band of Gold,” “Bring the Boys Home,” and “Deeper and Deeper” in the early Seventies. However, I did not know at the time that this sort of Top 40 R&B was an aberration for Ms. Payne – singing jazz was her first love, and her musical goal.

Since 2014, when she released Come Back To Me Love , Freda has been touring and spreading the gospel of jazz to her audiences. Seemingly ageless in voice and physical grace, she has a new release, Let There Be Love , which should do even more to bring her to jazz prominence. A collection of Big Band arrangements from Gordon Goodwin, the album has Freda paired for duets with the likes of Kurt Elling, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Lattimore, and in a sizzling medley of “Moanin’” and “Doodlin’”, fellow Detroit native Dee Dee Bridgewater.

An in-demand vocalist in her early teens, Ms. Payne crossed paths with a pre-Motown Berry Gordy Jr. and was offered a spot with Duke Ellington’s band, but her tender age made the gigs untenable. Instead, she cur her teeth singing radio jingles in her native Detroit, and then worked her way to New York to work with the likes of Quincy Jones. Mid-Sixties tours of Europe led to recording deals, but it wasn’t until she met up with old friend Eddie Holland and decided to sing a few of his soul songs that she hit the charts with her R&B singles.

In our conversation, Ms. Payne talks excitedly about her return to her jazz roots, and the circuitous route she took to get there. We talk about the making of Let There Be Love , and especially her input on the recording and singing partners. Musical selections include the “Moanin’” and “Doodlin’” medley with Dee Dee Bridgewater and the title track with Kenny Lattimore.

We live in a nearly unparalleled time for the discovery of previously unreleased and archival music from jazz legends. Just recently we’ve seen important releases from Lee Morgan , Miles Davis , Roy Hargrove, Mulgrew Miller , and Roy Brooks , with promises of more from Bill Evans and Art Blakey before the year is out. But the big one drops Friday October 22, when A Love Supreme – Live in Seattle is released, representing the first club performance of the titular suite by John Coltrane.

Due to its length and complexity, Coltrane rarely played “A Love Supreme” live. The Live in Antibes recording of a July 26, 1965, festival show in France was believed to be the only live version captured. However, in October1965 on the culminating evening of a historic week-long run at The Penthouse in Seattle, “A Love Supreme” was played in a more intimate setting. For this gig, Coltrane expanded his classic quartet by adding Pharoah Sanders on second saxophone and Donald Garrett on second bass. The tape reels containing this performance sat in the private collection of Seattle saxophonist and educator Joe Brazil, heard by a few fortunate musicians and friends-and largely unknown until now.

Author and music historian Ashley Kahn literally wrote the book on the Coltrane classic - A Love Supreme: The Making Of John Coltrane's Masterpiece . He wrote the liner notes for this release, and joins us in Podcast 851 to talk about the importance of the performance, the story of how it was recorded, and what we learn about Coltrane and his perspective on his masterwork. You’ll also get to hear a performance of the final movement of the suite, “Psalm.”