Ready or not, here comes 2013’s Monk International Competition saxophone winner Melissa Aldana. ‘Melissa Aldana & Crash Trio’ marks a solid first step in the post-Big Win phase of her young career.

Ahmad Jamal once said Hiromi “has discovered her own genre.” He was on to something.

Harvey Mason’s upcoming debut on the Concord Music label puts the iconic session drummer squarely into his old jazz-funk environs where he made a name for himself back in the 1970s. You May Also Like: Jason Stein Quartet – Lucille! (2017) James Brandon Lewis Trio – No Filter (2016) JeffRead More

A past winner of the Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition, Helen Sung knows her way around eighty-eight keys, and after five well-received albums, this NYC residing, Houston, Texas native is bringing her talents to the Concord Music label. You May Also Like: Thelonious Monk – Mønk (2018) Ryan Blotnick –Read More

Creedence Clearwater Revival was a canny name, considering the way the band nudged rock — in a moment when their San Francisco brethren were pushing it further out in the space — back toward its R&B roots. You May Also Like: Tell It to the Judge – Cases of MisguidedRead More

A fusion band started by teenagers who each went on to make their own mark in jazz and other music forms is bound to forge their own identity by the time they reach their thirties. You May Also Like: Kneebody – Anti-Hero (2017) Invisible Bird [Scott Amendola, Shane Endsley +Read More

This album, Dizzy Gillespie’s first and best for Norman Granz’s Pablo imprint, reaffirms a relationship with bassist Ray Brown that goes back to the mid-1940s. It’s Joe Pass who makes the bigger impression here. You May Also Like: Dizzy Gillespie and Friends – Concert of the Century: A Tribute toRead More

A tireless promoter of Cuban music, Havana-born Roberto Fonseca continues to increase awareness of his home country’s bountiful musical tradition.

Featuring some of Sarah Vaughan’s last truly transcendent moments, this pair of 1980 Pablo releases devoted to the work of Duke Ellington reminds us in reissue form what wonders her voice and this material still hold. You May Also Like: Sacred and Great Gigs in the Sky: The Vocalise TraditionRead More

I’d argue that these 1963 concerts with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and and Elvin Jones are the first thing every emerging John Coltrane fan should experience, after buying all of the tried-and-true essentials. You May Also Like: John Coltrane – Both Directions at Once, The Lost Album (2018) John ColtraneRead More