Sophisticated UK pop group Matt Bianco may be best known in the US for launching the career of onetime member Basia. But their blend of Latin rhythms, acid jazz, and other world music influences render them an unfairly overlooked band. You May Also Like: Basia – Butterflies (2018) Tritone AsylumRead More

With a couple of rock solid trio records for ECM Records under her belt, the jazz pianist from Bonn, Germany undertakes something a little different for her third go around with the storied label. You May Also Like: Julia Biel – ‘Black and White Volume 1’ (2020) Marcin Wasilewski TrioRead More

For all the times that “all-star” dates have let us down, the fault of a basic incompatibility that transcends anyone’s inherent fame, Things Are Getting Better features a pairing that utterly works. You May Also Like: Cannonball Adderley – ‘Poppin’ in Paris: Live at L’Olympia 1972′ (2024) Joe Jackson’s RainRead More

The Trinidad-born Etienne Charles plays with a knifing, jazz-focused intensity, but inside a layered, rhythmically complex atmosphere that makes Creole Soul anything but the same old straight-ahead fare. You May Also Like: David Garfield, “Sir Charles” from ‘Stretchin’ Outside the Box’ (2020): One Track Mind Charles Rumback – ‘Cadillac Turns’Read More

The key to “Midwestern Nights Dream” lies in the introspective introduction. In fact, its first two chords. They create a quiet, descending arc that when expanded upon gives a sense of falling. You May Also Like: ‘Bright Size Life’ Gave Early Definition to Pat Metheny’s Incredible Career Pat Metheny –Read More

Though it’s always existed in the shadow of Wes Montgomery’s earlier Incredible Jazz Guitar, there is much to recommend about this easy-swinging 1961 follow up for Riverside — beginning with his able young sideman Ron Carter. You May Also Like: Wes Montgomery – ‘The Complete Full House Recordings’ (2023)

Distilled by Sunna Gunnlaugs Iceland is geographically situated between Scandinavia and the North American continent, and that’s just where the jazz of Icelandic pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs is situated, too. You May Also Like: Sunna Gunnlaugs – ‘Becoming’ (2023)

The statement on the front CD cover announces what this music is about: “A Free Jazz Recording By The Undisputed Master Of The Jazz Clarinet.” You May Also Like: Dan Weiss Trio – ‘Dedication’ (2022) Dan Weiss Starebaby – ‘Natural Selection’ (2020)

So many years removed from this album’s release, and I am still stunned at tracks such as this. Metheny has a theme but the presentation is one long guitar solo. You May Also Like: ‘Bright Size Life’ Gave Early Definition to Pat Metheny’s Incredible Career Pat Metheny, “You Are” fromRead More

It’s hard to deny the electricity, enthusiasm and emotion of Afro-Cuban music, and a certain drummer out of San Francisco has captured that essence in leading a band of like-minded specialists of the music form. You May Also Like: Richard Turgeon, “My Guitar” (2020): One Track Mind