Dr. Lonnie Smith, with nothing left to prove, turns this live offering into a clinic on defying expectations.

About three years ago I went out on a limb and called my shots on up-and-coming female jazz performers — players, not singers — who are destined for bigger and better things in this formally male-dominated province. You May Also Like: Brian Landrus – ‘For Now’ (2020)

James Falzone is part of a young, resurgent cadre of clarinet players that also includes the likes of Ben Goldberg and Anat Cohen, determined to prove the continued vitality of this sometimes-forgotten wood instrument of jazz. You May Also Like: Big Brooklyn – Purpose (2018) Ivo Perelman – ‘Reed RaptureRead More

Given a chance to stuff five box sets into our baggage before that fateful trip, our panel of intrepid travelers has selected the Beatles and Miles Davis as must-have items. But not by much. You May Also Like: Elton John – ‘Jewel Box’ (2020) David Garfield, “Sir Charles” from ‘Stretchin’Read More

Part George Winston, part Ben Folds, part the Bad Plus, the Neil Cowley Trio is a mighty mixture of elegance, attitude and wit. This week, we will be treated to more of that alchemy You May Also Like: Natalie and Zachary Wilksch, “Can’t Get Your Face Off My Mind” (2018):Read More

The title is so very appropriate, and not just because this set was recorded during a week-long stint at the Village Vanguard. Fred Hersch, after a near death experience in 2008, has never sounded more present — more, in short, alive. You May Also Like: Mark Wade Trio – ‘TrueRead More

“Woo!!!” And with that, we have “2” — the official total number of “Woo!”‘s in the ECM catalog. This one comes from Enrico Rava, as guitarist John Abercrombie unleashes a particularly intense solo passage. You May Also Like: Steve Million – ‘What I Meant to Say’ (2021)

It’s perhaps faint praise to call Pepper Adams one of the best of jazz music’s baritone saxophonists, so thinly populated is the confederacy of players on this most unwieldy of instruments. You May Also Like: Bryan Adams Finally Established His Own Identity With ‘Cuts Like a Knife’ How Bryan AdamsRead More

A few years ago Pat Metheny made a solo guitar “covers” record What’s It All About, a record I adore as much for the melodies he picked as how he nursed them. You May Also Like: How ‘Wish’ Scuffed Up Joshua Redman’s Initial Melodicism Pat Metheny, “Road to the SunRead More

For his third album Michael Feinberg originally sought to pay tribute to all the great bassists before him, but a funny thing happened on the way to making this record. Elvin Jones happened. You May Also Like: Naya Baaz [Rez Abbasi + Josh Feinberg] – ‘Charm’ (2023) How Elvin BishopRead More