New Standard Quintet lives up to its name, time and again, not by resurrecting age-old tracks but by trying to fashion its own rules for approaching original jazz music. You May Also Like: Rob Mazurek Quintet’s hypnotic, diverse Sound Is rewarded close listens Laurence Juber – Standard Time (1982; 2018Read More

Saxophonist Rafael Garces and pianist Eric-Jan Harmsen, it seems, couldn’t be more different. In the case of their stellar new live jazz recording 52 Min & 52 Sec, that’s a good thing. You May Also Like: Philipp Gerschlauer and David Fiuczynski – Mikrojazz: Neue Expressionistische Musik (2017)

When Henry Cole sought to find a singular style of music that would appeal to the diverse tastes of his local Old St. Juan music scene, his search was over when he discovered the pioneering Afrobeat sounds of Fela Kuti. You May Also Like: Paula Cole – ‘Revolution’ (2019)

Atlanta guitarist Jacob Deaton began the year with a new album—his first one, in fact—and makes a good initial impression. These six songs, all Deaton’s, vary in tempo in mood but the common thread throughout them all is that they are crisp post-bop with simple melodies and advanced harmonies. ThisRead More

You come in expecting one thing, being as Jeremy Davis focuses on the mid-century big-band formula. And, at times, you hear Sinatra in this album. Dorsey, too. You May Also Like: The Fabulous Poodles – Mirror Stars: The Complete Pye Recordings (2018) Miles Davis’ ‘Bitches Brew’ Broke Every Rule: ‘AnRead More

There are a lot of ways to fail at a jazz vocal album, in particular with the glut of such projects flooding the marketplace these days. The first, though, is to lack nerve. You May Also Like: Stephanie Angelini and Vince Tomas, “Midnight Blue” (2020): One Track Mind

Trumpeter Justin Walter sensed that his latest album Stars was destined to be out of the ordinary. “I was very aware from the beginning that this was going to be a strange album,” he acknowledges, “but I also wanted it to be a serious album.” You May Also Like: RobertRead More

Longtime reedman Bill Barner has played it all in his career: Dixieland, free jazz, bop, Latino music, fusion jazz, and on and on. You May Also Like: Bill Frisell – Music IS (2018) Andrew Cyrille, with Wadada Leo Smith and Bill Frisell – ‘Lebroba’ (2018) Bill Evans – Time Remembered,Read More

Nat Janoff’s guitar sounds pretty good on a leisure listen; it’s downright revelatory on closer listen. His single line runs are so brisk, clean and vibrant, the notes feel like 3-D for the ears. Janoff took an unusual route to get that perfect tone and phrasing: he started on piano,Read More

Feel good music, I’ve been told Good for your body, and it’s good for your soul Ever since the Meters first sang that in “Hey Pocky A-Way,” one of their best all time tunes, vintage funk to me has been my “feel good music.” You May Also Like: Paul LevinsonRead More