Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
The music of th
e late, great Woody Shaw set a standard of excellence that has not been surpassed in the 50-plus years since he first came onto the jazz scene. “Madero Latino” is an exploration of this giant’s music as viewed through the lens of authentic Afro-Caribbean rhythm and framed by the loving treatment of his compositions in virtuosic Latin jazz style by Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch. It’s also a heartfelt tribute to the genius of Woody by an all-star lineup of today’s top trumpeters including Lynch, Sean Jones, Dave Douglas, Etienne Charles, Diego Urcola and others. “The combination of Woody’s music and the Afro-Caribbean clave concept was always a natural to me,” Lynch states. “I’m very happy, after many years of thinking about this idea, to finally be able to actualize this tribute to my musical hero.”
Most people, by age 70, are either retired or ready for it. But Steve Gadd is not most people. The renowned world-class drummer didn’t celebrate his 70th birthday with a round of golf or his feet up on a lounge chair. He spent it making music with the same ferocity, style, intellect and creativity that he’s brought to the instrument for more than four decades. With the release of “Way Back Home,” recorded at the 2015 Rochester Jazz Festival not far from his New York state birthplace, the Steve Gadd Band reminds us once again why its namesake is one of the most celebrated musicians of our time. The renowned lineup includes trumpeter Walt Fowler, guitarist Michael Landau, keyboardist Larry Goldings and bassist Jimmy Johnson.
Also this week, it’s another batch of previously unreleased tunes from Abbey Lincoln and her appearance in 1980 at the Keystone Korner in San Francisco on “Love Having You Around”.
The Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra salutes composer David Baker, who passed away in March, with a set of his big band music on “Basically Baker, Vol. 2”.
Pianist Kait Dunton and trioKait follow up their debut release of last year with “Casual,” a diverting detour through eight cover tunes, running the gamut from jazz and Brazilian standards to unexpected ‘90s pop songs.