Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Kurt Elling has investigated matters of the soul and of faith throughout his career. He’s done so through his choice of repertoire; his inventive use of poetry, some of which dates back to the thirteenth century; and through his own writing. Filling an entire album with such matters required a different effort. Making that disc an inclusive ode to Christmas raised the bar. “The Beautiful Day” is definitely a jazz record, but the material draws from several genres—from traditional carols to the modern soul of Donny Hathaway and the folk rock of Dan Fogelberg, with several delightful songs written by Leslie Bricusse for the lesser known 1970 film musical “Scrooge.” The arrangements come from Elling himself in collaboration with guitarist John McLean, bassist Clark Sommers, pianist Kendrick Scott and others.
Kenny Burrell has appeared on so many essential jazz recordings that jazz history and his biography seem irretrievably intertwined. He has recorded 97 albums under his own name and several hundred with other artists including Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Louis Armstrong. On “Unlimited 1” the guitarist is captured live at the West Coast jazz mecca, Catalina’s, with a well-oiled big band, The Los Angeles Jazz Orchestra Unlimited, which is made up of some of the West Coast’s greatest jazz men and studio players. He leads the group, solos and sings through a set list of original tunes and standards.
Also this week, Detroit’s Planet D Nonet, known nationally for curating some of the best in early jazz traditions, features musical selections associated with the composer, lyricist, arranger and pianist Billy Strayhorn on “A Salute to Strayhorn”.
Trumpeter Charles Lazarus offers up sounds of the season from Latin to lounge, groove to gospel on “Merry & Bright”.
The NOLA Players dish out a gumbo of Crescent City holiday cheer with “Christmastime in New Orleans.”