Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
In the aftermath of one of the most bizarre presidential elections the country has ever seen, Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra do their part to “Make America Great Again!” On their debut recording, the trombonist/composer and his rollicking big band take that slogan and run it up the flagpole of great American music, tracing its sound from its African roots through the streets of New Orleans to the country as a whole. The Orchestra adds some home-cooked seasoning to original material and jazz classics that pay homage to America’s great cultural traditions—blues, swing, groove and good old-fashioned Southern hospitality.
Following two critically-acclaimed organ group outings, New York saxophonist/composer Dan Pratt heads in a different direction on “Hymn for the Happy Man,” his fourth recording overall. “After eight years, the organ group had a great run,” says Pratt. “For this record I decided to go with the piano-bass-drums-sax quartet instrumentation that is such an essential strand to jazz’s DNA.” Pratt assembled his ‘dream team’ of bassist Christian McBride, drummer Gregory Hutchinson and pianist Mike Eckroth to help him realize seven well-crafted originals and breathe new life into one well-chosen standard.
Also this week, Chris Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7, who have held down a wildly successful residency every Friday night at Kansas City’s acclaimed Green Lady Lounge, are captured live at the club on “Soul Jazz Fridays”.
“Intenso” by the C
lare Fischer Latin Jazz Big Band, directed by Brent Fischer, features more previously unreleased tracks recorded by the late keyboard master Clare Fischer.
Guitarist Jeff Libman, who’s part of the musical faculty at Arizona State University, offers up “Strange Beauty.”