Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Since moving to New York from his native Cleveland twelve years ago, Jerome Jennings has become one of the most in-demand jazz drummers on the scene. With his debut album “The Beast,” Jennings—who is currently a member of the Christian McBride Trio—steps to the forefront as a poised, swinging and strong-minded leader in his own right. He headlines a sextet that features five-time Grammy winning bassist McBride, trumpeter Sean Jones, pianist Christian Sands, trombonist Dion Tucker, and saxophonist Howard Wiley. The disc is comprised of a set of compositions by Freddie Hubbard, Ben Webster and Jon Burr; adaptations of an ice-cream truck jingle; and three originals by the drummer. The title track is based on an incident in which a Princeton, New Jersey, police officer pulled Jennings over while he was driving home from a gig at 2am for allegedly having a tiny Cleveland Browns helmet hanging from his rearview mirror. He was held for fifty harrowing minutes before being released without having even been issued at ticket.
“Swimming in Place” is the new album from Dallas-based drummer and composer Stockton Helbing. The disc features nine originals, all by Helbing, performed by his working quintet of the past few years. “This album is all about my life,” Helbing says. “The simple, small, funny, odd, and ordinary things that are part of my daily experiences…Each song that I wrote has both a musical concept that I was experimenting with, as well as a story or topic that has a direct correlation to my life.”
Also this week, pianist Billy Childs reaches back to the start of his almost astoundingly varied musical experience, leading a small jazz ensemble on “Rebirth,” featuring saxophonist Steve Wilson, drummer Eric Harland and bassist Hans Glawischnig.
“This and That” captures fifteen lovely interludes from singer Rebecca Kilgore and pianist Bernd Lhotzky.
Pianist Noah Haidu expands his trio into a large ensemble with the addition of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt and saxophonists Sharel Cassity and John Irabagon on “Infinite Distances.”