Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
McClenty Hunter Jr.’s groove has been a big part of the New York scene for the last ten years. He began his career in Maryland playing gospel, attended Howard University studying under Grady Tate, and went on to earn his Masters at Juilliard under Carl Allen. McClenty was a member of Kenny Garrett’s Grammy-nominated quintet for three years, while performing with Lou Donaldson, Eric Reed, Curtis Fuller, and Javon Jackson, among many others. Guitarist Dave Stryker, with whom Hunter has worked for eight years, says, “…no matter what the groove, Mac has always made it feel good, and he’s been rock solid…he’s one of the best drummers on the scene.” With “The Groove Hunter,” McClenty emerges as a leader of his own date, featuring a heavy cast with includes Eddie Henderson, Donald Harrison, Eric Reed, Christian Sands and Mr. Stryker.
One of the preeminent performers in Chicago jazz, saxophonist Shawn Maxwell, has released several recordings featuring his quartet or his sonically expanded dectet, Alliance. With his New Tomorrow group, he augments his working quartet with the singular trumpet voices of three of Chicago’s finest—Victor Garcia, Chad McCullough and Corey Wilkes—and the inspired and often dazzling vocalist, Dee Alexander, for a set of ten modern, electric originals on “Music in My Mind.” Focusing on composition as much as improvisation, the quintets reveal stunning melodies hidden with complex time signatures, textures and grooves.
Also this week, flutist Andrea Brachfeld, who boasts what the late New York Times critic John S. Wilson described as a “vigorously dark, gutty quality” unveils her latest work with longtime collaborator Bill O’Connell, “If Not Now, When?
Pianist/composer Kait Dunton’s trioKAIT brings their collective conscience to the cosmos on “trioKAIT 2,” adding vintage keyboards and effects to expand their eclectic palette.
The Maguire Twins, featuring drummer Carl Maguire and bassist Alan Maguire, join up with Memphis legend Donald Brown for their second release, “Seeking Higher Ground.”