Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
One of the most acclaimed trombonists of his generation, Steve Davis has been a member of some of jazz’s premiere ensembles: Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Chick Corea’s Origins, the Jackie McLean Sextet, Benny Golson’s New Jazztet, the Christian McBride Big Band, and the all-star collective One for All. He graduated from the Hartt School’s Jackie McLean Institute at the University of Hartford, studying under Mr. McLean, and has now been on the faculty there since 1991. The sextet members on his new CD, “Correlations,” all have ties to McLean. Pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Dezron Douglas and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery all studied directly with McLean. Trumpeter Josh Bruneau and drummer Jonathan Barber both entered the program later, with all of them benefiting from the tutelage of the trombonist.
In his impressive career, vibraphonist and drummer Chuck Redd has performed alongside many legendary musicians—Charlie Byrd, Mel Torme, Dizzy Gillespie, and Monty Alexander among them. Noted by the Washington Post for his “melodic sparkle,” and praised by Jazz Times for his “exquisite” work on the vibes, Redd now releases his sixth album as a leader, “Groove City.” He’s joined by a stellar cast of players: John DiMartino on piano, Nicki Parrott on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, and Jerry Weldon on tenor sax.
Also this week, U.K. musicians Claire Martin and Jim Mullen offer up “Bumpin’: Celebrating Wes Montgomery,” paying homage to the iconic guitarist with classic Montgomery melodies and some of the standards he was known to play;
Drummer Alvin Queen pays tribute to band mate and friend Oscar Peterson with “OP”
and pianist/composer David Berkman explores the rich orchestral colors possible in his three-woodwind sextet on “Six of One.”