Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Inspired by classic live albums such as Ahmad Jamal’s “At the Pershing,” jazz iconoclast Nicholas Payton’s new recording “Relaxin’ With Nick” brings the experience of witnessing Payton’s unparalleled live performances directly to the listener. Payton has evolved a singular approach to live performance, wedding his breathtaking voice on the trumpet to his own accompaniment on piano and Fender Rhodes. On this double album, he is joined by the renowned rhythm section of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington for a stellar set captured at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club. It features Payton’s original compositions and a few well-chosen standards.
The Karrin Allyson Sextet releases “Shoulder to Shoulder: Centennial Tribute to Women’s Suffrage,” a very special and timely album to celebrate the centennial of women’s voting rights taking place next August. In addition to the five-time Grammy nominee, the sextet also features trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, alto saxophonist Mindi Abair, pianist Helen Sung, bassist Endea Owens and drummer Allison Miller. An incredible array of featured artists includes singers Madeleine Peyroux, Kurt Elling, Denise Donatelli and Veronica Swift and violinist Regina Carter. There are also several spoken word performances that re-create the debate over women’s suffrage from Harry Belafonte, Rosanne Cash, Lalah Hathaway and Peter Eldridge.
Also this week, Baritone Madness, featuring Canadians Keith O’Rourke, Pat Belliveau and Gareth Bane, brings the magic of the baritone saxophone to the fore on their self-title debut disc;
Toronto saxophonist Andy Ballantyne pays tribute to many of the great jazz saxophonists of the past, both as a composer and a performer, with “Play on Words”;
and Spyro Gyra takes on classic pop and rock songs of the ‘70s and ‘80s on “Vinyl Tap.”