Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Legendary percussionist Pete Escovedo is an artist who broke down the barriers between Latin jazz, salsa and contemporary music. He’s been known worldwide for over fifty years for his live performances, session work and solo albums. He’s done projects with Tito Puente and his daughter Sheila E. Just last month, Pete was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards. His latest release, “Rhythm of the Night,” is a collection of nine old-school soul and R&B hits, rearranged and transformed into an explosion of Latin jazz articulated through at 14-piece Latin jazz orchestra.
Pianist, composer and educator Dave Meder is one of the prominent artists of his generation, known for a panoramic musical approach that has earned him slots in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition and the American Pianists Awards. His compositions have garnered various awards and commissions, and he’s headlined at a host of prominent performance venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smalls Jazz Club and the Kennedy Center. For his new disc, “Unamuno Songs and Stories,” Meder uses the writings of Spanish Civil War-era philosopher Miguel de Unamuno as the basis for an intensely emotive set.
Also this week, the young guitarist Jackson Potter, who has performed with Grammy Award-winners Dafnis Prieto and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, unveils his debut album, “Restless”;
guitarist Doug MacDonald and his trio gained inspiration from the historic neighborhood in Los Angeles that has recently seen a renaissance for their new disc, “Serenade to Highland Park”;
and saxophonist D’Andre Lettsome, who has shared the stage with notable musicians like Delfeayo Marsalis and Marcus Printup, offers up “Impetus.”