Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
What if you were to create a big band—the same richness of orchestration, bravado, and emotion—but with only three players? “The Role of the Rhythm Section Volume II” continues a prolific stretch for Grammy Award-winner Steven Feifke, marking his seventh album in the past three and a half years. Feifke, who is best known for his big band and orchestral writing, shows off the more intimate side of his artistry on his new disc. Featuring his long-time trio with drummer Bryan Carter and bassist Dan Chmielinski, it burnishes Feifke’s resume as one of the most dedicated and accomplished artists of his generation.
Based in Brooklyn, New York for the past decade, Israeli-born saxophonist Omer Lesham’s unique compositional style is influenced by a wide range of genres and concepts, including classical European harmonies, Mediterranean grooves and lyricism, and contemporary free jazz. His third studio album, “Play Space,” his most ambitious to date, features his quintet of fellow Israelis currently living in New York. As a doctor of clinical psychology as well, Lesham decided to pay homage to the British psychoanalyst Donald Winnicot, who devoted his career to studying child play. Lesham’s simple and often catchy music is inspired by, and aims to mimic, the freedom and innocence found in such child play.
Also this week, “Dear Mr. Hill” finds pianist Andrew Wilcox in a trio setting with Avery Sharpe on bass and Yoron Israel on drums, two mentors who have been an integral part of his growth and development; the supergroup Heavy Hitters, featuring Eric Alexander, Mike LeDonne, Jeremy Pelt, and Vincent Herring, was recorded live at Fankie’s Jazz Club in Vancouver for “That’s What’s Up”; and vocalist and bassist Nicki Parrott digs deep into the ‘60’s era of peace, love and discovery as told by a few of the finest songwriters of the time on “Feelin’ Groovy.”