Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
“Tippin’” is drummer Carl Allen’s first album as a leader in more than 20 years. With over 200 recordings to his credit, the gifted Milwaukee-born, New York-based drummer, sideman, bandleader, entrepreneur, and educator’s profound and propulsive percolations have provided soulful support for nearly three decades, including work with Benny Golson, Christian McBride’s Inside Straight and others. In honor of this auspicious occasion, Allen has brought together his dream team with Mr. McBride playing bass and the phenomenal Christ Potter on horns.
Many jazz aficionados boast encyclopedic knowledge of players, recordings, and moments of instrumental prowess. This geeking, while impressive, can potentially have a downside when fans overlook the role of many jazz artists as talented composers. With limited exceptions, the songwriting contributions of many celebrated musicians are often ignored. In the hope of addressing this situation, Posi-Tone Records has been curating its Blue Moods series of releases to highlight the songwriting genius of these under-appreciated composers. “Force and Grace” is the third and newest installment, focusing on the music of Freddie Hubbard.
Also this week, guitarist Dave Stryker and arranger and conductor Brant Wallarab explore their mutual love of the cinema by recording eleven classic film themes with a 30-piece studio orchestra on “Stryker with Strings Goes to the Movies”; 70-year-old American reedman Scott Hamilton is joined by his Scandinavian quartet and draws inspiration from several musicians he’s collaborated with over the years for “Looking Back”; and the U.S. Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note are joined by arranger Gordon Goodwin, bassist Rodney Whitaker, and trumpeter Jon Faddis for “The 2024 Jazz Heritage Series.”