Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Nnenna Freelon’s voice is a reflection of life, filled with personal stories, deep emotion, and quiet wisdom. Since her 1992 debut, the seven-time Grammy nominee has used her unique perspective to tell familiar stories—from reimagining Billie Holiday to paying tribute to Stevie Wonder. On “Beneath the Skin,” she goes the extra step, reaching in to create heart-spoken songs, born from curiosity to more closely visit stories inhabiting her own life. With co-arranger and pianist Alan Pasqua, Nnenna has created her most personal musical statement to date.
Max Leake began his musical training early and by the time he was 15 was working with local Pittsburgh bands and backing up national acts in local supper clubs. The accomplished keyboardist has been recording, composing, arranging and performing for 30 years now with some of the best jazz and blues artists in the world including Roger Humphries, Stanley Turrentine, Slide Hampton, and David ‘Fathead’ Newman, to name a few. His new project, “Threads,” pays homage to the threads that have woven the tapestry of his musical life. The musicians all play a role in who Leake is as a musician and are considered family.
Also this week, trombonist, composer and arranger Ben Patterson and his Washington, D.C.-based jazz orchestra deliver “Mad Scientist Music,” an expansive display of the state of the art in large ensemble composing and performance; bassist Rodney Jordan, born and raised in the city known as the “Home of the Blues,” channels that heritage on “Memphis Blue,” his personal tribute to the “soulful people of Memphis”; and contemporary jazz icons Bob James and Dave Koz mark a milestone in both their careers with the aptly titled duo album, “Just Us.”