Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Much in the way Michael Dease has defined state-of-the-art for jazz trombone over the last two decades, his effectiveness in shaping the next generation of players also requires inspired superlatives. A 2025 Guggenheim Fellow, and Distinguished Professor in Rodney Whitaker’s renowned Jazz Department at Michigan State University, Dease has been central to fostering MSU’s reputation as a thriving center of creative musical development. “Spartan Strong” reflects the powerful musical instincts, exhilarating orchestrations, and uninhibited improvisational prowess of the MSU Jazz Trombones, the 18 members of his teaching studio.
Alexa Tarantino’s fifth studio album, “The Roar and the Whisper,” is a spellbinding new chapter in the jazz musician’s evolution. The saxophonist, flutist, composer and educator has long been lauded for her poise and precision— “a one-woman wrecking crew,” as Wynton Marsalis calls her. The new disc features Ms. Tarantino’s sophisticated compositions as well as her razor-sharp quartet with Steven Feifke on piano, Philip Norris on bass and Mark Whitfield, Jr. on drums. It captures the full breadth of her artistry: from spirited, up-tempo improvisations to intimate, ethereal ballads.
Also this week, the rewarding alchemy between composer, arranger and ensemble distinguishes every track on “Wake Up Call,” Detroit-based pianist Rick Roe’s new release, and the 19th recording of Lansing, Michigan-based composer Gregg Hill’s music to appear in the last decade; “Strasbourg 82” is a previously unreleased live set from the 1982 edition of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers featuring Terence Blanchard and Donald Harrison; and “Old Knew” is saxophonist and composer Gregory Groover Jr.’s follow-up to his 2024 debut release.