Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross releases his fifth Blue Note album, “Gospel Music,” a sonic interpretation of the biblical story and an exploration of his faith that delivers a message of hope and love, performed by an expanded version of his Good Vibes band. An homage to an array of influences, the disc follows the arc of the grand biblical story. Each composition carries the emotional weight of the story of creation, the fall, and salvation, corresponding to biblical texts.
The way the members of the Baltimore Jazz Collective describe their hometown could just as easily apply to themselves—and to their striking self-titled debut album. “Musically, Baltimore is one of the most soulful cities, and you can’t really put the scene in a box,” say BJC founder Sean Jones, who ranks among the most revered jazz trumpeters of his generation. Overflowing with swing and spirit, the album features original compositions and arrangements by each member of the band: Jones, bass clarinetist Todd Marcus, pianist Alex Brown, bassist Kris Funn, drummer Quincy Davis and Brinae Ali, a singer, tap dancer and interdisciplinary artist.
Also this week, “Lost and Found” is the first album in more than ten years from Grammy-nominated composer and bandleader Vance Thompson, who embarks on a new chapter as a vibraphonist after a career-threatening neurological disorder forced him to set aside the trumpet; “Multiversal: Live at Bop Stop” is the eighth release from saxophonist, composer and educator Stephen Philip Harvey, and the second by his 17-piece Jazz Orchestra; and vocalist and songwriter Roderick Harper unveils his newest album, “Confidence.”