Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Trombonist-arranger-composer Dr. Javier Nero deepens his artistic vision with “Alkebulan,” a sweeping concept album from the Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra. Drawing its title from theories of a unified precolonial African civilization, the disc explores themes of cultural connection, humanity, and shared ancestry. The music weaves lush jazz orchestration with cinematic scope, Afro-Latin rhythm, and the expansive sonorities of wind ensembles, reflecting influences that span Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn to Gustav Holst, video game music, and modern jazz fusion.
“Around the World With U” is the sophomore release by Grammy-winning drummer, producer and educator Ulysses Owens Jr. Reuniting Owens with his ensemble Generation Y, the album builds on his 2024 debut while pushing the group closer to it guiding influence: Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and their tradition of evolving ensembles. Though early in its recording history, Generation Y has grown quickly, shaped by extensive global touring and a clear leap in confidence since its debut.
Also this week, vocalists Kate McGarry, Lenora Zenzalai Helm, Lois Deloatch and Nnenna Freelon come together in the spirit of sonic fellowship as “The Sistering”; two-time Grammy winner and drumming icon Peter Erskine presents “Peregrine,” an intimate album of standards and originals recorded with longtime collaborator Alan Pasqua on piano and Scott Colley on bass at Chicago’s historic Reelsounds Studio; and after taking a break from Brazilian music in recent years to play more bop-oriented jazz dates, vibraphonist and harmonica ace Hendrik Meurkens returns to the genre with “Samba Tonto,” featuring legendary Brazilian drummer Portinho.