Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
After recording more than two dozen albums over a remarkable six-decade career, Brazilian pianist, composer and arranger Antonio Adolfo continues to access what seems to be an inexhaustible well of creativity. Throughout his career, he has drawn deeply from Brazil’s vibrant cultural legacy, transforming it through his distinctive blend of Brazilian rhythms, sophisticated jazz harmonies, and luminous melodies. Adolfo’s new album, “Balaios,” although recorded in recent months, spans a lifetime of music-making. The compositions were written at different stages of his artistic journey, creating a musical autobiography of ideas, memories, and melodies that continue to resonate with renewed vitality.
“Evolution” is a high-octane studio album of memorable new gypsy jazz compositions celebrating 25 years of the historic Django Reinhardt NY Festival from which the Django Festival Allstars emerged in 2002. One of the most thrilling groups in jazz, the Allstars honor and expand the legacy of Reinhardt and Grappelli’s “Gypsy Swing,” which became the rage of Paris in the 1930s and ‘40s. Allstars’ anchors Samson Schmitt on guitar, accordionist Ludovic Beier and violinist Pierre Blanchard shine in the ensemble and as composers and featured soloists.
Also this week, “Legacy” is the ninth recording from Austin-based tenor saxophonist Elias Haslanger, dedicated to the mentors who shaped his artistic voice including Maynard Ferguson and Ellis Marsalis; “Little Black Book” is Minneapolis-based vocalist and songwriter Leslie Vincent’s first collection of all original tunes; and trumpeter Rick Braun pours his creative soul into his first-ever tribute album, “Rick Braun Plays Chuck Mangione,” sparked by Mangione’s passing in July of 2025, and using the cherished Giardinelli mouthpiece gifted to him by the legend himself.