Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Jazz is often portr
ayed as an art form defined by blazing young artists. It’s true that many jazz masters reach a mid-career plateau marked by small variations on a mature style. But there’s also a vanguard of players and composers who continue to refine and expand the art form in middle age and beyond. In that category is pianist Fred Hersch, who is marking his 60th year with an astonishing creative surge. His new recording, “Sunday Night at the Vanguard,” stands as the most profound and enthralling trio statement yet by an improviser whose bands have embodied the enduring relevance of the piano-bass-and-drums format for three decades. Featuring the exquisitely interactive bassist John Hebert and extraordinarily sensitive drummer Eric McPherson, the trio was recorded at the storied venue that’s become Hersch’s second home.
Trombonist and composer Steve Turre shows off his full spectrum of sounds on his latest disc, “Colors for the Masters.” The program is evenly split between jazz standards and originals that carry the torch for the tradition, offering a dazzling array of hues played in tribute to and alongside some of the elders that have inspired Turre. While he has shared the stage with pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Jimmy Cobb over the years in various bands and all-star configurations, “ I’ve never had them play my music to hear what their mastery would bring to it,” Turre explains. “I wanted to hear how their interpretations would open up new avenues of expression to me.” On four tunes, the band is joined by saxophonist Javon Jackson, like Turre an alumni of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers.
Also this week, Jane Bunnett marks the 25th anniversary of her landmark 1991 album, “Spirits of Havana,” the first major collaboration of North American and Cuban musicians, with a deluxe reissue including previously unreleased material.
New York trombonist/composer Michael Davis features a handful of renowned trombone virtuosi, including Michael Dease, Conrad Herwig, Bob McChesney, Bill Reichenbach and Marshall Gilkes, in his “Hip-Bone Big Band”.
Pianist Anton
io Ciacca and his quintet present “Volare, the Italian American Songbook.”