Author's posts
New Music Monday for April 10, 2023
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and SpotifyFor those unfamiliar with the title of the gorgeous new album from Buster Williams, “Unalome, or the lotus flower-topped symbol that graces its cover, is a Buddhist symbol representing individual transcendence and the path to enlightenment over the course of one’s life. The legendary bassist, a long-practicing Buddhist …
New Music Monday for April 3, 2023
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and SpotifyIn the grand tradition of jazz piano trio records, Lafayette Harris returns to Van Gelder Studios for his latest effort, “Swingin’ Up in Harlem,” covering a wide spectrum of tunes by composers ranging from Hoagy Carmichael to Stevie Wonder. Harris’ sympathies have always been wide-ranging, as one would …
New Music Monday for March 27, 2023
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify For years, the Brazilian bossa nova queen Rosa Passos has had a devoted global following, including fans who proclaim she is Brazil’s answer to Ella Fitzgerald or the female Joao Gilberto. She began playing piano at age 13, but after listening to Gilberto and Dorival Caymmi, she abandoned …
New Music Monday for March 20, 2023
Think of the songwriters whose work comprises the cannon of jazz standards, and names like Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin and Porter immediately come to mind. On his new album, “Black, Brown, and Blue,” pianist Eric Reed argues for a revision of that canon to focus on Black and Brown composers, songwriters whose work originates …
New Music Monday for March 20, 2023
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Think of the songwriters whose work comprises the cannon of jazz standards, and names like Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin and Porter immediately come to mind. On his new album, “Black, Brown, and Blue,” pianist Eric Reed argues for a revision of that canon to focus on Black and …
New Music Monday for March 13, 2023
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Vince Mendoza, who has won seven Grammy Awards and been nominated 36 times, reunited with his longtime collaborator Metropole Orkest to record “Olympians,” a select collection of the composer/conductor’s works written for the orchestra over their 28-year collaboration. Born out of the ashes of World War II, the …
New Music Monday for March 6, 2023
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify By now the international jazz community knows the story that Maqueque came out of a jam session at the Cohiba Hotel in Havana that introduced renowned jazz musician Jane Bunnett with young women musicians and composers who had recently graduated from the Cuban conservatory. Over ten years …
New Music Monday for February 27, 2023
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify “Makram” is the latest album from vibraphonist Joe Locke. Featuring a selection of new compositions and a return to his celebrated quartet (pianist Jim Ridl, bassist Lorin Cohen and drummer Samvel Sarkisyan), the disc is the latest addition to Locke’s extensive leader discography, an album the incorporates …