Author's posts
New Music Monday for June 14, 2021
Multi-Grammy nominated vocal artist Nnenna Freelon is back, delivering her eleventh album after a decade-long hiatus from the studio. With “Time Traveler,” she offers a celebration of love and a prayer of hope for those living with loss. The sessions for the disc stretched over two years, from 2018-2020, coinciding with the loss …
New Music Monday for June 7, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and SpotifyAfter appearing on a number of universally acclaimed jazz recordings last year, including those by Jazzmeia Horn, Charles Tolliver, and Gregory Tardy, multi-faceted pianist, composer and arranger Keith Brown fulfills a long-held artistic vision on “African Ripples.” The music, Brown explains, “was composed and collected to convey my …
New Music Monday for May 31, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and SpotifyPianist Jeremy Monteiro considers himself a very fortunate man. Renowned as one of the premier jazz pianists in Singapore, he is presently entering his 45th year of a career spanning concerts, education, and music administration. He has played and recorded with many of the world’s greatest jazz artists, …
New Music Monday for May 24, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and SpotifyA decades-long institution in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan, and also the nearby Metro Detroit area, the Lunar Octet is back with a potent collection of originals inspired by such wide-ranging influences as mambo, samba, funk, Afrobeat and jazz on “Convergence.” The title itself suggests …
New Music Monday for May 17, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify “Listening to Jihye Lee and her mic-drop orchestra is like watching your life flash before your eyes. You see it all: the richness of spirit one can attain, all the sadness one can espouse, all the waltzing mischief to which one can aspire.” That’s what All About Jazz …
New Music Monday for May 10, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Renowned saxophonist Vincent Herring battles back from a bout with Covid-19 and career-threatening side effects with a defiant and joyful new album, “Preaching to the Choir,” with swinging help from pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Johnathan Blake. Herring speaks for nearly all of us when …
New Music Monday for May 3, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and SpotifyThe charismatic performances that distinguish “Outrospection” center on eleven expressive compositions from Gregg Hill, an under-the-radar composer of imagination and emotional depth. Renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker first recognized Hill’s music several years ago when they worked on a project together. Warmth and humanity resonate throughout the new recording, …
New Music Monday for April 26, 2021
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and SpotifyBass trombonist Jennifer Wharton might be considered by many a unicorn in the world of music. In decades from the not-too-distant past, it was a rarity to even have a woman in prominent jazz bands and orchestras, but to have a bass trombone-slinging woman as leader was thought …