Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
A decorated veteran of the Betty Carter Trio, pianist Cyrus Chestnut came out of the experience relatively unscathed with a style and directive clearly his own It’s one steeped in the gospel church traditions of his native Baltimore, but also enlivened by an open ear aimed at a multitude of other influences. He has enjoyed stints with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Freddie Hubbard and Joe Lovano. He also speaks fondly of his valuable tenures with vocalists Jon Hendricks and Joe Williams. For his new disc, “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit,” Cyrus offers an imaginative set list with his longtime friends Buster Williams and Lenny White and together they breathe new life into the venerable jazz piano trio format.
Dobro player Jerry Douglas was a teenager playing in a band in Lexington, Kentucky, the first time he heard Weather Report and Chick Corea—on the same day. More than 40 years later, he remembers the moment vividly. “It blew by head off,” he says. “And I thought, ‘Well, there’s where I could go with all this stuff runnin’ around in my head.” ‘All this stuff’ is the remarkable music Douglas has made on Dobro and lap steel in a career that’s earned him world renown as the top purveyor of his craft. He is a 14 time Grammy winner who has appeared on at least 2000 recordings, including with jazz notables Bill Frisell and Charlie Haden, among others. On his new CD, “What If,” Douglas decisively merges those jazz inclinations with the bluegrass, country, blues, swing, rock and soul he’s spent his life absorbing and performing.
Also this week, saxophonist Marcus Monteiro covers material from such disparate sources as Horace Silver, Michael Jackson and Soundgarden on his new quartet release, “Another Part of Me”.
Bassist and vocalist Katie Thiroux is joined by veteran reed man Ken Peplowski on “Off Beat”.
Pianist Jon Davis is joined by ba
ssist Boris Kozlov and drummer Mark Ferber on his latest trio outing, “Happy Juice.”