Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. 
Before embarking on a career in jazz, Leslie Pintchik was a teaching assistant in English literature at Columbia University, where she also received her Master of Philosophy degree in seventeenth-century English literature. She first surfaced on the Manhattan jazz scene in a trio with legendary bassist Red Mitchell at Bradley’s, and in the ensuing years Pintchik formed her own trio which performs regularly at New York City jazz venues. She found the title for her new CD in one of those “only in New York” moments. While crossing Canal Street in the SoHo section of Manhattan, she heard at voice behind her yell, “You eat my food, you drink my wine, you steal my girl!” As it happened, she’d just completed writing a new composition, and at that very moment she knew she’d found its title.
In their highly anticipated third full-length album, “This City,” the Heavyweights Brass Band have taken a pilgrimage to the city that has inspired them since their inception. Recorded in New Orleans, the cradle of jazz, with a second-line of special guests from groups such as Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Heavyweights bring a fresh, energetic take on a deeply grounded tradition. Not forgetting their roots in Toronto, the disc also furthers their hometown collaborations with 10-time Grammy contributor Kevin Breit on guitar and Canada’s reigning queen of jazz, blues and gospel, Jackie Robinson on vocals.
Also this week, trombonist Mark McGrain pilots a group of New Orleans modern jazz virtuoso through a collection of new compositions presented alongside selections from the Great American songbook on “Love, Time, and Divination”.
Drummer Phil Stewart makes his recording debut with “Melodious Drums,” featuring his brother Grant on reeds and Joe Magnarelli on trumpet.
The Detroit-based Hughes Smith Quintet, led by saxophonist James Hughes and trumpeter Jimmy Smith, unveil their third release, “Motion.”