Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
While Tucson-born, Los Angeles-based Brian Bromberg has been equally conversant and downright virtuosic on both electric and upright basses, he sticks to the latter on his latest offering, “LaFaro.” A tribute to the legendary jazz bassist Scott LaFaro whose revolutionary contributions to the classic Bill Evans Trio still reverberate to this day, Bromberg’s 28th as leader shows him in an unadulterated swinging trio setting in the company of pianist Tom Zink and drummer Charles Ruggiero.
“Legacy” is a centennial celebration of the legendary J.J. Johnson by admired trombonist, composer and educator Nick Finzer. Known as one of jazz’s most profound luminaries, J.J. Johnson is considered one of the most influential and pioneering trombonists in jazz history. The new disc assembles Johnson’s original band members including bassist Rufus Reid, drummer Lewis Nash and pianist Renee Rosnes, and was recorded at the iconic Rudy Van Gelder Studios where Johnson himself recorded many of his classic albums.
Also this week, Korean pianist, composer and conductor Seulah Noh materializes her creative vison by releasing her debut album, “Nohmad,” with her 21-piece Jazz Orchestra; Washington, DC native Leigh Pilzer, a baritone saxophone specialist, composer, arranger and educator whose resume includes work in the Diva Jazz Orchestra and the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, unveils “Beatin’ the Odds” with her Seven Pointed Star band; and pianist, vocalist and composer Kelly Green, a protégé to legendary pianists Harold Mabern and Mulrew Miller, releases her fourth album, “Seems.”