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Pianist Kerry Politzer is always on the move. As a busy performer and bandleader with nine albums as a leader, a jazz educator at two universities, and the mother of two children, time is always of the essence for her when realizing a project. With ten original compositions and one well-chosen cover to record for her new album, “Alternate Route,” and a schedule window of just one day to record them, there was no margin for error. For the frontline, Kerry picked Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar and Jaleel Shaw on sax. For the rhythm section she chose bassist Alex Claffy and, keeping it close to home, her partner George Colligan on drums.
Drummer Greg Burrows’ new release, “Let’s Not Wait,” is the second ever album dedicated exclusively to the music of the legendary New York composer, arranger and drummer Ed Bonoff. Bonoff continues to be vitally active as a composer and arranger, still playing his weekly gig at Arthur’s Tavern in Manhattan’s West Village. After building up his skills and experience as a drummer from the 1940s through the ‘60s, he decided to learn jazz composition. Burrows, a long-time friend and musical partner of Bonoff’s, realized that very few artists had recorded Bonoff’s fantastic tunes and arrangements and decided to devote this new project to them.
Also this week, gifted New York City-based trumpeter David Sneider releases his debut album, “Introducing,” marking him as a rising star in contemporary jazz; for five-time Grammy nominee Carmen Bradford’s first solo big band recording without the Count Basie Orchestra, she’s joined by the Compass Jazz Orchestra for “Carmen Sings Carmen—Echoes of Carmen McRae”; and singer Boz Scaggs’ first new studio album in seven years, “Detour,” is a love letter to the Great American Songbook.