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Miguel Zenon’s impressive career to date takes in 14 years as lead alto saxophonist for the SFJazz Collective, 15 recordings under his own name, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a MacArthur Genius Grant, multiple Grammy nominations and a long list of sideman gigs. Pianist Dan Tepfer is less known, but has ten-plus discs as a leader and has worked as a sideman for legendary saxophonists Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders. Since 2014, two of the most lauded and influential jazz composers and conceptualists of our time have been working together in a duo setting. “Internal Melodies” is their stellar debut recording.
In 2013, when pianist Darrell Grant was approached by the Portland Jazz Festival to plan and perform a tribute concert to the Modern Jazz Quartet, he rose diligently to the occasion. The band he put together, MJ New, featured vibraphonist Mike Horsfall, bassist Marcus Shelby and drummer Carlton Jackson—a lineup so strong that it persisted well beyond one gig. In November of 2018, the group finally recorded its debut album. But tragically in 2021, with the record still in the can, Jackson passed away at age 60. “Our Mr. Jackson” now serves as a moving tribute not just to the MJQ but to Grant as well.
Also this week, the bilingual French-born singer and harpist Margot Sergent debuts with “Douce France Sweet France”; saxophonist Mike DiRubbo celebrates his tenth release as a leader, fronting a new quartet featuring organist Brian Charette on “Inner Light”; and the Jeff Lorber Fusion unveils its ninth album, “The Drop.”