Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Masterful trio interplay reliant on deeply honed three-way communication and a refined sense of understatement make Fred Hesch’s third recording for ECM Records, “The Surrounding Green,” an essential entry into the piano trio canon. Hersch tackles a handful of 20th century compositions—spanning from standards to less frequented jazz tunes—as well as three originals, with Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums—two longstanding companions of Fred’s who have played with him on and off since the late ‘80s and early ’90 respectively.
Following their previous two Grammy nominated albums, vocalist Kurt Elling and guitarist Charlie Hunter return with “SuperBlue: Guilty Pleasures Vol. 2,” the latest installment in their creative partnership. The new release finds the pair continuing their bold, groove-driven approach to familiar songs, reinterpreted with grit and jazz-forward musicianship. With a powerhouse rhythm section and arrangements that blur genre lines, the duo transforms well-known tunes into something strikingly fresh.
Also this week, 15 year veteran of the Western Canada music scene drummer Neil Gray’s “In the Streets” is a bebop/hardbop love letter to Vancouver; saxophonist Chad LB runs the gamut of styles, from classical and jazz standards to classic rock and doo-wop, on “The Shadow of Your Smile”; and contemporary jazz supergroup JazzFunkSoul, featuring keyboardist Jeff Lorber, saxophonist Everette Harp and guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr., unveil their latest project, “Simpatico.”