Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Composer/saxophonist Michael Zilber’s music approach has always been a unique mix, bred from myriad activities over the years in New York and Boston in the east, and Vancouver and San Francisco in the west. On the new two-disc set, “East West,” that aspect of his being is front and center, along with his delving into writing and arranging for large ensembles over the last decade. Tackling an ambitious, once-in-a-lifetime project with two big band recording sessions—one in New York, the other in San Francisco—Zilber gathers from his extended music community two groupings of powerful, empathetic musical voices, their collective commitment to support, share and create shining through.
With a sweeping collection of new music, acclaimed trumpeter/composer Charlie Porter gathers a dynamic group of forward-looking musicians to celebrate America’s rich immigrant history with “Immigration Nation.” In a time when policy has become a heart-wrenching, polarizing topic, Porter felt compelled to reclaim the uniting power of the word “immigrant” through art, knowing its healing capacity can be great when crafted with intention. Porter, saxophonist Nick Biello, pianist Oscar Perez, bassist David Wong, and drummer Kenneth Salters present ten original compositions in two sets, “Leaving Home” and “New Beginning.”
Also this week, drummer Duduka Da Fonseca and pianist Helio Alves are joined by special guests Wynton Marsalis and Claudio Roditi in a celebration of Brazilian jazz on “Samba Jazz & Tom Jobim”;
revered drummer Jimmy Cobb showcases his inimitable touch on ballads and his irrepressibly swinging ride cymbal pulse on “Remembering U,” featuring one of trumpeter Roy Hargrove’s last studio sessions;
and the WJ3 All-Stars, with trumpeter Terell Stafford, saxophonist Ralph Moore and trombonist Steve Davis, unveil “Lovers & Love Songs: The Ones You Forgot.”