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Ryan Middagh, the Nashville-based composer, arranger, and baritone saxophonist is beloved by his contemporaries as a writer whose work is influenced by and caters to the unique persona of each musician with whom he works. Now, after already leading his big band, the Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra, successfully on their debut, he steps into the studio to create a second, this time with a change: this album was going to be all about shining the spotlight on the band members. “Tenor Madness” is a love letter to the saxophone itself, and the ebullient saxophonists of the Nashville music scene, including Joel Frahm, Jeff Coffin, and Don Aliquo.
Growing up in Mt. Vernon, New York, Bob Baldwin was exposed to the legends of jazz at an early age by his father, who was a pianist and music teacher. Playing on a Steinway piano that is over one hundred years old, Baldwin gathered a trio in the recording studio to record an album to pay homage to his father, who died in 2008. Recorded all in one day, half the set list on “Songs by Father Would Dig” is comprised of tunes composed by Coltrane, Miles, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, and one by his late cousin, Larry Willis. The other half are Baldwin originals.
Also this week, renowned pianist Renee Rosnes displays her lifelong love of Brazilian music on “Crossing Paths,” featuring a stellar band exploring masterpieces from the songbooks of Brazil’s most revered composers; New York-based vocalist and songwriter Queen Esther delivers a tour-de-force tribute to the legendary Billie Holiday on her sixth release as a leader, “Things are Looking Up”; and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel is captured live at the Village Vanguard with his trio on “Undercover.”