Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
The music of 
Latin America has long been some of the world’s most beloved, whether Brazilian bossa nova, Argentinean tango, Cuban bolero or irresistible songs from Chile, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Pianist Edward Simon— a native of Venezuela who has made a name for himself in America as a jazz pianist, bandleader and composer/arranger, along with being a Guggenheim Fellow and a member of the SFJazz Collective—has created fresh, supple interpretations of melodies from all these countries for his new CD, “Latin American Songbook.” The San Francisco Bay Area-based pianist leads his working trio with bassist Joe Martin and drummer Adam Cruz.
The music of composer Anthony Branker stands firmly on jazz traditions while simultaneously pushing the boundaries in bold and beautiful new directions. In describing his music, Jazz Times magazine says, “Honing a hybrid of freewheeling postbop and social commentary, abetted by judicious dollops of funk, fusion, spoken word, clave and polyrhythmic percussion, Branker incorporates these elements in broad, bold strokes, like a muralist. He has yet to make a bad record.” For his newest disc, “Beauty Within,” Branker presents brilliant new works as performed by his newest ensemble, Imagine, with longtime collaborator-saxophonist Ralph Bowen, guitarist Pete McCann, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda Oh and drummer Rudy Royston.
Also this week, saxophonist and flutist Steve Slagle is joined by special guest Joe Lovano on “Alto Manhattan”.
Saxophonist Shawn Maxell, one of the preeminent performers on the Chicago jazz scene, adds the singular trumpet voices of three of Chicago’s finest—Victor Garcia, Chad McCullough and Cory Wilkes—to his working quartet on “Shawn Maxwell’s New Tomorrow”.
Terell Stafford, hailed by legendary pianist McCoy Tyner as “one of the great players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player,” performs the music of Herb Harris on the new CD, “Forgive and Forget.”