Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
In 2015, icon
ic saxophonist Charles Lloyd continued his innovative trajectory into the upper spheres of jazz and the spiritual realms of wonder and beauty. He basked in a banner year that included receiving the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters honor and marking a triumphant return to Blue Note Records with his remarkable live disc, “Wild Man Dance.” He also wowed an appreciative crowd at the Iowa City Jazz Festival. His new Blue Note follow-up, “I Long to See You,” features a marvelous new lineup of voices who deliver a sumptuous collection of ten songs that range from traditional hymns to anti-war folk protests to re-envisioned originals. Dubbed The Marvels, Lloyd has enlisted the rhythmic core of his stalwart New Quartet ensemble—bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland—and invited top-tier collaborators including guitarist extraordinaire Bill Frisell and stellar pedal steel guitarist Greg Liesz. Vocalist Willie Nelson and Norah Jones also make guest appearances.
Jazz has a long history of interpreting music from the American songbook. Latin America has just as lofty 
a collection, and many of these compositions were written by the tremendous Mexican composer Armando Manzanero. His legacy is well established. He has received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a singer and composer. His wonderful compositions have been performed by a broad array of artists, including Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Christina Aguilera. For his latest recording, “Paquito and Manzanero,” the great woodwind master Paquito D’Rivera illuminates the incredible work of Manzanero in Paquito’s favorite idiom, Latin jazz. Along with his fantastic ensemble, featuring members like trumpeter Diego Urcola and drummer Antonio Sanchez, D’Rivera shows why Manzanero has been celebrated across the globe.
Also this week, 
singer Cyrille Aimee interprets tunes from the hallowed pens of Stephen Sondheim, Jimmy McHugh/Frank Loesser, Harry Revel and others on “Let’s Get Lost”.
Saxophonist Gunnar Mossblad and his band Cross Currents unveil their second recording, “R.S.V.P.”; and the sophomore release for pianist Keigo Hirakawa and his trio, “And Then There Were Three” is also featured.
