Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
It’s no secret that the Branford Marsalis Quartet can be as freewheeling off the bandstand as in performance. The saxophonist and his ensemble, made up of pianist Joey Calderazzo, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Justin Faulkner, are each bold personalities with strong opinions, equally intense in both musical and verbal exchanges. One of these exchanges led to “Upward Spiral,” their new disc featuring special guest Kurt Elling. “One topic we got into was picking the best singer to work with our band,” Marsalis recalls. “My candidate was Kurt Elling, because he has the most flexible voice around, it is always in tune and he is a true jazz musician.” What has emerged, after an intense week of performances and recording in New Orleans, is a collection that blends Songbook staples, jazz standards, and standards-to-be from a diverse array of composers.
Allen Toussaint’s work as composer, producer, arranger and performer, especially in the 1960s and ‘70s, helped shape the sound of R&B, soul and funk as we know it today. He collaborated memorably with artists ranging from Lee Dorsey to Ernie K. Doe to the Pointer Sisters and Labelle, from the Meters to Dr. John to the Band and Paul McCartney. The New Orleans legend had just completed his new album, “American Tunes,” when he passed away last November during a European tour. Recording took place at two sets of sessions: solo piano in New Orleans in 2013, and with the rhythm section of Jay Bellerose and David Piltch—joined by guests Bill Frisell and Charles Lloyd—in Los Angeles in 2015. The disc comprises solo performances of Professor Longhair tunes and band arrangements of songs by Toussaint, Ellington, Fats Waller, Paul Simon and others.
Also this week, soprano saxophonist and composer Jane Ira Bloom releases her sixteenth disc as a leader, “Early Americans,” which is her very first trio album.
Saxophonist Kenny Garrett unveils his first release in three years, “Do Your Dance!”.
Keyboardist Mark Minchello introduces his new band, “The Funky Organics.”