Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Lillian “Lil” Hardin Armstrong is a name most jazz aficionados recognize. She was the second wife of jazz icon Louis Armstrong and is often credited with spurring him forward to greatness. But not only did Lil’s music become the staple foundation of her husband’s career, but she went on to write hits for greats throughout history such as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. For pianist Caili O’Doherty, the story of Ms. Armstrong became the caper of an unsung heroine of jazz history. With “Bluer Than Blue,” she draws on the beloved and deep works from the songwriter and instills her reinterpretations with new vigor.
With the release of her aptly named debut album, “The Vibe,” Japanese-born, Michigan-based Nanami Haruta plants her flag as one the most thrilling new voices on the jazz trombone in recent history. Her premiere outing is granted the imprimatur of no less a master than Michael Dease, Haruta’s mentor at Michigan State University turned producer and frontline partner for this exhilarating session in the Kai Winding/J.J. Johnson mold. The all-star rhythm section is stocked with modern giants of the tradition: pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Ulysses Owens, Jr.
Also this week, drummer Richard Baratta takes us down a nostalgic road of classic rock and soul recordings from the mid-to-late 1960’s with “Looking Back”; pianist Rick Roe’s latest release, “Tribute: The Music of Gregg Hill,” is a heartfelt homage to the prolific Lansing, Michigan-based composer; and reedman Paul Vornhagen, a veteran of the Detroit jazz scene and winner of seven Detroit Music Awards, was recorded at the stylish Ann Arbor jazz club for “Live at the Blue Llama.”