Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
“Late Bloomin’ Jazzman,” the newest album by vocalist and songwriter Mark Winkler, is an homage to growing older and all the blessings and drawbacks that come with it. The album is Winkler’s 20th as a leader. He wrote lyrics to eight of the 12 tunes, and covers a lot of personal topics on the album. He writes about his love of George Gershwin, film noir, and the songs of Rio. He also writes of about losing his husband, finding love again, and about a close friend ravaged by Alzheimer’s disease.
Guitarist and vocalist Phill Fest was born in Minneapolis. He grew up in a musical family and was exposed to Brazilian music and American jazz from the start. Phil’s father was Brazilian keyboardist and recording artist Manfredo Fest, who worked with Sergio Mendes in the 1970s, and his mother was a composer and music teacher. Phill has toured the world with many national acts, performing jazz, Brazilian, and Tropical jazz. “Seresta” is his fourth release as a leader.
Also this week, the Italian musical prodigy Alberto Pibiri, who has worked with Sheila Jordan and Dave Stryker among others, unveils his fourth recording, “Stardust”;
Armenian-born Los Angeles-based pianist Tigran Hamasyan offers up a program of standards and originals on “Standart”;
and drummer Daniel Glass, who has recorded and performed with several chart-topping artists from the Brian Setzer Orchestra to the Royal Crown Review, creates a virtuosic sound that is infectious, fun and incredibly entertaining on his new trio disc, “Bam!”