Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Argentine pianist and composer Guillermo Klein’s brilliant work has long focused on the implementation of his experiments with rhythm on popular song forms. He has regularly utilized elements of pop, rock and folkloric music for the emotive elements in his music. His favored vehicle for presenting his unique compositional and arranging style is Los Guachos, now nearing 25 years as an ensemble. Regular residencies at The Village Vanguard, Jazz Standard and Smalls have made it possible to assemble the band over the years, a band featuring the likes of Miguel Zenon, Chris Cheek, Diego Urcola, Ben Monder and Jeff Ballard. Their new CD, “Cristal,” includes pieces by tango composers Carlos Gardel and Alfredo Le Pera along with Klein’s own tunes.
From his earliest days, vibraphonist Erik Charlston has been attracted to a wide spectrum of musical sounds. His simultaneous introductions to classical and soul music along with his exposure to the African-inspired street drummer near his childhood home in South Chicago prepared him for his multi-faceted career as a professional percussionist covering many genres. His quest for mind-bending music led him to one of the most celebrated musical geniuses and idiosyncratic minds of the past fifty years, the Brazilian composer/performer Hermeto Pascoal. The influence of Pascoal and his musical catalog led Charleston to create his JazzBrasil ensemble and to record his new album, “Hermeto: Voice and Wind.”
Also this week, saxophonist Cory Weeds teams with pianist Champion Fulton in a duo setting on “Dream a Little”;
Harry Connick, Jr.’s talents as pianist, singer, arranger, orchestrator, and conductor are highlighted on “True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter”;
and Denver, Colorado based drummer Adam Deitch, who has worked in the hip hop, funk, electro, pop and jazz idioms, unveils a new soul jazz release, “Egyptian Secrets.”