Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
A true keeper of the flame, tenor saxophonist and former Jazz Messenger Javon Jackson continues to champion the tradition with his spirited interpretations of some well-known standards on “Déjà Vu.” Recorded during an incredibly productive stretch in 2017, it stands as a sequel of sorts to 2018’s acclaimed “For You.” Fronting the same band of pianist Jeremy Manasia, drummer McClenty Hunter and bassist David Williams, Jackson delivers in the same self-assured manner that has marked his playing with icons like Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton, Charlie Haden and Elvin Jones. Jackson and his accomplished crew deliver fresh takes on tunes by Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, Thelonious Monk and Jimmy Heath along with several standards.
Isaiah J. Thompson is a jazz pianist, bandleader and composer from West Orange, New Jersey, who was admitted to The Julliard School at the age of 18 and earned his Masters in Music there earlier this year. He’s performed with major artists including Christian McBride, John Pizzarelli, Steve Turre, Joe Farnsworth and Buster Williams. His recording debut came with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and their disc, “Handful of Keys.” For his debut CD as a leader, Thompson offers up magnificent new arrangements of some of the best known compositions of vibraphonist and pianist Buddy Montgomery on “Isaiah J. Thompson Plays the Music of Buddy Montgomery.”
Also this week, Cuban-born guitarist Jorge Garcia creates jazz arrangements of classic rock tunes from the Beatles, ELP, Jimi Hendrix, the Moody Blues and others on “Crossover”;
saxophonist Doug Webb features a program of originals and a few familiar melodies on “Apples & Oranges,” with organist Brian Charette and drummer Andy Sanesi;
and the Uptown Jazz Tentet, co-led by trumpeter Brandon Lee and trombonists Willie Applewhite and James Burton III, unveil their second release, “What’s Next.”