Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Pianist Kenny Werner has played with greats across a wide spectrum of styles, including Charles Mingus, the Mel Lewis Orchestra, and harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans. He’s been leading a trio with drummer Ari Hoenig and bassist Johannes Weidenmuller since 1999, an ensemble that has played the Iowa City Jazz Festival. “They were pretty much youngsters at the time,” says Werner as he looks back some 15 years to the beginning of the trio’s relationship. “It was easy to start working together with such eager young players who could play anything I could come up with…They are so creative while being so advanced rhythmically and in every other way.” There is sparkling brilliance to the pieces on their new release, “The Melody,” including four of Werner’s originals and tunes by Brubeck and Coltrane.
On the vocal sides of thing, Grammy nominated lyricist and singer Lorraine Feather unveils her eleventh disc as a leader, “Flirting with Disaster,” featuring her unique original material and intimate performance style. The All Music Guide describes her as “easily one of the most creative lyricists of her generation…Feather’s skills as an actress and her infectious, versatile voice add to her appeal.” She is once again joined by her longtime collaborators Eddie Arkin, Shelly Berg, Russell Ferrante and Dave Grusin.
Over the years, vocalist Rebecca Kilgore and bassist Nikki Parrott have had occasions working together where Nicki was part of the rhythm section and Becky the singer. Parrott has now added vocalizing to her performances and they have begun to add vocal duets to their joint appearances. It was only logical that they would eventually talk about recording a vocal album together. “Two Songbirds of a Feather” is the result of those talks, with saxophonist Harry Allen, drummer Chuck Redd and pianist Mike Renzi rounding out their dream team.
Also this week, two of the most renowned instrumentalists from the world of contemporary jazz, saxophonist Eric Marienthal and guitarist Chuck Loeb, come together on “Bridges”; and pianist Adam Shulman and his San Francisco Bay area sextet offer up “Here/There.”