Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
Steve Nelson made a big splash as a newcomer in the jazz polls at the end of the ‘80s just as the vibraphone began to reemerge as one of jazz’s favorite instruments. The cool, drifty, slight detached sound of the vibes will forever be associated with jazz greats like Lionel Hampton, Gary Burton and others, but Nelson has firmly established himself as a leader of top-notch small ensembles that showcase his own personal voice on the instrument. On his new disc, “Brothers Under the Sun,” Nelson leads a blue-chip quartet of pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Lewis Nash on an imaginative set list that serves as a tribute to the late pianist Mulgrew Miller with whom Nelson enjoyed a long and fruitful musical collaboration and friendship.
Every February, Black History Month provides an annual reminder of the momentous contributions that African-Americans have made to the nation’s history. On his latest album, “Made in America,” saxophonist and composer Bobby Watson does his part to call attention to some vital but largely unappreciated black pioneers in a variety of fields, from politics to pop culture, science to sports. It offers a musical portrait gallery of nine influential African-Americans, including guitarist Grant Green, actress Butterfly McQueen, Tuskegee Airman Wendell O. Pruitt, and entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. To shed light on these overlooked giants of American history, Watson enlisted a few collaborators with whom he shares some significant history of his own. Watson, bassist Curtis Lundy, pianist Stephen Scott and drummer Lewis Nash all had tenures with the influential singer Betty Carter.
Also this week, the SFJazz Collective sets its sights on the “Music of Miles Davis & Original Compositions,” recorded live last October at the SFJazz Center.
Pianist and sing
er Eliane Elias is joined by trumpeter Randy Brecker, vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, and singer Mark Kibble of Take 6 on her latest, “Dance of Time”.
Luke Sellick, a compelling newcomer on the jazz scene and bassist-of-choice for top-tier artists like Russell Malone and Jimmy Greene, is joined by some of the most prominent instrumentalists of New York’s next generation on “Alchemist.”