Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Jeremy Pelt’s latest recording is one of his most culturally aware and musically astute projects yet. Rooted in his reflections on his community’s artistic legacy, the album balances heritage with a fresh, modern outlook. Pelt’s compositions move fluidly through straight-ahead neo-bop, spacious ballads, post-impressionistic color and tasteful electronics. Anchored …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Dave Slonaker has worked in Hollywood for over thirty years and is highly regarded as one of the top arrangers and orchestrators in film and television. His first two albums as a leader, including his Grammy nominated 2013 debut, received stellar reviews and wide airplay. He continues to explore …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Betty Bryant is a Los Angeles treasure. The singer, pianist and composer has been a regular on the Southern California jazz scene since 1955 when she moved from her hometown of Kansas City, where she was mentored by the late, great Jay McShann. Her blues-based piano and vocal stylings …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Mentorship, lineage, and community lie at the heart of “Buddy!,” the vibrant debut album from bassist and composer Stephen Parisi Jr. Rooted in his upbring in Buffalo and shaped by his evolution within Chicago’s thriving jazz community, Parisi’s music reflects a young artist deeply committed to understanding—and extending—the traditions …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross releases his fifth Blue Note album, “Gospel Music,” a sonic interpretation of the biblical story and an exploration of his faith that delivers a message of hope and love, performed by an expanded version of his Good Vibes band. An homage to an array …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Dr. Scott Routenberg is an award-winning jazz pianist, composer, arranger and educator whose accolades include the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Song of the Year. His works have been premiered at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and around the world, and he is an established arranger for the Metropole Orkest since …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify Much in the way Michael Dease has defined state-of-the-art for jazz trombone over the last two decades, his effectiveness in shaping the next generation of players also requires inspired superlatives. A 2025 Guggenheim Fellow, and Distinguished Professor in Rodney Whitaker’s renowned Jazz Department at Michigan State University, Dease has …
Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify “Decidedly So” is the new album from veteran New York City trumpeter and composer Joe Magnarelli, whose performances reflect the essence of modern jazz: warm, distinctive melodies in both compositions and improvisations; rich, expressive harmonies; and an alluring sense of swing. For his third release for Cory Weeds’ Cellar …
