Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify 

Antonio Adolfo is recognized internationally as a Brazilian jazz master. With a discography that stretches back over 60 years, he has released 25 albums as a leader. The prolific recording artist, pianist and composer has been nominated for several Latin Grammy and Grammy awards. But Adolfo is not just a Brazilian or Latin musician. His complex jazz harmonies reveal the influence American jazz has on his playing and arranging. His newest release, “Love Cole Porter,” is an homage to the beloved American composer, who is among his favorites.

Celebrating the life and resilience of his 88-years-old mother, composer Dr. Anthony Branker’s new release, “Song My Mom Liked,” is a gift to Joan Branker who has been mightily challenged by the ongoing cognitive decline of dementia. Conceptualized after witnessing how her face would brighten and her body would start to move when listening to his earlier music, he was driven to reimagine 11 of his compositions for his brilliant ensemble, Imagine. Saxophonist Donny McCaslin, trumpeter Philip Dizack, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda My Han Oh, drummer Rudy Royston, guitarist Pete McCann, and vocalist Aubrey Johnson each bring inspired musicianship and deep soul to the lyrical flow, ingenious rhythmic interplay, and spirited performances that have come to define Branker’s projects.

Also this week, Detroit-bred trumpeter and composer Anthony Stanco is joined by some of his fellow educators from the Michigan State University jazz program on his new disc, “Stanco’s Time”; Montreal saxophonist Gabriel Genest’s second album as a leader, “As It Is,” is a compelling project with a resolutely modern aesthetic marked by complex rhythms, modal harmony, and sophisticated melodies; and renowned composer, arranger and bassist Fernando Huergo’s new big band release, “Relentless,” is a musical exploration inspired by Luke Mogelson’s insights in The New Yorker reflecting on societal struggles.

Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify 

Guitar great Bobby Broom knows exactly when he first fell in love with the jazz organ. At age ten he put on one of his father’s albums, Charles Earland’s “Black Talk!” “I was just into music,” he says. But after playing Earland’s now-classic 1969 album, he was sold. Bobby’s organ trio Organi-Sation, with organist Ben Paterson and drummer Kobie Watkins, debuted on record in 2018 but had been a working band for much longer. Part of their new album, “Jamalot,” features live performances going back to 2014 when the trio was opening for Steely Dan. The rest is from an appearance at Joe and Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago in 2019.

Dubbed “The King of Swing” in his native Singapore, Jeremy Monteiro is renowned as one of the premier jazz pianists in all of Asia. He’s recorded many of his album in the U.S., and he is now releasing his 48^th project, “The New Jersey Sessions.” Monteiro is not only a superb pianist and composer in a range of styles, he is also an educator and mentor to young musicians. He shares top billing on the new disc with his star student, the young Singaporean saxophonist Sean Hong Wei. Sax great Houston Person also makes a guest appearance.

Also this week, the Scott/Grant 5, co-led by guitarist Andrew Scott and trombonist Kelsley Grant, blends touches of cool, bossa nova and bebop in the mix on “Horizon Song”; “Birdwatching” is a product of saxophonist Tim Lin’s long study of Charlie Parker and serves as an ode to Bird and his songs; and Jane Scheckter sings with a wisdom and ease that only a lifetime of experience can bring on her fifth release, “I’ll Take Romance.”