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For years, the Brazilian bossa nova queen Rosa Passos has had a devoted global following, including fans who proclaim she is Brazil’s answer to Ella Fitzgerald or the female Joao Gilberto. She began playing piano at age 13, but after listening to Gilberto and Dorival Caymmi, she abandoned the instrument to become a singer. Rosa recorded her debut album in 1978, and has since worked with the likes of Ron Carter and Kenny Barron among many others. Expectations were high when she performed two sets at Copenhagen Jazzhouse in 2001. The tracks on her new CD, “Samba Sem Voce,” come from the second set of that concert.

     Christian McBride’s New Jawn, featuring trumpeter Josh Evans, reedman Marcus Strickland and drummer Nasheet Waits, is back with their highly anticipated sophomore album, ”Prime,” the follow-up to the Grammy-nominated debut disc from the Philly-centric named group. With the release of this exhilarating second album, and seven years as a band under their collective belts, New Jawn isn’t quite so new anymore. Featuring original compositions from each band member as well as fresh takes on songs from Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman and Larry Young, the quartet offers a space of exploration for the 8-time Grammy Award bassist to stretch his veteran wings.

Also this week, pianist Bill Cunliffe is joined by bassist Martin Wind and drummer Tim Horner on “Border Widow’s Lament,” featuring original compositions by the trio’s members;

trumpeter Jeremy Pelt unveils the follow-up to his 2020 release with “The Art of Intimacy Vol.2: His Muse”;

       and guitar virtuoso Kingsley Grant’s focus is on the electric guitar and eight new compositions for “Convertible.”

     Think of the songwriters whose work comprises the cannon of jazz standards, and names like Gershwin, Rodgers, Berlin and Porter immediately come to mind. On his new album, “Black, Brown, and Blue,” pianist Eric Reed argues for a revision of that canon to focus on Black and Brown composers, songwriters whose work originates within the jazz realm rather than on the Broadway stage. The disc features music written by jazz masters like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter Benny Golson, Horace Silver, Buddy Collette and Buster Williams, along with jazz-conversant pop/R&B songwriters Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers.

     In the eighteen years since she arrived in New York City, Sara Caswell has become the first call violinist for creative bandleaders in the jazz world and beyond. Her credentials include tours and recordings with luminaries including esperanza spalding, Henry Threadgill, Fred Hersch, Regina Carter, Bran Mehldau, the WDR Big Band, Brian Blade and others. That demanding schedule has left Caswell with limited time to focus on her own projects. She hasn’t released an album under her own name in over 17 years. That long delay finally comes to an end with the release of “The Way to You.” It features the stellar band that Caswell has led for the past decade, with guitarist Jesse Lewis, bassist Ike Sturm and drummer Jared Schonig.   

     Also this week, “Live @ the Side Door” is the newest release from esteemed drummer Vince Ector and his Organatomy Trio +, capturing the stellar Philadelphia bred/NY-based outfit’s 2020 performance at the iconic Side Door Jazz Club in Old Lyme, CT.; 5-time Grammy winner Billy Childs assembles an all-star quartet with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade on “The Winds of Change”; and drummer and composer Kendrick Scott presents “Corridors,” a striking new album that finds him paring down to a trio featuring saxophonist Walter Smith III and bassist Reuben Rogers.