Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
The singular catalog of the great pianist/composer Carla Bley has been celebrated and performed  for decades. She has not only performed her unique compositions in her own bands but has had them canonized by such legendary artists at Gary Burton and Paul Bley. Having had first-hand experience playing with Ms. Bley in two groups, guitarist Steve Cardenas and his trio mates bassist Ben Allison and reed master Ted Nash, have created a brilliant recording of nine Bley pieces on their new album, “Healing Power.” The trio first came together in 2011 and have explored the music of Jim Hall, Jimmy Giuffre, and Leonard Bernstein on previous releases.

     Percussionist, composer and producer T.S. Monk has taken his place in the pantheon of jazz royalty, to which he was born as the son of legendary pianist Thelonious Monk. The two played together for five years until Thelonious’ retirement. T.S. then spent the late ‘70s and ‘80s in various R&B groups until returning to his jazz roots by the 1990s. A new album, ”Two Continents One Groove,” features T.S. and his longtime jazz sextet from performances at two similar jazz rooms over a two year period; at Ginny’s Supper Club in Harlem in 2014 and Marians Jazzroom in Bern, Switzerland in 2016.

Also this week, pianist Dave Bass releases his second album with his trio, “The Trio Vol. 2,” with Kerry Kashiwagi on bass and Scott Gordon on drums;

award-winning pianist and composer Caili O’Doherty’s second release as a leader, “Quarantine Dream,” is highlighted some scintillating contributions from rising star saxophonist Nicole Glover;

       and we unveil composer, arranger and trombonist John Wasson’s long-awaited debut album with his Strata Big Band, “Chronicles.”