Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
 Legendary percussionist Pete Escovedo is an artist who broke down the barriers between Latin jazz, salsa and contemporary music. He’s been known worldwide for over fifty years for his live performances, session work and solo albums. He’s done projects with Tito Puente and his daughter Sheila E. Just last month, Pete was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards. His latest release, “Rhythm of the Night,” is a collection of nine old-school soul and R&B hits, rearranged and transformed into an explosion of Latin jazz articulated through at 14-piece Latin jazz orchestra.

     Pianist, composer and educator Dave Meder is one of the prominent artists of his generation, known for a panoramic musical approach that has earned him slots in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition and the American Pianists Awards. His compositions have garnered various awards and commissions, and he’s headlined at a host of prominent performance venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smalls Jazz Club and the Kennedy Center. For his new disc, “Unamuno Songs and Stories,” Meder uses the writings of Spanish Civil War-era philosopher Miguel de Unamuno as the basis for an intensely emotive set.

 Also this week, the young guitarist Jackson Potter, who has performed with Grammy Award-winners Dafnis Prieto and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, unveils his debut album, “Restless”;

guitarist Doug MacDonald and his trio gained inspiration from the historic neighborhood in Los Angeles that has recently seen a renaissance for their new disc, “Serenade to Highland Park”;

and saxophonist D’Andre Lettsome, who has shared the stage with notable musicians like Delfeayo Marsalis and Marcus Printup, offers up “Impetus.”

      Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
There is no doubt that jazz is one of the greatest cultural exports to emanate from the United States, finding enthusiasts on every continent. Singapore-based pianist, organist, composer and arranger Jeremy Monteiro is surely one of the most prolific jazz artists on any continent. He is now releasing his 46^th album as a leader, “Jazz-Blues Brothers.” Monteiro has teamed up with co-leader Alberto Marsico, one of the most renowned organ players in Europe, on a program of originals blending swing, soul, blues, and pop.

     Pianist David Janeway grew up in Detroit in the ‘60s and ‘70s before moving to New York in 1978. Active on the NYC scene since then he has played and/or recorded with Art Farmer, Sonny Fortune, Tom Harrell, Benny Golson, and David ‘Fathead’ Newman, among other notables. “Distant Voices” is his third trio recording, and the first with his working trio featuring drummer Billy Hart and bassist Cameron Brown. David pays tribute to the many jazz pianists that have inspired and influenced him throughout his career, including selections by Hank Jones, Bill Evans and Duke Ellington, as well as tributes written for Ahmad Jamal, Larry Willis, Cedar Walton and Herbie Hancock.

Also this week, organist Pat Bianchi has chosen a program of Stevie Wonder’s music for his new release, “Something to Say”; 

Esperanza Spalding’s “Songwrights Apothecary Lab” features 12 pieces of music created and recorded in her traveling laboratory, exploring how songwriters might meaningfully incorporate therapeutic practices and knowledge into their process and production;

      and the band Daggerboard, featuring trumpeter Erik Jekabson and keyboardist Gregory Howe, made one of the final recordings at the famed Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, one week before it closed for their new disc, “Last Days of Studio A.”