Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
 In 1962, two of the most influential and talented instrumentalists that Cuba ever produced were brought together. Reedman Paquito D’Rivera was invited to hear pianist Chucho Valdes at a local club in South Havana. The two soon became a musical partnership that helped shape jazz in Cuba. Their paths would separate in 1980 when D’Rivera left Cuba. Sixty years after their initial meeting, the pair has finally reunited to create a new recording. “I Missed You Too!” marks Paquito and Chucho’s first recording together since they were both members of the influential jazz/fusion ensemble, Irakere.

     Led by drummer and composer Lorie Wolf, Queen Kong is a band of klezmorim informed by a wide range of musical styles: Balkan punk, hip-hop brass, classical ensembles, reggae, traditional jazz, and Brazilian psych-rock. Their collective experience fills a deep niche: music clearly sprung from the world of klezmer, but with migratory flight paths to destinations yet to be determined. The Toronto band’s debut album “Fray,” which is the Yiddish word for ‘free’, was created during a time of worldwide tumult. It stands as a strong unifying statement, merging myriad influences to create something unique and powerful.

Also this week, the Chicago Soul Jazz Collective is joined by vocalist Dee Alexander for their third release, “On the Way to be Free”;

saxophonist Grant Stewart features an all-star New York band on “The Lighting of the Lamps,” including trumpeter Bruce Harris, pianist Tardo Hammer, bassist David Wong and drummer Phil Stewart;

     and pianist Christian Jacob and his trio performs the music of trumpeter Carl Saunders on “New Jazz Standards Vol. 5.”