Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify   

 Jason Tiemann, a seasoned drummer and rising star on the New York jazz scene, was primarily a self-taught jazz musician. Although classically trained, Tiemann learned and developed his improvisational skills in a rather old school way—on the bandstand through collaborations and mentorship from artists such as Lew Tabackin, Mike LeDonne, Peter Bernstein, Larry Fuller, and the late Harold Mabern among many more. He’s combined his experiences to step forward as a leader and present his debut recording, “T-Man,” featuring the great Ed Cherry on guitar and Kyle Koehler on the Hammond B-3.

     Vocalist, songwriter and Texas native Kat Edmonson began crafting her signature sound while performing in Austin’s local club circuit for years before releasing her debut LP in 2009. She’s gone on to tour worldwide with high profile acts including Lyle Lovett, Chris Isaak, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson and more. Her new CD, “Dreamers Do,” blends original compositions and reimagined mid-20^th century classic Disney songs, and tells a story, which takes place over the course of one sleepless night. “These songs I loved as a child were imbued with messages of hope,” Kat explains. “There was implicit encouragement to follow one’s dreams.”

 Also this week, pianist and composer Sam Hirsh, an in-demand member of the Los Angeles jazz scene for a decade, delivers his debut disc, “Quite Frankly”;

Colorado- based pianist and composer Eric Lilley offers up an enjoyable set of originals on “Joie de Vivre”;

     and trumpeter John Bailey, who has played with the likes of Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Arturo O’Farrill and Ray Barretto, offers up his second release as a leader, “Can You Imagine?”

     Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify

How do you make a comeback to a music scene that has gone through so many radical changes since your departure? The answer, as Christopher Hollyday has discovered, involves a combination of focus, perseverance, and the will to keep moving forward. In 1993, after releasing four well-regarded albums for the RCA/Novus label and touring the world for more than 200 nights a year, Novus closed for business. At age 23, the saxophonist went back to school, got married, moved to San Diego and taught school for 25 years. He started performing again in 2013 and recorded his first album in 26 years in 2018. “Dialogue” is the eagerly-awaited second chapter of Hollyday’s comeback.

     Guitarist and composer Albare was born in Morocco and grew up in Israel and France. Although he studied at the musical conservatory in his hometown in Israel for two years starting at age 8, he was mostly self-taught. These days, as Albare has lost his central vision faculties due to a genetic illness, his playing is completely by ear. In 1972, he discovered the sound of Tom Jobim while watching Marcel Camus’ cult film, “Orpheus Negro.” The haunting melodies and unique compositions left a profound impression on the young guitarist and inspired Albare to study and play the melodic style for which he is now known. For his 12^th album as a leader, “Albare Plays Jobim.”

Also this week, reedman Eric Alexander is backed by three of his favorite colleagues and the lush sounds of a string orchestra, bringing his lyrical side to the fore on “Eric Alexander with Strings”;

 guitarist and New York native Frank Kohl, who is now a fixture on the Seattle jazz scene, unveils his fifth disc as a leader, “The Crossing”;

     and pianist Aaron Diehl’s new CD, “The Vagabond,” is thoroughly a jazz recording with clear references made to his background and simultaneous career as a classical performer.