Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. 

In his very productive career, Henrik Meurkens has excelled on both harmonica and vibraphone in many different settings—ranging from straight ahead jazz to Brazilian music. He’s collaborated with such notables as Herb Ellis, Mundell Lowe, Charlie Byrd, James Moody, Paquito D’Rivera and Ray Brown among many others. There have been relatively few meetings in jazz between harmonica players and organists. The usual organ quartet is comprised of organ, tenor sax, guitar and drums. “I’m surprised that the combination…with harmonica has rarely ever happened before,” Hendrik says. “The harmonica fits perfectly into the classic organ group.” As one can hear throughout the new CD, “Cobb’s Pocket,” the harmonica works quite well in the format. The title refers to legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb, whom Meurkens works with for the third time on disc.

     New Masters is a rotating ensemble of leading, up-and-coming and established musicians, as part of a genre-defying project entitled “Reworks.” “Vol.1” is a collection of some of today’s tops hits reinterpreted by an impressive lineup of brilliant representatives of the jazz world, including pianist Sullivan Fortner, drummer Eric Harland, trumpeter Keyon Harrold, and guitarist Gilad Hekselman. They focus on songs drawn from the top of today’s pop charts including tunes by Cardi B, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Juice WRLD, The Weekend and SZA. The membership of New Masters is intended to rotate in the future, to elevate attention of the project and expand the audience for the individual players.

Also this week, bassist and composer Ben Wolfe pays tribute to his late father and presents a meditation of what it means to be a father to his own son on “Fatherhood”;

vocalist and composer Sara Gazarek offers up an intimate collection of largely original songs and a few choice covers on her sixth release, “Thirsty Ghost”;

      and saxophonist Diego Rivera, a member of the jazz faculty at Michigan State University, is supported by trombonist Michael Dease, and trumpeter Joe Magnarelli on “Connections.”

     Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. 

 “He wasn’t just one of the guys. For me, he was beyond that,” says Miguel Zenon about Ismael Rivera, the subject of his latest project, “Sonero.” “He exemplified the highest level of artistry. He was like Bird, Mozart, Einstein, Ali—he was that guy.” Zenon and his quartet offer a tribute to a musician who influenced him from childhood. Familiarly known as Maelo, Rivera is a popular hero in Puerto Rico today, even more than thirty years after his death. Tutored in the repertoire of bomba and plena by the patriarch Don Rafael Cepeda, the two men stand at the head of a movement that turned those rhythms into contemporary dance-band music. “…people talk about him as you would a legendary figure,” Zenon adds, “…I want everyone to know him.”

Houston Person may be one of the few still-active players in the long history of blues-drenched ‘boss tenors’ that stretches back to Gene Ammons, Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis, Arnett Cobb and others.  Person has long exhibited a keen ear for simpatico musicians. Ranging from his classic partnership with Etta Jones to his series of superb duo encounters with bass master Ron Carter, the man chooses his company skillfully. For his new CD, “I’m Just a Lucky So and So,” he negotiates his tenor in the company of first class players including trumpeter Eddie Allen, guitarist Rodney Jones, and drummer Kenny Washington, among others.

 Also this week, tenor man Scott Hamilton follows up his Swedish ballads project by crossing over the Scandinavian waters to Denmark, thrusting himself into songs taken from the Danish pop culture and beyond for “Danish Ballads & More”.

saxophonist Roxy Coss offers up invigorating new takes on her originals for “Quintet”;

     and alto saxophonist and flutist Markus Howell, a product of the Michigan State University jazz program, is joined by trumpet Joe Magnarelli and trombonist Michael Dease has he unleashes a big sound on his strong debut, “Get Right!”