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

“It’s taken me thirty years of analyzing my own identity as an artistic black man to finally fit all of this into my interpretation of Black American Music,” explains Theo Croker of his newest album, “Star People.” As the grandson of the late trumpeter Doc Cheatham, former student of legendary jazz trumpeter/composer Donald Byrd and protégé of singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, Croker is an artist steeped in the sociopolitical implications of his art. The disc finds the trumpeter at the helm of production, composing and performance, resulting in an intimate exploration of “the everyday rituals of blackness.” It’s a self-reflective collection of provocative, powerfully passionate and boundary-busting compositions that speak to our greater, shared human existence.

     The Swiss Jazz Orchestra has created a fabulous collective ensemble that has found a way to play regularly every Monday night in Bern, Switzerland since the ensemble’s inception in 2003. The truly remarkable thing about the ensemble, though, is its dedication to the presentation of new works by visiting artists and composers. Celebrated composer and keyboardist Guillermo Klein has been a regular collaborator with the Orchestra for the past few years and the “Swiss Jazz Orchestra & Guillermo Klein” presents the tremendous work the pairing has allowed to flourish. Klein wrote and revised a number of pieces to suit the instrumentation of the Orchestra. He also took inspiration from a former resident of Bern, the brilliant Albert Einstein, and a famed landmark, the beautiful Zytglogge watchtower, to writer a number of pieces especially for the album.

Also this week, saxophonist Greg Abate offers up his fourth recording with the Tim Ray Trio with “Gratitude: Stage Door LIVE @ the Z”;

 guitarist Larry Koonse presents another batch of Carl Saunders compositions on “New Jazz Standards Vol. 4”;

      and Larry Fuller, who was the last pianist for legendary bassist Ray Brown, unveils his third release as a leader, “Overjoyed.”

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

Justly famous for his gorgeous compositions and arrangements for a long list of singers including Natalie Cole, Diana Krall and Paul McCartney, Alan Broadbent is also a pianist’s pianist: possessed of fierce technique; exquisitely emotional, when the moment calls for it; and as hard-swinging as they come. Throughout the performances on his new CD “New York Notes,” there is a remarkable polish and sense of order while maintaining the unmistakable sound of the classic piano trios, live and off-the-cuff. With his long-time associates Harvie S and Billy Mintz on hand it is little surprise that their almost telepathic communication gives the session an extremely wide emotional range.

     Once you have listened to acclaimed vocalist, composer and arranger Alicia Olatuja, you won’t soon forget her.  Praised in the New York Times as “a singer with a strong and luscious tone,” Olatuja combines the earthy with the sublime, bringing a grounded relatability to genres as lofty as classical, as venerated as jazz, and as gritty as R&B. For her new project, “Intuition: Songs from the Minds of Women,” Olatuja celebrates the musical contributions of women composers by reinterpreting their songs through her own lens of classic, jazzy soul. She features songs by Sade, Angela Bofill, Brenda Russell, Tracy Chapman, Kate Bush, and others.

Also this week, celebrated Canadian vocalist Holly Cole explores the classic American songbook on her 17^th recording as a leader, “Holly”;

guitarist Dave Stryker offers up another batch of his favorite melodies from the ‘70s on “Eight Track III,” featuring Stefon Harris  and Jared Gold;

       and composer and arranger Peter Drew presents a second batch of his big band charts with “And What’s More.”