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

The merging of Brazilian music and American jazz changed the trajectory of modern music. The inceptions of bossa nova, samba jazz and other fusions enabled Brazil to make its mark on jazz and beyond, via some incredible musicians and composers, including the legendary Dom Salvador. The remarkable pianist and his classic trios made an impression on many during the mid-1960s, including a young Duduka da Fonseca. “Duduka da Fonseca Trio Plays Dom Salvador” was born from the leader’s love of Salvador and his music and Fonseca’s effort to make a proper tribute to his friend and mentor.

     The Black Art Jazz Collective’s mission statement celebrates African-American cultural and political icons. At the core is a modernism that conjure up the classic bands of Art Blakey and acoustic Miles Davis. But with contemporary soul-fueled solos and locked-in rhythms, the band is more likely to launch into a counterpoint riff or the spacious funk of hip-hop than the svelte lines of a classic walking bass. With their new CD, “Armor of Pride,” the Collective delivers strong original tunes and purposeful, form-hugging improvisation that keeps things looking forward rather than back. And with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt in ebullient form, and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery’s muscularity contrasting with the tenderness of James Burton III’s trombone, the focus never wavers or becomes diffuse.

Also this week, tenor saxophonist JD Allen delivers a beautiful and intensely interesting ballads album, “Love Stone”.

Keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer returns to the piano trio format with “On My Way to You”. 

Harmonica ace Hendrick Meurkens pairs up with pianist Bill Cunliffe on “Cabin in the Sky.”

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

The first week of March in 1963 was a busy one for John Coltrane. He was in the middle of a two-week run at Birdland and was gearing up for the famed “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman” album, which he recorded on March 7.  The day before, he and his classic quartet with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones cut a complete album’s worth of material, including several original compositions that were never recorded elsewhere. At the end of the day, Coltrane took the reference tapes home with him where they remained untouched for the next 54 years. Impulse Records approached the family about finally releasing this lost album, which they have now done as “Both Directions at Once: the Lost Album.”

     The Bob Mintzer Big Band collaborates with New York Voices for the first time on “Meeting of Minds.” The combination of the dynamic writing styles Bob Mintzer and Darmon Meader produces a very dense yet very fresh sonic palette. The repertoire draws on the Great American Songbook from the 1930s and 1940s, with subtle harmonic and rhythmic nuances in the arrangements that blend together to deliver an engaging musical journey. In addition to the wonderful arrangements, the album showcases over a dozen powerful improvised solos from some of the top musicians in the world.

Also this week, the brilliant pianist and composer Shamie Royston presents her second release as a leader, “Beautiful Liar”.

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist and oud virtuoso Amos Hoffman and world class pianist/composer Noam Lemish team up on “Pardes,” offering an inspired blend of jazz, North African and Latin rhythms, and melodies from various Jewish communities across the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

Charles Lloyd & the Marvels unveil their second release “Vanished Gardens,” with guest vocalist Lucinda Williams.