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

Nothing gets music lovers in a celebrating mood like listening to their favorite Christmas carols, and a new CD, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” from trumpeter Chris Pasin delivers a whopping dose of holiday cheer. Pasin has proved himself among the most versatile of musicians. Besides fronting his own bands, he’s been a mainstay of ensembles led by the likes of Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin, George Russell, and Brother Jack McDuff. He’s also appeared with legendary figures including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme and Ray Charles. For the new CD, Pasin has assembled a stellar ensemble of some of the most in-demand musicians on the New York jazz scene taking on the greatest songs of the season in an original and appealing style.

     The holiday season is a busy time for the U.S. Army Blues. Over the years, the band has generated a significant following for their yearly Stan Kenton Christmas and Duke Ellington Nutcracker concerts. The Blues also support the Army Band’s American Holiday Festival and for many years provided horn and rhythm section support for the Sergeant Major of the Army holiday tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. The music on their CD, “Swinging in the Holidays,” captures that tradition and excitement.

Also this week, trumpet legend Herb Alpert unveils a new holiday disc, “The Christmas Wish”. 

The Lewis Porter/Phil Scarff Group’s “Three Minutes to Four” is contemporary, East-meets-West jazz, where Indian raga merges with western classical, Ghanaian traditional fuses with improvisational, and where organic meets studied.

The Dave Zinno Unisphere’s “River of January” boasts stellar material, fabulous arrangements and a super-hot band.

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

With his career spanning almost three decades, Willie Jones III has become one of the jazz world’s most respected and highly accomplished modern jazz drummers of our time. His associations with legendary artists such as Cedar Walton, Milt Jackson, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins and Roy Hargrove speak volumes. Jones is also one of the music’s most sought-after producers. Jones, who “never fails to assemble a strong crew” (New York Times), brings together jazz masters Buster Williams (bass) and Eddie Henderson (trumpet), jazz virtuoso Eric Reed (piano) and iconic horn legend Ralph Moore (saxophone) for his new CD, “My Point Is…” The disc serves as an homage to his father, pianist Willie Jones II. The title phrase is one his father would often employ; sound wisdom followed thereafter.

The third in guitarist Corey Christiansen’s trilogy of albums exploring the grounds between jazz, blues and Americana, “Dusk” is focused on his original compositions—tunes written for people in his life, places been, characters imagined, landscapes seen and the captured feelings from these experiences. The rapport with his longtime band is at its most evolved and empathetic, while Corey’s already prodigious guitar work has found the fluidity and emotive qualities only obtained through their continued collective focus and dedication to concept. As JazzIz magazine describes it, “Christiansen and his quintet goose the Americana songbook with plenty of funk and fusion, teasing out dark edges and recontextualizing the music for new generations.”

Also this week, L.A.-based guitarist Jacques Lesure is joined by longtime associates drummer Willie Jones III, pianist Eric Reed and bassist Tony Dumas for his third release as a leader, “For the Love of You”.

Atlanta-based drummer Brian Hudson debuts with the jazz/fusion disc, “Next Level”.

Bassist Kent Miller and his quartet offer up a CD of standards and originals on “Minor Step.”