The contributions of pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader Bill Evans to the language and appreciation of jazz continue to have profound influence on musicians. Pianist Chick Corea leads Evans Trio alumni Eddie Gomez and the late Paul Motian on “Further Explorations”, a live set recorded at the Blue Note in New York in 2010. For bassist Gomez and drummer Motian, the connection to Evans was personal and emotionally deep, involving performing and recording with Evans during his most fertile and creative periods. Corea’s connection is that of a student, adapting many of Evans’ harmonic concepts and pianistic techniques and a mutual understanding of the piano trio as a singular jazz ensemble. Much of the performance features music written or associated with Evans, with each musician also contributing original material. Incidentally, 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Evans’ original Explorations album.

Legendary trumpeter, educator, and NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Owens leads a stellar septet on his new disc “The Monk Project”, a program of his own uniquely original arrangements of Thelonius Monk compositions. Owens, who has been heard on countless big band and small group recordings as a virtuoso sideman, has recorded only sporadically as a leader, making this date a special one. Longtime colleague and fellow NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron, well known for playing Monk’s music with the group Sphere, heads the rhythm section. The all-star ensemble also features drummer extraordinaire Winard Harper, front-line members Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland and the amazing multi-instrumentalist Howard Johnson on tuba and baritone sax.

The bond between old friends gives life meaning. When the friends are improvising musicians sharing the stage, their common language cements a mutual trust that can ignite the bandstand. Music has been the glue binding the friendship of bassist Omer Avital, pianist Aaron Goldberg and drummer Ali Jackson for nearly 20 years. Though they have performed in many combinations and under the aegis of different leaders for many years, the trio’s new CD — “Yes!” — is their first collaborative effort in the studio. The meeting of an Israeli of Yemeni/Moroccan descent, a Detroit-based Black American with Islamic roots and a Jewish Bostonian stands as a tremendous example of the call of jazz music transcending race, religion and politics.

An integral and influential behind-the-scenes player as a producer, composer, arranger, label entrepreneur, and educator in his native Rio de Janeiro, Antonio Adolfo has in recent years been devoting more time to recording his own music. While his first two CDs tapped into Brazilian and American standards by the likes of Cole Porter and Antonio Carlos Jobim, Adolfo’s new CD — “Chora Baiao” — focuses on the Brazilian styles choro and baiao, specifically in the works of the brilliant, innovative Brazilian composers Guinga and Chico Barque. “My passion’s for their harmonies and melodies that aren’t just sophisticated, but quite unusual in Brazilian music,” Adolfo says. “…with their harmonies you can’t use clichés. You must go into some really different directions.”

With hundreds of performances worldwide, a shelf full of music awards, and praise from jazz legends like Phil Woods, Lee Konitz and Dave Brubeck, 18-year-old Grace Kelly has firmly established herself as a star on the rise in the jazz world. Her new release “Grace” marks a new direction for the accomplished saxophonist into the genre of gospel jazz.

The journey to make a spiritually driven disc began with a performance at a convention of 2,000 ministers from all over the world in 2010. It turned out to be such a great and uplifting experience for Kelly that she contacted gospel pianist and luminary George Russell, Jr., to be her main collaborator on a new record.

While mostly duets between Kelly and Russell, it also features cameos from celebrated percussionist Jamey Haddad and classical guitarist Peter Clemente.

Over the years, Chick Corea has been a pioneer in two-piano performance, partnering with Herbie Hancock, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and others in acclaimed concerts and recordings. “Orvieto” is the first release by the exciting duo of Corea and Stefano Bollani, a live set drawn from New Year performances at the Umbria Jazz Winter Festival. Chick and Stefano have been giving such concerts, mostly in the context of Italian festivals, for more than two years now. Bollani points out he has been listening to Corea’s music since he was 11-years-old, taking what he could “from his style, his phrasing and his incredible rhythm.” Corea, from his side, has been monitoring Bollani’s playing for a few years, and has mentioned Stefano as a pianist who inspired him.

During a prolific career that spans more than four decades, tenor saxophonist Michael Pedicin has toured with such jazz greats as Maynard Ferguson, Dave Brubeck, Stanley Clarke and Pat Martino. He’s recorded ten albums under his own name since 1980 and considers his tenth one — “Ballads…Searching for Peace” — to be his crowning achievement. The disc was inspired, in part, by Pedicin’s main musical hero, John Coltrane. “From the time Trane did that “Ballads” album, I’ve always wanted to do a ballads album when I felt ready to do it.”

The name Cinque will be unfamiliar, but its membership includes some genuine musical legends. Joey DeFrancesco is considered by many to be the greatest exponent of B3 organ playing in jazz, while Steve Gadd has long been the first call drummer for Chick Corea, Al DiMeola, David Sanborn and others. Bassist Peter Cardinali’s lengthy resume includes the likes of Oscar Peterson, the Brecker Brothers and Toots Thielmans. Cinque was Cardinali’s brainchild. Also the head of Alma Records, he explains “I really wanted to start a jazz-funk band, and only with the top players. It was just a matter of assembling this musical dream team and giving them free rein.” The bulk of the compositions on “Catch a Corner” were written collectively in the studio and recorded on the spot.

David Budway is one of the most versatile pianists on the New York music scene today and an award-winning composer. After a fifteen-year teaching career at Duquesne University in his hometown of Pittsburgh, he moved to New York to pursue his dream playing with some of the greats of jazz. Since then, he’s been the pianist for groups led by jazz luminaries such as Stanley Turrentine, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie and Joe Pass. On his new CD — “A New Kiss” — Budway is joined by a top-notch rhythm section consisting of bassist Eric Revis and drummer Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts. Special guests include saxophonists Branford Marsalis and Marcus Strickland and guitarist Ron Affif.

As a title, “So Nice” might imply a sleepy and quite possibly uninspired session calculated to avoid challenges. That notion is quickly dispelled by the sprightly and imaginative solo Houston Person takes on “Blues Everywhere” that kicks off this collection. Person, of course, is a master of understated elegance, a balladeer of the highest order. But he’s equally capable of playing tough, soulful tenor with virile vigor. True to form, Person shows both his sides and delivers a program that alternates between creamy-smooth ballads and bluesier offerings with significant bite. With the amazing Warren Vache on cornet and Mark Patterson on trombone, the little big band sound here is stellar.

Since his return to ECM Records in 2003, Enrico Rava, grand master of Italian jazz, has made a number of recordings exceptional by any standards, with groups both national and international. “Tribe” belongs to the former category. The trumpeter is playing at a peak of lyrical invention, and his newest quintet is his strongest yet. Voted Rising Star Trombonist in the Downbeat Critics Poll of a few years back, Gianluca Petrella has a front-line relationship with Rava which recalls Enrico’s affinity with Roswell Rudd back in the heyday of the New Thing. Rava has always encouraged younger musicians, and pianist Giovanni Guidi and bassist Gabriele Evangelista are young players of much promise. Drummer Fabrizio Sferra’s resume includes work with Chet Baker, Paul Bley and Kenny Wheeler.

Despite its time-honored traditions and universally familiar iconography, Christmas remains a holiday celebrated by each family and even each individual in their own personal style. Pianist/composer Geri Allen offers up her own interpretation with “A Child is Born” — a new collection of traditional and original Christmas music that is profound and exuberant, spiritual and intimate. She refers to the disc as “a joyous Christmas celebration and remembrance of a childhood where love was always unconditional.”

“Celebrating Christmas”, preeminent pianist Marcus Roberts’ majestic new disc brings an astounding level of artistry and insight to fifteen beloved holiday classics. Roberts is joined by Rodney Jordan on bass and his longtime drummer Jason Marsalis, together forming an exuberant trio that weaves familiar holiday melodies into the layered rhythms, tones and textures of traditional jazz, bebop and other touchstones of the genre.

From Grammy Award winner Harry Connick, Jr. comes a new instrumental holiday classic — “Music From the Happy Elf” — a companion disc to Connick’s first picture book for children and the fourth edition of the ongoing “Connick on Piano” series; renowned contemporary jazz guitarist Chris Standring and singer/songwriter Kathrin Shorr celebrate the season with ten witty, charming and easy grooving originals on “Send Me Some Snow”; and Doug Munro and La Pompe Attack offer up a Gypsy swing holiday with “A Very Gypsy Christmas.”

For over a half a century, Etta James has been a musical force and a major hit-maker, earning numerous accolades including six Grammy Awards, among them the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, a Best Jazz Vocal Performance and two Hall of Fame Awards. She has crossed all musical genres and styles and has been cited as a major influence by a wide range of singers from Janis Joplin to Irma Thomas. Her new CD — “The Dreamer” — not only marks her first album in five years but it also will be her final studio recording before she retires. As Etta remarks, “I wish to thank all my fans who have shown me love and support over all these years. I love you all.”

Over the course of four decades, composer and bandleader David Murray has created a body of work remarkable for its magnitude, importance, and breadth. He’s been a part of more than 150 albums, been honored with a Grammy Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and co-founded iconic bands such as the World Saxophone Quartet. His newest project — “David Murray Cuban Ensemble Plays Nat King Cole en Espanol” — is based on two recordings, from 1958 and 1962, which found Cole singing melodies from Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Argentina accompanied by ensembles of Cuban and Mexican musicians. To play his new arrangements, Murray assembled some of the best Cuban musicians to form his 10-piece ensemble. The result, jazz journalist Gary Giddens proclaims, “is one of Murray’s most purely pleasurable albums…a sensational tour de force and high spot in his massive discography.”