Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify.
An artist whose m
usic is at once timeless and yet utterly of its time, Gregory Porter solidifies his standing as his generation’s most soulful jazz singer with “Take Me to the Alley”, the much-anticipated follow-up to his sensational 2013 Blue Note debut. As he’s done with his previous three albums, Porter teamed up with producer Kamau Kenyatta to craft a collection of stirring originals that juxtapose the personal and political. His partnership with Kenyatta started in the mid-1990s when he was a student at San Diego State University, where Porter began his college years playing football on a full athletic scholarship. A shoulder injury diverted him into a music career and it was through Kenyatta’s mentorship that that professional career began. Recently, Porter moved his family from Brooklyn back to his hometown of Bakersfield, California, where he can be closer to his brothers and sisters.
Though a well-established member of New York’s jazz scene for the past 12 years, bassist and composer Marcos Varela looks to his family’s ancestral home of San Ygnacio, Texas, and his trek still in progress as inspiration for his debut recording, “San Ygnacio.” Mentors and brothers in music—including master drummer Billy Hart, pianist George Cables, saxophonist Dayna Stephens and trombonist Clifton Anderson—supply a warm depth of spirit to the collection. From his family’s move to present day Southern Texas from old-world Spain, his youth in Houston with its deep blues and church music influences, and his years in New York performing constantly with legendary masters and highly-regarded peers, the disc reveals elements of all those influences while offering an exciting introduction to a dynamic musical voice.
Also this week, the post-bop supergroup The Power Quintet, consisting of trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, pianist Danny Grissett, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Bill Stewart, cooks up a swinging brew of mostly original tunes on “High Art”; the Chicago-based group The Giving Trio, with a style and sound reminiscent of late ’50s and ‘60s cool-jazz and pop music, unveils its first full-length studio recording, “Defuser”.
The extraordinary Brazilian composer, arranger, pianist and educator Antonio Adolfo explores the splendid world of early 1960s jazz from a clearly Brazilian perspective on “Tropical Infinito.”
For nearly 24 years our affable local curmudgeon, Mark Yother, offered us his weekday “Got A Minute” commentaries – his sometimes skewed perspective on what everybody else is up to. Occasionally serious; always more or less reality-based.
st, composer and author Walt Weiskopf has made in impressive mark as both a leader and sideman with over a dozen critically acclaimed discs and countless sideman credits. In 1983, he began a fourteen-year association with pianist and arranger Toshiko Akiyoshi, making seven recordings and touring the U.S., Japan and Europe several times with her orchestra. In 1993 Weiskopf began releasing his own CDs as a leader, with sixteen to his credit to date. Also in this time, he’s performed with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy, and has had a long-running association with Steely Dan. He’s also among the most respected authors in the field, penning six books on advanced topics in improvisation. His new record, “The Way You Say It,” continues to show his evolution as a composer, bandleader and reed man, with organist Brian Charette, vibraphonist Behn Gillece and drummer Steve Fidyk helping to convey his clear and straight-forward message.
Also this week, jazz master Benny Golson offers up his first recording in seven years, “Horizon Ahead”.
