Listen to this week’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify
Ed Palermo is not your typical big band leader. Renowned for his unconventional approach, Ed’s repertoire defies expectations –don’t be surprised if you hear the music of Frank Zappa, Todd Rundgren, The Police, or Pat Metheny at one of his shows. As Gil Evans once said: “He was using the instrumentation of a traditional big band, yet his arrangements and songs were anything but that…Ed Palermo’s music is alive and represents now.” Over the years, Ed’s inventive interpretations have earned him widespread acclaim. On the new CD, “Prog vs. Fusion: A War of the Ages,” the Ed Palermo Big Band crafts a musical battleground where two distinct genres—progressive rock and jazz fusion—lock horns in a playful yet highly sophisticated war.

On a Sunday afternoon in 2023, Dr./Prof. Leonard King drove to Cadieux Café on Detroit’s east side to hear the Planet D Nonet perform. Usually he would have recorded music playing in the van within five minutes of pulling out of the driveway, but that day he drove several minutes in silence. It wasn’t long before he began innately hearing the melody to one of Joe Williams’ recordings. At that moment, he decided to ask RJ Spangler if the PD9 would want to collaborate on a Joe Williams project. The band was receptive to the idea and “Doctor Professor Leonard King in Tribute to Joe Williams” was the result, a disc primarily focused on the work of Mr. Williams after his departure from the Count Basie Orchestra.

Also this week, baritone saxophonist, composer and arranger Saul Dautch reflects on the challenges and growth he’s experienced in his first five years in New York City on his debut album, “Music for the People”; Juno Award-winning Canadian multi-instrumentalist Brad Turner highlights his brilliant pianistic and compositional skills on “It’s All So”; and saxophonist Jordan Van Hemert’s stellar band on his fifth release as leader, “Survival of the Fittest,” includes trumpeter Terell Stafford, trombonist Michael Dease, pianist Helen Sung, Rodney Whitaker on bass, and Lewis Nash on drums.