One of jazz’s most acclaimed, distinctive improvisers, virtuoso saxophonist James Carter, returns to a favored format and simpatico colleagues with “At the Crossroads” — his third release showcasing his long-standing Organ Trio. Enjoying consistently inspired play with fellow Motor City stars organist Gerard Gibbs and drummer Leonard King, Jr., Carter gets down in his inimitable way on a program boasting rollicking swingers, moving ballads, a gospel standard, and plenty of blues-drenched items. Special guests, also from Detroit, include vocalist Miche Braden, trumpeter Kenyon Harrold, trombonist Vincent Chandler and guitarist Brandon Ross.

Minneapolis-based pianist and composer Mary Louis Knutson has been called “one of the most exciting and innovative artists to happen to jazz in quite some time.” Her warm, inviting tone, broad range of emotional expression, and distinctive compositions have brought her much recognition on the national music scene, performing with jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Ernie Watts and Peter Erskine. Knutson’s new CD — “In the Bubble” — showcases her tasteful playing and arranging as well her gift for composition. Twin Cities rhythm icons, bassist Gordon Johnson and drummer Phil Hey, are among Knutson’s bandmates for this release.

The songs sung by 2011 Grammy-nominee Freddy Cole speak of love and life in a voice that is as comforting as it is familiar. His is a well-seasoned sound which, while bearing a strong familial resemblance to his late brother Nat King Cole, is unmistakably all his own. It’s steeped in the earthiness of the blues, yet possesses a silky sound as suave as the debonair man himself. On “Talk to Me” Freddy explores an interesting program of music by the R&B great Bill Withers, a sprinkling of standards and one tune composed by his son. Trumpeter Terell Stafford and saxophonist Harry Allen are special guests of Freddy and his quartet.

A release that its creator Stanley Jordan cites as his most realized project to date finds him in challenging company: fellow guitarists Charlie Hunter, Russell Malone, Bucky Pizzarelli and Mike Stern; saxmen Kenny Garrett and Ronnie Laws; N’awlins trumpeter Nicholas Payton and the renowned violinist Regina Carter. Christian McBride guests on bass when not handled by Stanley’s long-time trio bassist Charnett Moffett. Truly, it’s a collection of “Friends” whose benefits push Jordan into a heightened musical reality.

It was about this time of year in 1994 that we lost Bill Bell. The KCCK personality was stricken during a meeting at the station and died a short time later at Mercy Medical Center at the age of 61. Bill had come to KCCK in 1984 and became known for his unique personality and short commentaries that he delivered during his jazz show. Before coming to Iowa, he had worked at top radio stations in San Francisco and Los Angeles and ran a recording studio in LA.

Click here for a full obituary.

Following his death, we ran a feature about Bill on our Local Color program. You can listen to that feature at www.kcck.org.

In a career that spans five decades, more than 30 recordings as a leader and 10 Grammy Awards, NEA Jazz Master George Benson has used his jazz roots as the foundation for an engaging mix of pop, R&B and other shades that add up to a style that appeals to a broad mainstream audience. Along the way, he has also established himself as a formidable jazz singer. But his new CD — “Guitar Man” — highlights Benson’s unparalleled guitar playing, perhaps more than any other disc he’s released in decades. The 12-song collection includes a mix of jazz and pop standards-some in a combo setting and some solo-and features veteran players Joe Sample on keyboards and Harvey Mason on drums.

Keyboardist Mike LeDonne has held court at the historic Smoke Jazz Club in New York City for probably more years than he cares to admit. But his new CD — “Keep the Faith” — finds him and his Hammond B-3 in the controlled atmosphere of the recording studio with his regular band mates Peter Bernstein on guitar and Joe Farnsworth on drums featuring Eric Alexander on tenor sax. LeDonne and company romp, stomp and burn through an imaginative set of pieces by Charles Earland, Michael Jackson and Horace Silver, along with a handful of originals which display LeDonne’s considerable skills as a composer.

For more than three decades as both a leader and a sideman, conguero Pancho Sanchez has stirred up a fiery stew of jazz, gritty soul music, and infectious melodies and rhythms from a variety of Latin American and South American sources. Among the more prominent figures that inform his music are two of the primary architects of Latin jazz-conga drummer and composer Chano Pozo and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Sanchez pays tribute to these two titans on “Chano y Dizzy!” — his 25th recording as a leader. Joining Sanchez is multi-Grammy winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard, a New Orleans native who literally grew up amid the Cuban and Latin jazz scene and a longtime fan of the music’s multicultural underpinnings.

The phrase “living legend” has been applied many times over many years. Few figures in American music today are more deserving of this appellation than drummer and bandleader Roy Haynes. Often cited among the greatest jazz drummers of all time, the 86-year-old’s history of collaborations spans six decades and include those with Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. For his new CD — “Roy-alty” — Haynes is at the helm of his exciting Fountain of Youth band plus very special guests Chick Corea and Roy Hargrove.

A bona fide guitar hero and masterful improviser, John Scofield has covered a wide spectrum of musical styles with rare authority over the last four decades. From funk and fusion to swinging standards, rock-fueled jams, lush orchestral collaborations, earthy blues and old-time gospel music, Scofield has imbued each style with his distinctive six-string voice, earning accolades for his triumphs along the way. On “A Moment’s Peace”, Scofield and his all-star crew of keyboardist Larry Goldings, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade luxuriate in ballads associated with such legendary interpreters as Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln, Nina Simone and John Coltrane, plus five new originals by the guitar great.

Meanwhile, Bill Frisell, whom the Wall Street Journal calls “the most innovative and influential guitarist of the last 25 years,” focuses his new CD — “All We Are Saying…” — on the music of John Lennon. “John’s music has been with me, the band, everybody, the world…seems like forever,” explains Frisell. “The songs are part of us. In our blood. There was nothing we really needed to do to prepare for this. We’ve been preparing our whole lives. The songs were there. All we had to do was play them. Everyone involved with this has their own personal, deep, long relationship to John Lennon’s music. It connects us all and brings us together. I feel blessed having the chance to play this music with these people.”

Drummer Roger Humphries has been on the jazz scene since 1962 when he joined Stanley Turrentine and Shirley Scott in Pittsburgh, then joined Horace Silver’s quintet two years later and appeared on three of the pianist’s classic recordings. Since then, he has provided the rhythmic beat for such greats as Ray Charles, Herbie Mann, Phil Woods, James Moody and Lee Morgan. “Keep the Faith” is the title of his brand new CD, just the third session on which he’s been the leader. Humphries is in a classic jazz quintet setting with his regular group R.H. Factor, along with special guests including trumpeter Sean Jones.

New York City’s premiere jazz venue got the blues last April when Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton performed together in Rose Hall for two sold-out shows dedicated to vintage blues. The extraordinary collaboration, billed as “Wynton Marsalis & Eric Clapton Play the Blues”, paired these musical virtuosos with members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra as they brought to life a repertoire of songs selected by Clapton and arranged by Marsalis. The group combined the sound of an early blues jump-band with the sound of New Orleans jazz to accommodate the integration of the guitar/trumpet lead, a combination that gave the musicians the latitude to play different grooves, from the Delta to the Caribbean and beyond.

A collaboration that has spanned 18 years, the Tierney Sutton Band has garnered considerable critical praise throughout the world. The acclaimed vocalist is joined by instrumental virtuosi Christian Jacob, Trey Henry, Kevin Axt and Ray Brinker to form a partnership in musical unity. Together they have received three consecutive Grammy nominations, and received numerous nominations from the Jazz Journalists Association. With eight successful discs under their belt, they present their newest release — “American Road” — on which they devote themselves to reinventing the American songbook.

Many of the most cherished standards in jazz were born as popular songs which have served as a source of inspiration for jazz artists. They still do. Now, with “Alma Adentro: the Puerto Rican Songbook”, saxophonist, composer and arranger Miguel Zenon brings that jazz tradition home-his homeland of Puerto Rico. The disc is comprised of ten pieces from a quintet of Puerto Rican songwriters, orchestrated by Argentine pianist, composer and arranger Guillermo Klein, and featuring Zenon’s regular quartet augmented by a 10-piece wind ensemble. “This was not just about melodies and harmonies,” says Zenon. “There was a deeper, more emotional connection here. I grew up with these songs and they all had a very special and lasting effect on me.”