Grammy-winner and multiple nominee Phil Woods is one of the top alto saxophonists alive, and he has lost neither his enthusiasm nor his creativity throughout his illustrious career. He’s worked with a who’s who of the jazz world, including Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones. Pianist Bill Mays has his own long-standing trio, plus he’s worked with such artists as Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Stitt, and Art Pepper. After Mays joined Woods’ Quintet a few years back, talk began of doing a duo recording. They came together last September to record “Phil & Bill”, which includes a handful of off-the-beaten-path standards and a couple of Woods originals.

In a career spanning five decades, pianist Monty Alexander has distinctively bridged the worlds of jazz, popular song, and the music of his native Jamaica. With over 70 albums to his name, Alexander celebrates his 50th year in music with “Harlem-Kingston Express: Live.” It presents his most “reggaefied” touring group yet which, for the past few years, has defined a bold new chapter in Alexander’s lifetime journey of uniting jazz with reggae and a wide array of other Island musical idioms he holds dear. A majority of the disc was recorded live during the group’s triumphant week at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York City in June of last year, which the Wall Street Journal called, “an outrageously good time.”

A 2010 Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll Rising Star, pianist and composer Gerald Clayton has been steadily honing his craft since high school. With the release of his Grammy-nominated debut CD in 2009, Clayton began to make his mark as a leader in the jazz community. His dynamic sound has been praised by publications such as Jazz Times, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. His second disc as a leader — “Bond: The Paris Sessions” — features his trio mates Joe Sanders on bass and Justin Brown on drums, providing him with the vehicle to explore and expand on his own vision of the music.

“You’re It” is the debut release from the H2 Big Band out of Denver, Colorado, a collaboration of trumpeter Al Hood and pianist/composer/arranger Dave Hanson. It features world-class soloists and players from the Mile High City and beyond, including veterans from the bands of Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Artie Shaw and Toshiko Akiyoshi. Trumpet legend Bobby Shew is also in the spotlight, playing on all the tracks as either soloist, lead player, or section trumpeter. Hanson offers up a program of originals and his unique arrangements of tunes by Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Cy Coleman.

John Rapson, Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Iowa, has unveiled his latest project — “Mystery and Manners: the Improvisations of Vinicius and Nene” — featuring Brent Sandy, Chris Merz and Drew Morton.

Gerald Wilson, the reigning composer/orchestrator in jazz today, pays homage to his adopted hometown of Chicago on his new CD– “Legacy” — featuring his “Yes Chicago Is…” suite. Composers Igor Stravinsky and Giacomo Puccini also receive Wilson’s musical tips of the hat. Wilson’s son, guitarist Anthony Wilson, and grandson Eric Otis are also represented by a composition/arrangement apiece. Wilson’s orchestra comprises many of the great jazz artists who have been his collaborators over the last four years, including Renee Rosnes, Lewis Nash, Sean Jones, Jeremy Pelt, Dick Oatts, Gary Smulyan, and Peter Washington.

Described as being “soulful, swinging and yet utterly modern,” New York-based alto saxophonist Jim Snidero’s music seems to encapsulate what is both unique and compelling about jazz. Called an “alto sax virtuoso” and “master musician” by Downbeat magazine, Snidero is a veteran recording artist with sixteen releases to date. He’s also been a valuable sideman in the bands of Jack McDuff, Eddie Palmieri, and the Mingus Big Band over the years. Snidero exercises his composing chops on “Interface” — penning all the tunes on the program and drawing an astonishing array of colors from the sax-guitar-bass-drums quartet combination.

Following his Grammy-winning 2001 solo acoustic record, Pat Metheny began regularly playing the specially tuned baritone guitar he used on that album in the breaks between sound check and the show when he was on the road. “Almost every day as I worked through one well-know tune or another, various visitors or local crew people would come up to me and ask which record it was on, and I would have to say that I had never made a record like that,” Metheny says. “And over the years, I have had it in the back of my mind that I should do an album of some of those tunes at some point.” The guitarist has done just that with “What’s It All About” — marking the first time there is not a single Metheny composition represented. He focuses on music from the Beatles, Paul Simon, Jobim, Burt Bacharach, Henry Mancini and others.

Tom Harrell can write music of such melodic grace and melodic beauty that it can bring tears to one’s eyes. Even his complex, up-tempo pieces retain singable ideas and attractive harmonies that are challenging without sounding pedantic. On his new CD — “The Time of the Sun” — Harrell and his quintet once again reaffirm their place at the top of the post-bop mainstream. Of course, Harrell’s often beautiful, always rigorous solos are to the fore but Wayne Escoffery’s tenor certainly plays no second fiddle here. Whether it be on ballads or driving pieces, the group’s expositions, interactions and song development are exuberant and extensive, devoid of gimmicks, and are delivered in an energetic yet disciplined and sophisticated manner.

Vibraphonist Stefon Harris, saxophonist David Sanchez and trumpeter Christian Scott bridge the cultural and musical divide between the United States and Cuba with their brand new collaboration, “Ninety Miles.” Recorded entirely in Havana, with the help of some highly talented Cuban players, the nine-song set is an experiment that examines the fascinating chemical reaction that takes places when musicians from different cultures come together and converse in a common language that transcends mere words.

When two of the most acclaimed modern explorers of Cuban music combine their prodigious talents on the music they love, musical magic happens. That is demonstrated in truly enchanting fashion on “Cuban Rhapsody” — the duet recording by Hilario Duran and Jane Bunnett. They are both virtuoso players, arrangers, composers and bandleaders in their own right, and both are famed for their innovative take on contemporary Latin jazz and Cuban styles. The disc is best described as an exploration of Cuban classical music, and the results are both educational and accessible.

Well known throughout his five-decade career for his quartets, beginning with his 1967 group featuring Larry Coryell, Roy Haynes and Steve Swallow, Gary Burton has returned to that configuration for the first time since the mid-’90s with the new disc, “Common Ground.” The Grammy-winning pioneer of the four mallet technique of playing the vibes is not only delivering his first studio release in six years but is also introducing his latest band. “I’ve always liked the vibraphone-guitar sound,” says Burton. “It’s something that I discovered when Nashville country guitarist Hank Garland invited me in the ’60s to record with him. The sound of the two instruments together has an ideal timbre and coolness.” The young guitarist Julian Lage rejoins Burton’s ensemble along with drummer Antonio Sanchez and bassist Scott Colley.

Though the world is poorer now that Freddie Hubbard is gone, it gets richer as previously unheard documentation of his art emerges for the public to savor on “Pinnacle: Live and Unreleased From Keystone Korner.” Recorded at the famed jazz club in San Francisco in 1980, Hubbard’s explosive and lyrical virtuosity as well as his flow of brilliant, spontaneous ideas are on full display. His band of West Coast all-stars includes pianist Billy Childs, drummer Eddie Marshall, saxophonist Hadley Caliman and trombonist Phil Ranelin.

Pianist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke and drummer Lenny White have done more in recent decades to redefine jazz-rock fusion and push the limits of its potential than any other musicians today. Together they formed the core of the classic lineup of Return to Forever, the legendary seminal electric jazz fusion band. After reclaiming the jazz-rock world in 2008 with the triumphant return of RTF, the trio decided to revisit where it all began, to get back to basics of their relationship. “Forever” is the name of the trio’s new two-disc set, featuring a sampler of their unplugged 2009 world tour and a gig they did to kick off that tour at the Hollywood Bowl featuring special guests violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and original RTF guitarist Bill Connors.

Since the mid-1980s, pianist and singer Eliane Elias has grafted various elements of jazz, pop, soul and other elements to her deep Brazilian roots to create a hybrid groove that appeals to listeners of every geographical locale and cultural persuasion. Her new disc — “Light My Fire” — wields this universal sound to explore the various corners of the human heart-from romance and passion to the shared joy of being alive. In addition to four Elias originals, there are covers of familiar works by songwriters as diverse as Jim Morrison, Stevie Wonder and Paul Desmond. Backing her up is a crew of twelve high-caliber players including trumpeter Randy Brecker, bassist Marc Johnson, and guitarists Romero Lubambo, Oscar Castro-Neves and Gilberto Gil.

Groundbreaking banjoist/composer/bandleader Bela Fleck has reconvened the original members of his band The Flecktones for a brand new disc — “Rocket Science” — marking the first recording by the initial line-up of the group in almost two decades. Pianist and harmonica player Howard Levy is back in the fold alongside Fleck, bassist Victor Wooten and percussionist Futureman. All manner of genres come into play, from jazz and classical to bluegrass and African music to electric blues and Eastern European folk dances, for a sound that Fleck has coined “blu-bop.”

Following his Grammy-nominated 2009 debut, virtuoso guitarist Julian Lage returns with “Gladwell” — the second effort by his offbeat, eclectic group. “We began playing with the idea of creating a story we could use as a guiding light in our writing process,” Lage explains. “The result was the development of an imaginary and forgotten town known as Gladwell. As a metaphor, Gladwell presented us with a clear architecture, to compose songs that evoke feelings of people and places we hold dear.” The disc reflects the Lage’s wide-ranging musical interests, ranging from chamber music, American folk and bluegrass to Latin, world, and modern jazz.