Billy Strayhorn is widely considered to be one of the great composers of our time, and his three-decade-long collaboration with Duke Ellington furnished the American songbook with a number of timeless classics. Trumpeter Terell Stafford’s sense of melody and uniquely expressive sound make him ideal for Strayhorn’s repertoire. His new CD — “This Side of Strayhorn” — offers unique and refreshing interpretations of a number of Strayhorn’s compositions. Stafford enlists his working quintet featuring saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist and arranger Bruce Barth, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Dana Hall.

The release of “Action-Refraction” marks gifted bassist, composer and bandleader Ben Allison’s first collection of music by other artists. He has turned his ear towards the music of some of his favorite artists, creating an inspired, atmospheric, and at times, art-rock mix tape featuring the music of PJ Harvey, Donny Hathaway, Thelonius Monk, Neil Young, Samuel Barber and Roger Nichols. The idea was sparked when Ben wondered how it would sound “to refract some of my favorite tunes through the prism of an electro-acoustic orchestra featuring two electric guitars, bass clarinet, saxophone, analog synthesizer, piano, acoustic bass and drums.” Regular band mates Steve Cardenas, Rudy Royston, and Michael Blake are joined by keyboardist Jason Lindner and guitarist Brandon Seabrook.

Given the rousing artistic and commercial success of the first recorded collaboration of legendary troubadour Willie Nelson and jazz statesman Wynton Marsalis in 2008, it’s not surprising that the pair would rendezvous again. The first meeting took place in the Allen Room of New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center in 2007. Their encore appearance was also staged at the heralded jazz house, this time for two sold-out nights at the Rose Theater in February of 2009, with special guest Norah Jones. Rather than rehash the previous material Nelson and Marsalis had first presented, the threesome paid homage to the music of the late Ray Charles for the disc, “Here We Go Again.”

For her first trio outing in several years, pianist Jessica Williams digs deep as she channels the spirit of John Coltrane on “Freedom Trane.” “John Coltrane has been my light through the darkness,” she explains. “When there are questions, I’ll ask ‘what would Philly Joe Jones or Dexter Gordon do.’ But when things are really weird, I can ask the ‘Trane.” She’s joined by drummer Mel Brown and bassist Dave Captein on a set of originals along with compositions favored in performance by the saxophone legend.

The following is a guest opinion run in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on April 11, 2011. Read it on their site.

Much of the dialogue regarding proposals in the U.S. Congress to reduce or restrict funding for public broadcasting has focused on the impact those cuts will have on news and information stations such as Iowa Public Radio that carry National Public Radio programming.

While many public radio stations provide unrivaled news and public affairs programming, music also is an integral element of public radio’s service. More than 100 stations, including our own KCCK, have full-time music formats. Music accounts for about one out of every three hours of public radio listening.

Jazz, classical, folk, world and eclectic music are offered in Iowa and around the country by public radio stations mainly because these niche formats are regarded as economically unsustainable in the commercial market. Chances are, whenever you have heard music on the radio that is something other than mainstream pop, rock or country, it’s because you’re listening to a public music station. In some communities, public stations are the only music outlet that is locally programmed, not controlled by a distant corporate owner.

Sadly, the potential impact of federal funding cuts will tend to have a much deeper effect on music stations than news outlets. Public music stations tend to be smaller than our news and information cousins. Therefore, federal grants can make up a much larger portion of our budget. In KCCK’s case, Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants provide 20 percent of our cash budget — nearly $110,000.

Now perhaps, if you aren’t a jazz fan, you don’t see a lot of value in having a jazz radio station in your community. But KCCK provides community benefits that go well beyond playing jazz on the radio.

We apply a community engagement model to our service. What this means is that we go into the community we serve, engage in a two-way dialogue about how we can help and then become an active partner in the solution.

Here’s an example: In conversation with high school band directors, we learned that some incoming freshmen didn’t have a strong background in jazz because their middle schools don’t offer jazz band. This led KCCK to bring Kirkwood Community College and a group of jazz educators together to create a summer jazz band camp just for middle school students. Students who might not otherwise have even tried out for jazz band are now leaders in high school.

We’ve also created an exciting new music service that is not replicated anywhere in the world. The Iowa Channel is a program stream devoted exclusively to local artists, the majority of whom have never been played on the radio at all. The Iowa Channel gives listeners a steady diet of bands like Orquesta Alto Maiz, The Blue Band, The Nadas, SPT Theatre and many more.

You can listen online at http://iowachannel.org, download the iPhone app, or over the air on KCCK HD-2.

Loss of federal funds would have a devastating effect on KCCK and the community we serve. It would force us to lay off staff and certainly would spell the end of programs such as band camp and the Iowa Channel.

What can you do to help? Two suggestions:

• Let your representative know you value local, public radio. Information is at www.170MillionAmericans.org, a website set up to harness the voices of the millions who interact with public broadcasting each month.
• Support public broadcasting with a tax-deductible gift. Every dollar you contribute is one less dollar we need from the government.

With your help, we can keep public radio strong and maintain a strong and vibrant local music culture, for jazz and all genres of music.

Following the much ballyhooed “Return to Forever” reunion tour of 2008, guitarist Al Di Meola began refocusing his energies on his World Sinfonia band with a concert tour in 2009 and a live disc documenting the shows. Di Meola’s rhythmically-charged flamenco and tango inspired originals revealed his knack for advanced harmonies along with his embracing of simple, beautiful, alluring melodies. And although he may be a romantic at heart, he showed he is still very much capable of flashing those legendary chops that graced his classic 1970s releases. On the guitar virtuoso’s latest outing — “Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody” — the world music pioneer deals in more evocative and compelling sounds with his World Sinfonia ensemble.

French composer Michel Legrand has written some of the most memorable romantic music on film. Many of his songs have long since become jazz and pop standards. Since starting his career in the ’70s, the French-American pianist and composer Roger Davidson has been as voracious in his musical curiosity as Legrand. His writing includes symphonies and choral music, small-group jazz, Klezmer, tango and a bounty of Brazilian-flavored songs. It was bassist David Finck who suggested that Davidson explore an album’s worth of Legrand’s songs. In “Umbrellas and Sunshine”, Davidson and Finck offer a deeply original, intimate take of Legrand’s music.

In Hal Leonard’s 2005 book — “The Greatest Jazz Pianists of All Time” — Monty Alexander placed in the top five of all time. In his homeland of Jamaica, he received the highest honor bestowed on an artist, Commander in the Order of Distinction. He has spent the majority of his career traveling the globe playing the great concert halls. The master pianist is at the pinnacle of his illustrious career with his newest CD — “Uplift” — which presents a handful of those never-before-released performances. Alexander displays a telepathic musical connection with his trio mates, bassist Hassan Shakur and drummers Herlin Riley and Frits Landesbergen.

Versatile virtuoso brass man Mac Gollehon returns to the jazz recording scene with “Mac Straight Ahead.” One of the most recorded trumpeters in music today, Gollehon cut his jazz chops with the big bands of Buddy Rich and Stan Kenton and went on to become a member of mentor Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy and Ray Barretto’s ensemble. Gollehom reaffirms his jazz roots with this amazing outing that finds him in the role of a one-man brass section, overdubbing both trombones and trumpets to create the sound of a roaring big band. Special guests include baritone sax great Ronnie Cuber, bass trombonist Sam Burtis and drummer Victor Lewis.

Pianist and composer Lynne Arriale has been sharing her prolific body of audio and video work all over the world since winning the 1993 Great American Piano Competition. Collaborations with Benny Golson Kenny Barron, George Mraz and Randy Brecker speak to her considerable skill and stature within the jazz community. She’s also performed to packed houses at prestigious venues and jazz festivals around the world. Arriale strikes again with “Convergence” — an eloquent new work exploring previously uncharted musical waters, featuring a new band of some of New York’s most in-demand players-Bill McHenry on tenor sax, Omer Avital on bass and oud, and her stalwart new drummer, Anthony Pinciotti. The program includes six memorable originals and covers of tunes by the Beatles, Sting, Nine Inch Nails, the Rolling Stones and Blondie.

Born in the Bronx to parents from Jamaica and Trinidad, T.K. Blue began gigging around New York City in the mid-’70s with the Natives, a group led by South African pianist Ndikho Xaba. Through Xaba, he met Abdullah Ibrahim and joined his group in 1977. Since 1980, Blue has been a member of Randy Weston’s band and currently serves as its music director. Blue’s new CD — “Latin Bird” — takes the alto saxophonist back to his musical and personal beginnings. Charlie “Yardbird” Parker was a major early inspiration for T.K., and eight of Parker’s compositions are ingeniously reworked in Afro-Cuban, Caribbean, Brazilian, and New Orleans second-line rhythms.

Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch pays tribute to a diverse group of jazz trumpeters who have flown below the radar of the general jazz public, including Tommy Turrentine, Joe Gordon and Idrees Sulieman, on his new disc, “Unsung Heroes.”

Many things have changed since the founding of pianist/composer Abdullah Ibrahim’s Ekaya. Starting in 1983, this mid-sized jazz ensemble, whose name means “home”, presented Ibrahim’s most powerful musical statements during an important time of protest against apartheid in his native South Africa. His new CD — “Sotho Blue” — shows a new side of the band as compositions of the past that had been intended as protest have taken on new meaning. Apartheid has been abolished and celebration, hope and meditative calm dominate where there was once angst. The pieces revisited seem minimalistic in contrast to stormier earlier incarnations. This doesn’t detract from the music but only deepens its character.

The award-winning singer Rene Marie presents “Voice of My Beautiful Country” — an ambitious celebration of Americana which glorifies the cultural diversity of the United States through her beautifully and emotionally charged interpretations of nationally loved anthems, from Motown and Tin Pan Alley classics to “America the Beautiful.” With the new CD, Rene says, “I set out to embrace the many varied voices of this country. A person might think, ‘What do a Jimmy Van Heusen song, a Temptations song, a Jefferson Airplane song and ‘John Henry’ all have in common?’ To me, each song reflects a different facet of American life.”

The Los Angeles Times says, “(Brad)Mehldau’s technical mastery can be enough to make your head spin, but the feeling is invigorating”. The Financial Times gives four stars to the “enthralling album”, as does The Daily Telegraph. And The Huffington Post says “what he is able to say musically as a soloist within the context of each song combined with his improvisations is simply masterful.” They’re all talking about “Live in Marciac” — a new live two-CD/DVD set of a solo performance pianist Brad Mehldau gave in Marciac, France, in 2006. It includes original tunes by Mehldau as well as interpretations of songs by Kurt Cobain, Lennon/McCartney, Cole Porter, Radiohead and others.

Its IS name an anagram formed by the first letter of the last names of its members, BANN features the vibrant sounds of tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake, the dynamic Israeli guitarist Oz Noy, and the driving rhythm section of bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Adam Nussbaum. The quartet makes its recording debut with “As You Like” — showcasing the groundbreaking electro-acoustic band’s inventive sound in which Noy’s progressive fusion guitar and Blake’s jazzy leaps soar over the percolating rhythmic foundation laid down by Anderson and Nussbaum. BANN has been touring as a unit since 2007, appearing at jazz festivals and jazz clubs throughout Europe.