With “Single Petal of a Rose“, the talent-laden Duke Ellington Legacy offers an insightful tour through a program of masterpieces by Ellington and his inimitable creative partner, Billy Strayhorn. A nine-piece multi-generational ensemble founded by guitarist Edward Kennedy Ellington II, Duke’s grandson, the Legacy explores sublime ballads, hard-charging flag wavers, lustrous tone poems and sultry vocals, channeling an essentially Ellingtonian spirit from a contemporary perspective. With savvy music direction by saxophonist Virginia Mayhew and brilliant arrangements by pianist Norman Simmons, the band fully adheres to Duke’s prime directive, swinging as if their lives depended on it.

New Orleans jazz luminary Dr. Michael White returns with “Adventures in New Orleans Jazz, Part 2“, which lays much closer to its roots than the internationally spiced Part 1. A propelling force of classic New Orleans jazz, the unique experiences that the clarinetist has had throughout his career paired with his ability to articulate the significance and timelessness of the music has made him a highly influential voice. In addition to receiving the NEA’s National Heritage Fellowship Award, White was named Louisiana Humanist of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, and he also won the Offbeat Magazine Best of the Beat Award as Clarinetist of the Year, and Gambit Magazine’s Big Easy Entertainment Award for Traditional Jazz Artist of the Year.

In their native Great Britain, Get the Blessing are much beloved for taking the ‘j’ word by the scruff of the neck and giving it a good shake. The romantic rumors that the BBC Jazz Award-winning contemporary quartet met at an Ornette Coleman Appreciation Society in Bristol could easily be true. The band’s unique performances hark of the rich Bristolian melancholy that revolutionized British pop music, yet reflect esoteric variations on where jazz as we know it has come from and is heading. The backbone of the band for their third CD, “OCDC”, is bass player Jim Barr and drummer Clive Deamer, who double as the rhythm section for trip-hop band Portishead. The parallel assault of trumpeter Pete Judge and saxophonist Jake McMurchie complete the signature sound that defies classification.

It’s been a year since the passing of Manuel Galban, the maestro who left the famed Los Zafiros and then astounded the world with Buena Vista Social Club. “We began with a selection of about one thousand tunes,” said the Cuban guitar legend. Indeed, “Blue Cha Cha” — recorded in 2010 and the first solo work to be released by Galban in many years — had been hatched conscientiously. He was a musician who liked to allow projects to mature for as long as necessary to ensure optimal results. It’s a recording with an almost orchestral feel, bursting with the energy that only he could glean from the guitar, featuring a variety of styles.

Hailed as “the next important jazz singer” by Don Heckman of the Los Angeles Times, Sara Gazarek is a strikingly original artist blessed with a beautiful, translucent voice. For her new project — “Blossom & Bee” — she is joined by her L.A.-based trio with guest appearances from guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli and the project’s producer Larry Goldings on keyboards. For her first recording in five years, the group seamlessly combines fan favorites alongside refreshing new originals. Sarah reflects, “a common thread woven through a lot of this material is the subtle, yet unwavering musicianship of Blossom Dearie’s music…trying to breathe a similar air of humor and sophistication that she brought.”

After nearly five decades of recording and performing, at an age when many artists are coasting if not retiring altogether, Al Jarreau continues to take his music to new and different places. Since the mid-1970s, this versatile singer has applied his distinctive vocal style to a broad spectrum of musical genres, and is the only vocalist in history to claim Grammy Awards in three distinct genres of jazz, pop and R&B. The most recent chapter in his journey is “Al Jarreau and the Metropole Orkest-Live“, a collection of the best performances from a two-night engagement in the Netherlands last year with full orchestral arrangements by conductor and arranger Vince Mendoza.