Sky Garden is the dynamic debut album from New York City-based trio Silvan Joray (guitar), Jakob Ebers (bass), and Jeff Krol (drums)-a radiant and intimate collection of nine original compositions that speak to the power of trust, interplay, and shared vision in jazz. Recorded during a residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute, the album features compositions from all three members: from the mathematically inspired energy of "Fractometry" to the wistful dreamscape of "Reverie" and the playful harmonic twists of "You're Beating Around the Bush." Each track reflects a unique voice, yet the group flows with a single pulse-lean, interactive, and expressive. Whether it's the warmth of "For Mascha" or the kinetic push of the title track "Sky Garden," this album offers a modern jazz experience with deep roots and forward momentum. Sky Garden is a must-have for fans of inventive guitar trios and contemporary chamber jazz.

Intakt Records is thrilled to release this first collaboration with pianist Alexis Marcelo - a mesmerizing solo debut! A contagious exuberance of playing, energetic explosive improvisations, and an openness to jazz tradition and experimentation combine on this album to create an impressive musical statement. "Almost everything he plays affirms his history and culture as a first-generation American, the son of a Panamanian mother and a Dominican father. Growing up in the Bronx and in Queens during hip hop's first years - the first jazz he heard were samples - hearing salsa and merengue at home, attending Latino evangelical churches, and - yes - studying classical music at the Harlem School of the Arts shaped Marcelo's identification as an African Latino with an inclusive sensibility(...)Once artists establish a strong identity, they can draw outside the lines, smudge them, even erase them, without diluting or diminishing that identity. That is what Alexis Marcelo has done with Solo Piano", writes Bill Shoemaker in the liner notes.

Marc Riordan and Jon Leland make music together as Ragger. The two began collaborating in 2017 after being invited by Cameron Stallones to form the current trio lineup of his long-running experimental project Sun Araw. They approach Ragger with a very specific scope of material in mind: the ragtime compositions of Scott Joplin and his contemporaries, presented in synthetic tones for synthesizers and electronic V drums. Hausu Mountain proudly introduces Ragger to the world with their first album, Euphonic Sounds. Riordan and Leland play precise and complicated music with tumbling melodies flecked with ornamented details that spiral over busy percussion patterns - but they present the keyboard and drums in bright electronic voices that wouldn't be out of place in a Super Nintendo game soundtrack. Marc Riordan's synths shimmer with detail in the upper register tones and bump with heavy-hitting bass, as the low, mid, and high voices interact in a state of tight counterpoint that highlights the complexity of ragtime as it was originally composed. His attention to detail in synth voice selection and programming positions Ragger as a funhouse mirror reflection of tone-obsessed stalwarts of the experimental underground like Emeralds or Oneohtrix Point Never - not to mention the duo's participation in Sun Araw as that project continues to dig deeper into synthesis with each new album. With his cascading electronic tom-tom fills and flurries of synthetic woodblocks clicking beneath FM synth cymbal crashes, Jon Leland's drum performances bring to mind a giant steam-powered calliope instrument with it's pistons pumping as innumerable mallets strike row after row of miniature drum heads. This style makes the drums feel like just as much of a lead instrument as Riordan's synths, as both instrumentalists lock into a tight symbiosis as they work through the winding architectures of their ragtime tune selections.

A Jazz Landmark of the Black Diaspora Reborn First released in 1971 as part of BYG Records' groundbreaking Actuel series, Jacques Coursil's Black Suite remains one of the boldest expressions of the Black Diaspora's creative and political awakening. Recorded in Paris on June 10, 1969, this visionary work now returns in a newly restored and remastered edition, revealing it's full depth and clarity for the first time in decades. Featuring a transatlantic ensemble - Jacques Coursil, Anthony Braxton, Arthur Jones, Burton Greene, Beb Gu�rin, and Claude Delcloo - Black Suite bridges the radical spirit of the American avant-garde and the intellectual fire of postcolonial Europe. Across two long, meditative movements, Coursil transforms jazz into a language of liberation, evoking the writings of Frantz Fanon, L�opold S�dar Senghor, and Aim� C�saire as well as the fierce energy of the Civil Rights era. "Black Suite is a work of Black Excellence." - Kevin Le Gendre Born in Paris to Martiniquan parents, Coursil embodied the dialogue between African, Caribbean, and African-American identities, turning sound into philosophy and music into movement. With it's blend of intellect, emotion, and resistance, Black Suite stands alongside the seminal works of Pharoah Sanders, Eddie Gale, and Frank Lowe - timeless statements of self-definition and artistic freedom. Half a century later, Black Suite still speaks powerfully to our time: a sound of struggle and pride, of beauty and becoming - still unbroken.

LIVE AT THE KEYSTONE KORNER

LINDSEY WEBSTER is the undisputed queen of Smooth/Contemporary Jazz vocalists. She is the first vocalist to score 4 #1 smooth jazz radio hits in a row, and continues to garner the most plays and highest chart positions of any smoothjazz vocalist! MUSIC IN ME, featuring a star-studded Grammy winning cast, elevates Lindsey Webster's sensuous artistry to a new level. Highlights include Lindsey and Stokley's reimagining of the classic "Two Hearts," her romantic duet with Anthony Hamilton, "Best In Me," and much more!

Acid Jazz Records introduces the new Jazz Sessions series, with a very special album from prolific drummer Steve White, in his first album as a leader, performing as the Steve White Trio. White is known for his long association with Paul Weller, as a member of the Style Council, playing on the hit single "Long Hot Summer" and Weller's biggest solo albums: Wildwood, Stanley Road, Heavy Soul and As Is Now. Alongside this, he continued to record in both jazz and soul settings, under names such as Trio Valore, The Groove Train and of course the Jazz Renegades - his great late '80s Hard Bop outfit that recorded an LP for Polydor, another for Acid Jazz-precursor label Re-Elect The President, and an EP for Acid Jazz. On Soul Drums, his return to Acid Jazz Records, he plays glorious tribute to his jazz roots and filmic influences, performing alongside long-time collaborator Chris Hague. The perfect album to introduce this new jazz series, with a midcentury-inspired sleeve to match. Leading with the single "Changes," the album also includes a clever reworking of the Style Council's "My Ever Changing Moods."

STELLA

Always on the lookout for new musical adventures, alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier is one of the most prominent voices on the European jazz scene. Her discography reveals close ties to the New York scene, where she has collaborated with musicians such as Tyshawn Sorey, Chris Tordini and Gerald Cleaver. More recently, she has turned her attention to the Midwest, specifically Chicago, and found a key partner in cellist Tomeka Reid, with whom she released the acclaimed album Beyond Dragons in 2023, together with Savannah Harris. With Chicago Tapes, Niescier expands this circle to include some of Chicago's most influential and exciting musicians. "Through such artistic exchanges, Niescier has built a fascinating career by continually forming new partnerships and nonchalantly adapting her own language to the needs of each new context, without ever compromising or dampening her voice. Chicago Tapes captures a new chapter in this journey, and judging by what we hear here, we can only hope that her connection to Chicago is just beginning," writes Peter Margasak in the liner notes.

With his first vinyl release in over 30 years, Jim Snidero has selected his favorite cuts from two critically acclaimed sax trio recordings, "For All We Know" and "Bird Feathers," with jazz greats Peter Washington on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums. The result is a deeply satisfying set that demonstrates why Snidero placed in the top five of the alto saxophone category in the 2024 DownBeat Magazine International Critics Poll. Equally divided between a homage to the great Charlie Parker and three beautifully interpreted standards, this swinging trio projects a warm maturity that is further accentuated by the analog 180-gram vinyl format.

HIPERBOREA

STARS ALIGNED

SMOOVE VIBES is the electrifying new release from acclaimed Baltimore vibraphonist and multi-instrumentalist Warren Wolf. Blending jazz, soul, and groove-based rhythms, this self-produced album showcases Wolf's mastery across instruments-from vibraphone and drums to Fender Rhodes and vocals-recorded largely in his home studio. Joined by longtime collaborators Brent Birckhead, Elan Troutman, Terence Cunningham, Brandon Lane, and Imani-Grace Cooper, Wolf delivers a vibrant, accessible jazz experience that's both musically rich and irresistibly smooth. Featuring reimagined classics and standout originals like "Will the Real Kenny Gee Please Stand Up?", Smoove Vibes is a must-have for fans of groove-forward contemporary jazz.

Intimate is exactly what it's title promises: a quiet, close-up musical conversation shaped by subtlety, warmth, and emotional honesty. On this new album, Andrea Motis reveals her most delicate and refined side, placing her voice at the center while weaving in understated trumpet lines within an intimate acoustic setting.

With "Love Is Simple," Jeremy Pelt returns to the art of balladry, distilling eight deeply felt performances into his first vinyl-only anthology and shining a light on one of the most quietly persuasive sides of his artistry. Drawn from his HighNote recordings, the set favors emotional honesty over grandstanding, pairing a few familiar titles with lesser-known gems that reward close listening. From Pelt's own disarmingly direct title track to relaxed, assured readings of songs by Rodgers & Hart, Jule Styne, Adams & Strouse, and Marian McPartland, the music unfolds with patience, grace, and a deep sense of purpose. Recorded primarily at the legendary Rudy Van Gelder Studio and featuring a heavyweight cast including George Cables, Buster Williams, Billy Hart and others, these sessions offer a rare balance of warmth and clarity, leaving plenty of room for breath, nuance, and atmosphere. Long celebrated as one of jazz's most eloquent ballad players, Pelt bares his soul here with confidence and restraint, offering a retrospective that feels timeless without ever sounding self-conscious. "Love Is Simple" marks his first appearance on LP, a format perfectly suited to music that asks you to slow down, lean in, and stay awhile.

BEING

Venezuelan-born, UK-based guitarist Aleph Aguiar returns with Sugar on my Blackbeans, his third release and a nostalgic yet modern take on the lively, swinging Latin jazz of the 1960s. Across nine original compositions, Aguiar pays tribute to one of his favourite musical eras, when artists were boldly experimenting with Latin American rhythms and percussion. Recorded live to tape over just two days, the album captures the spontaneity and energy of Aguiar's quintet which features leading British musicians Quentin Collins (trumpet), Liam Dunachie (Hammond organ), Will Fry (percussion) and Shane Forbes (drums). Aguiar's choice of instrumentation - trumpet and Hammond organ rather than the typical saxophone-and-piano combination - draws inspiration from guitar greats such as Wes Montgomery and Pat Martino. For Aguiar, the trumpet's timbre is central to Latin American musical traditions and pairs naturally with the guitar's phrasing, while the Hammond organ offers harmonic space and flexibility that enhance the guitar's range and bring added depth to the ensemble's sound.

STILLE

STILLE

New York composer-drummer Willy Rodriguez presents his profoundly thoughtful second album as a leader, In The Unknown (I Will Find You), shaped by grief, memory, and the search for spiritual reunion. Deeply personal in origin yet expansive in sound, the music reflects a journey toward connection in the absence of certainty, with music serving as the sole space where reunion feels possible. Leading an unconventional trio without bass, Rodriguez joins forces with master musical polymath Leo Genovese and boundary-pushing saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock to form a fluid, boundless collective. Free of stylistic constraints, the trio allows the music to unfold multi-directionally through open forms and deeply responsive improvisation. The compositions function as emotional canvases rather than fixed structures, shaped equally by trust, intuition, and shared experience. Recorded at the legendary Van Gelder Studio, In The Unknown (I Will Find You) is an exploratory and intimate musical statement, brought vividly to life by three highly creative voices working in profound communion.