Sonny Rollins -"Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums" - Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums combines legendary jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins' two studio albums for Lester Koenig's Contemporary Records (Way Out West, Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders) with a third disc, Contemporary Alternate Takes. Featuring remastered audio by Bernie Grundman, the 3 CD set includes an expanded booklet with new liner notes and an interview by GRAMMY Award-winning music historian Ashley Kahn.

OVER THE WALL

SPECTRAL FICTION

STEMBELLS

SPACE CUBE JAZZ

DUO

Charles Chen - Charles, Play! / Charles, Play! Showcases the joy of creation and the fun of play with a stellar band composed of Ralph Moore, Peter Washington and Kenny Washington. - Charles, Play! #is pianist Chen's debut album. The album represents how Charles approaches play: both very serious and very fun. Listeners will hear catchy compositions, danceable arrangements, & dynamic solos. Charles, Play! Showcases the joy of creation and the fun of play. The stellar band is composed of Ralph Moore on tenor saxophone, Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums.

Brian Ho Trio Featuring Paul Bollenback And Byron Wookie Landham - Bridges This is Brian Ho's second full length recording. It features two thirds of Joey Defrancesco's original trio, Paul Bollenback and Byron "Wookie" Landham. As Brian was sitting on the B subway train coming back from recording this CD in Brooklyn, he crossed the Manhattan Bridge. He remembered all the "Bridges" he's crossed to becoming a "top call B3 organist," (Pat Bianchi, 2024.) As a second generation Chinese American whose parents do not play any instruments, he has dedicated countless hours to learning the rich history of the Hammond Organ on and off the bandstand, while simultaneously adding his own voice and influences into the music. Ho has recorded or played with incredible musicians like Azar Lawrence, Billy Hart, Troy Roberts and Gary Bartz, and featured in jazz clubs and festivals all over the world. This album showcases four of his original compositions along with six other "standards" that are reworked or arranged by Brian.

MEMENTO

FIRE WALTZ

Cory Weeds & Champian Fulton - Every Now And Then (live At Ocl Studios) - Cory Weeds and Champian Fulton travelled to OCL Studios in Calgary to record a new live, duo album in front of a rapt audience. In February of 2023 close friends, Cory Weeds and Champian Fulton traveled to OCL Studios just outside Calgary to record a new live, duo album in front of a rapt audience. Their special bond was evident as pianist and vocalist Fulton delivered sophisticated, swinging turns across a set of beautiful tunes, in conversation with Weeds at his expressive best.

Known for his velvety voice and sophisticated charm, Nat King Cole's music and persona exudes a timeless elegance resonating with audiences of all ages. Showcasing a different side of Nat, Live at the Blue Note Chicago creates a personal connection, taking the listener back to his Chicago Roots. Nat King Cole returns home to his beloved Bronzeville neighborhood in August of 1953, performing at least twice-a-day for a week at one of Chi-town's first integrated venues, the Blue Note. Clearly inspired by his hometown community, Nat dynamically incorporates the playful provocations and cultural camaraderie of the audience - inserting spontaneous wit, laughing at his unrestrained piano solos, and exchanging musical phrases with particularly enthusiastic and equally clever crowds -Nat allows the vibrance of this collective energy to elevate these intimate performances to extraordinary historic significance. Travel back to the Blue Note Chicago with these incredibly rare, never-before-heard, live recordings now available on Vinyl, CD and DSPs.

APRIL

Two CDs. "New Blue Sun is the continuation of discovery for me. My entire career has been fueled by this and it is the only thing that keeps me honest. This album is the most honest and interesting offering I can give today. I never could have imagined in high school, when I started rapping and doing music that I would be here right now playing wind instruments. Ha. This life ride always surprises me. I'm here for it." - Andre 3000 This deluxe 2-CD release comes in a tri-fold softpack with a 9 panel/18 page poster folder insert.

COMPOSER / ROOTS

2024 release. Melissa Aldana's 2nd Blue Note album Echoes Of The Inner Prophet is a musical voyage to explore the depth of the spiritual journey. Co-produced by Aldana and Lage Lund, the album features the tenor saxophonist with Lund on guitar, Fabian Almazan on piano, Pablo Menares on bass, and Kush Abadey on drums. The 8-track set of original compositions includes 6 new pieces by Aldana that seek profound truths through introspection, intuition, and self-reflection including the opening title track which is dedicated to Wayne Shorter.

REID / EDWARDS / COUDOUX

HORIZON SONG

TIME HAS CHANGED

Mike Ledonne & Groover Quartet + Gospel Choir - Wonderful / Mike LeDonne expands the sound of the quartet with the most beautiful instrument of all - the human voice by way of a 14 piece gospel choir! - Love is the organic thread that ties the repertoire together. You could say this is a love letter to my wife Margaret and my daughter Mary (pictured on the cover) to whom the title track "Wonderful" is dedicated. It is also meant to shine a particularly bright light on my daughter Mary, who is multiply disabled and truly "Wonderful". I chose the titles for their significance to my life's journey after my daughter Mary made her entrance 19 years ago - a journey that has proven to me, without a doubt, that love is the most powerful force in the universe. I can't even begin to list all the incredible things I've learned from her, but it was my love for her that led me to start the Disability Pride Parade in New York City. The idea was to bring large numbers of the disability community out for a joyous day of celebrating who and what they really are: just another diverse and beautiful aspect of humanity. I hoped that once non-disabled people saw this big party coming down the street, they would want to join it, and that is exactly what happened. Once the hang was on, barriers and divisions fell away, and the word "disability" began to be redefined. When I started out, I had no idea how to create a parade or a non-profit organization, but through Mary I found strengths in myself that I didn't know I had. When people thank me for my work creating the parade, I always tell them it wasn't me - it was Mary. Mike LeDonne

Andrea Superstein - Oh Mother / Oh Mother was inspired by Vancouver vocalist and composer Andrea Superstein's own experience as a mother. Between the trauma of birthing a baby and all of the physical changes a mother goes through, coupled with balancing a job, feeling out your new role and your place within the world: contrary to popular belief, mothering can be a very isolating experience. These dark times spurred a lot of questions that Superstein started asking. She wanted to know if the struggles she endured were universal: were they a sign of the times or just hers alone? Superstein interviewed close to 100 mothers to get at the root of motherhood. What were the common experiences, and why were people so afraid or unable to speak their truth? Based on these conversations she wrote music: some songs are one person's story, others are of the collective consciousness. Some a stark look at loss, others describe the heart-exploding feeling a parent can have towards their child. The album represents how all of these opposing feelings can coexist and shines a true light on the complicated, delicate, beautiful, traumatic and messy journey that is motherhood. As a singer "redefining jazz," Andrea is one of the most versatile voices in music today. Oh Mother is an ambitious tour de force highlighting her ever growing creativity and sensitivity as a songwriter and arranger. Expect powerful vocals, evoking the gentle and the strong, lithely navigating the colours of the emotional spectrum.

WHISPER NOT

Mary Halvorson - Cloudward / The album features eight new compositions by Halvorson, performed with her sextet Amaryllis; the improvisatory band that performed on her critically praised 2022 albums Amaryllis and Belladonna comprises Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet). Labelmate Laurie Anderson also is featured on the album track "Incarnadine."All the music on Cloudward was written in 2022, mostly in the fall and winter, when things started moving forward. Life felt like a creaky machine starting up again," she continues. "Air travel, however chaotic, had resumed, and we were once again cloudward. Performances and tours and recordings were happening after a long hiatus and with a renewed sense of gratitude. This band, for me, was quite simply working, both musically and personally, and the main thing I felt while writing the music was optimism."

MINIATURES

BUTTERFLY EFFECT