2023 release. On his Blue Note album Legacies, the composer/arranger/bandleader Arturo O'Farrill puts the emphasis back on his striking pianistic abilities with a 9-song set that juxtaposes stunning solo piano flights. Dynamic trio performances are accompanied by his son, drummer Zack O'Farrill, and bassist Liany Mateo. The repertoire includes pieces by Bud Powell ("Un Poco Loco"), Thelonious Monk ("Well, You Needn't"), his father Chico O'Farrill ("Pure Emotion"), his own "Blue State Blues," and more.

Norah Jones - "Little Broken Hearts" - Norah Jones defied expectations with her 5th studio album Little Broken Hearts, a striking collaboration with Danger Mouse that arrived a decade after her debut Come Away With Me, prompting SPIN to call it "the 2nd essential record of Norah Jones' career." Deluxe Edition features an expanded 31-track set curated by Jones with rare bonus tracks, alternate versions, remixes, and a previously unreleased live version of the album recorded for Austin City Limits in 2012.

Johnathan Blake - "Passage" / Johnathan Blake's new album Passage is a stirring follow-up to acclaimed 2021 label debut Homeward Bound. The drummer and composer reconvened his band Pentad featuring alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, pianist David Virelles, and bassist Dezron Douglas. Dedicated to Blake's father and musical mentor, jazz violinist John Blake, Jr., Passage captures the arc of personal and collective evolution: the passing from one moment to the next, from one phase into another.

Drummer, percussionist, vibraphonist, composer, and Blue Note legend Joe Chambers returns with Dance Kobina, his 3rd album as a leader for Blue Note which explores the deep musical connection between Jazz, Latin, Brazilian, Argentinian, and African music. The follow-up to his 2021 album Samba de Maracatu was co-produced by pianist Andr�s Vial and recorded in both New York and Montreal. The album presents compelling Chambers originals including "Gazelle Suite," "Ruth," and "Caravanserai," as well as vibrant interpretations of pieces by Vial, Kurt Weill, Joe Henderson, and Karl Ratzer.

Two CDs. Digitally remastered and expanded edition includes the original album plus three bonus tracks and the remix EP Black Radio Recovered. With his 2012 album Black Radio, Robert Glasper laid out a new paradigm for creative music, reaching beyond entrenched genre boundaries to create a singular vision that drew from all reaches of contemporary black music with his Experiment band and a rollcall of special guests including Erykah Badu, yasiin bey, Lupe Fiasco, Bilal, Lalah Hathaway, Meshell Ndegeocello and more.

2022 release. Producer Larry Klein pays tribute to his friend Leonard Cohen with an album that presents stunning new renditions of the legendary singer-songwriter's compositions performed by an extraordinary line-up of vocalists. The guest artists are backed by what Klein calls "a group of the most prescient and forward-looking musicians in the jazz world." The album's 12 tracks offer a broad range of Cohen's songs drawn from his 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen through his final album, You Want It Darker.

Live archive release. Ella Fitzgerald's Songbook records - with her peerless renditions of the best songs from iconic composers from Irving Berlin to Rogers & Hart to Cole Porter to George & Ira Gershwin - are the cornerstone of the Verve catalog and the standard for jazz vocal recordings. Ella never released a live version of these Songbooks. This record, discovered in the private collection of Norman Granz, will make the first time a live Songbook has been released from the First Lady of Song.

Charles Lloyd - "Trios: Ocean" - As a sound seeker, Charles Lloyd's restless creativity has perhaps found no greater manifestation than on his latest masterwork, an expansive project that encompasses three albums with an overarching theme, each presenting him in a different trio setting-a Trio of Trios. The first The second, Trios: Ocean (out September 23), features guitarist Anthony Wilson and pianist Gerald Clayton.

Gregory Porter's debut studio album, Water - originally released in 2010 under the Motema Music label - is now reissued on Blue Note Records. The tracks include love stories such as "Illusion and Pretty," and protests for African-American civil rights like "1960 What?" which recounts the 1967 Detroit riots. Water was hailed by fans and critics alike, elevating Porter to the status of the next great jazz star and marking the beginning of his successful career.

Wes Montgomery -"One Night In Indy" INgrooves; Resonance Records; Jazz; Catalog, Artist Hometown: Indianapolis, IN � This CD unites Wes Montgomery with legendary jazz pianist Eddie Higgins and his trio in a live 1959 Indianapolis club performance. � These recordings formerly belonged to the late great Indiana photo journalist, Duncan Schiedt, who passed away in 2014. � Schiedt had made these recordings at the Indianapolis jazz society he co-ran. � CD includes 40 minutes of music.

Off the heels of 2017's acclaimed release Just Friends - Live at the Village Vanguard from 1988, jazz clarinet icon Eddie Daniels has a new project paying tribute to the world-renowned Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist, Egberto Gismonti. Heart of Brazil features Daniels with the top-shelf trio of pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Mauricio Zottarelli, plus the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet. Includes new arrangements by Ted Nash, Kuno Schmidt and Josh Nelson.

Trane's adventurous 1960 release, the first to feature solely his own compositions. Remastered from the original tapes, this landmark of modern jazz is further enhanced with 4 alternate takes. Includes the title track; Cousin Mary; Countdown; Spiral; Syeeda's Flute Song; Naima, and Mr. P.C.

Archive release from the jazz great. The recording of Idrees Sulieman's fantastic quartet on The 4 American Jazz Men In Tangier not only spotlights the incredible talents of Oscar Dennard, a voice that left the jazz world too quickly due to his passing of typhoid fever in 1960, but also gives the world a fantastic example of how America's musical gift to civilization touched all corners of the world. There are those musicians who are given legendary status by their peers and the lucky few who were able to hear them. One such player is pianist Oscar Dennard. Though his professional career only lasted for a little over a decade, his modern touch on the instrument inspired an incredible list of piano masters, including Randy Weston, Ahmad Jamal and Harold Mabern. The release also includes another never before released session from the quartet that was recorded live at a party before their tour departure. The tape was allegedly recorded at Quincy Jones's apartment. Though the tape was in bad condition, the sound has been wonderfully polished by sound engineer, Blaise Favre.

2017 release. Smulyan's expert service in the fantastic large ensembles of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie and the Village Vanguard Orchestra has made him a standout section player and soloist. A voice that is distinctive and also an important element to the given ensemble. It is a rare pleasure to hear Smulyan in a small ensemble performance, a setting where you can really hear his genius unabated. A terrific opportunity came about during the fall of 2016 as the saxophonist was on a tour through Europe. Smulyan invited producer Jacques Muyal to a gig in Lausanne, Switzerland, which Muyal wasn't able to attend. Knowing that Smulyan would be in Paris shortly thereafter, Muyal reached out to the world-renowned club, Le Duc des Lombards, to secure permission to record. The subsequent Royalty at Le Duc presents the brilliant Smulyan in a setting that allows his music to truly blossom, live in a jazz club. The European rhythm section that Smulyan assembled for the tour was composed of French pianist Olivier Hutman, Italian bassist Michel Rosciglione and Austrian drummer Bernd Reiter. The ensemble was more than capable of handling the diverse program of jazz classics, including Thad Jones's "Thedia" and "Elusive," Billy Strayhorn's "The Star-crossed Lovers," Pepper Adams's "Cindy's Tune," Joe Henderson's "Serenity," Raksin and Mercer's "Laura" and Johnny Green's "Body & Soul."

From my very first visit in the summer of 1980, the city of Barcelona fascinated me in all it's senses, from Montjuic, Las Ramblas and the monumental cathedral of La Sagrada Familia to the Palau de la M sica, La Boquer a market and Plaza de Espa a. This must have influenced positively in my relationship with the members of the "Barcelona Clarinet Players," which was love at first sight that began in 2018 during my conversation with the outstanding Cuban-Spanish pianist Pepe Rivero at the AIE headquarters in Barcelona. That afternoon they told me about the arrangement they had made of my "Afro" for a music program for children, so when I got back home I started sending them pieces of mine adapted from versions for previous formats, such as "Cuban Sharks", "A Farewell Mambo", "The Elephant and the Clown", "La Fleur de Cayenne","Kites over Havana" or "Wapango". All of this until one fine day the restless Barcelona Clarinetists got excited at commissioned me an original work for this very special musical ensemble. "Fantas as Barcel nicas" was born, moved by three emblematic Catalan artists whom I have admired for years: The inspired novelist Carlos Ruiz Zaf n, who narrated the mysteries of the night in Barcelona, the charismatic pianist Tete Montoliu, whose sense of swing and jazz improvisation are an indispensable part of the soundtrack of the city where Mir and Caball were born; and finally the brilliant architect Antoni Gaud , who with his amazing and luminous style, fills the streets of his native land with unrepeatable architectural gems. The fact that this extraordinary group of fellow clarinetists decided on recording a CD with works of my own honors me by offering me the opportunity to sing publicly my love for this magical city and my devotion to some of his most beloved children. -Paquito D'Rivera, December 2021

2017 release. For all that it has done in the world of jazz, blues and rock, it is easy to forget that the saxophone was originally created as a classical instrument. The horn met difficulties as it tried to integrate into the symphonic world, not truly fitting into the brass or woodwind sections. The saxophone did meet a true champion in Marcel Mule, who became the true champion of classical saxophone and also the first saxophone quartet, Quatuor de la Garde R�publicaine. The concept of creating saxophone ensembles for chamber music grew steadily thereafter. In 1943, Cuban saxophonist Tito D'Rivera established his own saxophone chamber group called Conjunto Sinf�nico de Saxofones, which debuted at the National Conservatory in Havana. Over 70 years later, D'Rivera's son, and world famous woodwind master, Paquito D'Rivera is proud to present the Vitral Saxophone Quartet and their recording, Kites Over Havana. The terrific Vitral Saxophone Quartet is composed of four Cuban master saxophonists who all now live in the United States: Oscar Gongora on soprano, Roman Filiu on alto and soprano, Alejandro Rios on alto and tenor and Raul Cordies on baritone saxophone. The recording also features a handful of impressive guests, including Yosvany Terry on tenor and shekere, Dr. Paul Cohen on C melody saxophone, Dr. Adonis Gonzalez on piano and Paquito D'Rivera, himself, on clarinet and soprano saxophone. The compositions presented on Kites Over Havana are a mixture of

Trumpeter Diego Urcola has proven to be a player of incredible range and dexterity throughout his career, a large part of it playing alongside Paquito D'Rivera in the legendary saxophonist/clarinetist's various eclectic projects. On Urcola's new recording, El Duelo, the trumpeter recruits D'Rivera to join him in a very rare, and exposed, playing scenario, the piano-less quartet. // Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Urcola has been a part of the New York City jazz scene since the 1990s. His work with D'Rivera, Guillermo Klein y Los Guachos, Enrico Pieranunzi, and as a leader has been celebrated by many, even garnering him a Grammy nomination for his album, Soundances. // It was during a regular visit to Uruguay's Punta Del Este Jazz Festival that Urcola was asked to present a musical tribute to the revered Gerry Mulligan Quartet that featured Chet Baker. During the quartet's performance, Urcola invited D'Rivera to the stage, and the idea of recording in a piano-less quartet was cemented by the resounding performance.

Danish drummer/composer Stefan Pasborg grew up in a household of ballet dancers, allowing him to have an intimate relationship with their lifestyle and performances. One of his first formative musical experiences was witnessing a performance of Igor Stravinsky's legendary ballet, The Rite of Spring, by The Danish Royal Ballet. The experience embedded a love for Stravinsky's work that has manifested in Pasborg's new recording, Ritual Dances.

There have been many instances where a musician specializing in a particular genre has taken a detour to investigate another. Bassist/composer Clovis Nicolas has focused on jazz music since he picked up his instrument, but it was his chance meeting of a classical music mentor at Juilliard that piqued his curiosity in classical composition. Nicolas's new recording, The Contrapuntist, presents his first recorded foray into classical music, which features his new string quartet, along with a fascinating reflection of the piece for jazz quartet. Clovis Nicolas shows the two sides of his music personality on his new recording, The Contrapuntist. There is the jazz honed contrabassist that regularly drives the rhythm sections for some of New York's best bands. But there is also the classically trained composer who focuses on making beautiful written music through voice-leading and counterpoint. These two sides mirror one another fantastically.

Recording a solo album is perhaps the most daunting feat for any instrumentalist. The time it takes for a musician to hone skills, develop a repertoire and then learn to trust his or her instincts is enough to turn most off from the project. The opportunity provided by the extreme situation of the pandemic allowed bassist Clovis Nicolas to complete this solo album, Autoportrait, an encapsulation of his 2020 spent working on himself and his art. // Nicolas began the project in September 2019 by composing "Four Steps," but paused the operation until he had a casual meeting with his peer and friend, producer Daniel Yvinec, in January 2020, over coffee. After telling Yvinec of his thoughts of recording a solo album, Yvinec reinforced the importance of the project. It became clear to Nicolas that he found the right person to help produce the album and be a sounding board for his ideas as the project unfurled. It was shortly thereafter that the world was stricken by the COVID-19 pandemic. The work for freelance musicians all but disappeared. The saving grace for Nicolas was that he found time. Time to spend on this work he had been obsessing over for years.

The OJOYO sound (Safrojazz) is a fusion of Capetown born Morris Goldberg's South African music heritage, with the American music he learned to love from listening to records. Morris has performed with many American artists, notably Paul Simon, Harry Belafonte and Herbie Hancock; and South African artists including Hugh Masekela, and Jonathan Butler. Several other OJOYO musicians have recorded and toured with Paul Simon, Lori Anderson, and Edie Brickell, while Capetown native Anton Fig appears nightly on the David Letterman show.

DISTANCIA

The Music of Billy Strayhorn long thought of as a chapter within the Duke Ellington songbook has become recognized as one of the most important bodies of work in 20th century American music. In Strayhorn's short life time the greater part of recorded examples of his masterworks were by the Ellington Orchestra or groups led by players from that revered organization. In the half century since the death of the man affectionately known as Sweet Pea many of his classic compositions have found their way into the mainstream jazz repertory via recordings by some of the genre's greatest players. Ellington's eulogistic 1968 LP And His Mother Called Him Bill brought into sharp focus the breadth of Strayhorn'swork. Now we can add John DiMartino's uniquely personal interpretations to that illustrious list.

As the title of Christian Artmann's new CD The Middle of Life suggests, he's no ing�nue. The German-born flutist, now based in the San Francisco Bay Area after living for more than 15 years in New York, is a seasoned composer with a small but acclaimed discography that's contributed significantly to keeping the flute in the foreground of the contemporary jazz scene. As for many of us, the experience of the pandemic inspired deep reflection, and with his fourth album (and third for Sunnyside) Artmann takes stock of what matters most. Part of what makes The Middle of Life a strikingly cohesive project is Artmann's choice of ensemble. The album features Hungarian-born pianist Laszlo Gardony (also on Artmann's previous release Our Story), as well as Gardony's longtime collaborators, bassist John Lockwood and drummer Yoron Israel.

When the history of Jazz during the COVID-19 pandemic gets written, Armen Donelian warrants a detailed chapter. Though he composed more than a dozen new pieces through the spring of 2021, the veteran pianist and educator didn't use the downtime to reinvent his repertoire as much as he deepened his pianistic approach and sharpened his ears in the context of a supremely sensitive new trio with bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Dennis Mackrel. The group's unabashedly beautiful debut, Fresh Start, is Donelian's 14th album and his 11th for Sunnyside, the label that has documented the bulk of his work as a leader since the mid-1980s.