New York’s jazz scene has been tremendously enriched by the presence of Chris Byars, an award-winning saxophonist/composer/arranger/educator who also as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department has travelled to 46 countries to perform concerts and present educational workshops. Born in New York City to an elite musician family Chris was brought up in the vibrant arts environment. On this new album Chris Byars showcases his enormous talent in arranging his compositions for unique 4-horn sextet. “It's hard to label a player like this, who seems to have absorbed both the cool and hard-bop approaches and come out singing his own song. Whatever we might call it, Byars has learned the thing they can't teach in the schools; he sounds like himself and not like everybody else.” (Duck Baker, Coda Magazine)

Since his CD debut “Circle Of Life“(SCCD 33109) in 2013 followed by two more albums on SteepleChase LookOut label, Turkish/Armenian pianist-composer Bedikyan has been highly acclaimed by the international critics and public alike. New Beginning marks his recent relocation from Istanbul to New York where he feels blessed to be a part of the big jazz scene. “For improvisational music fans there is very little here not to like, flawless. An elegant yet diverse exploration of melodic possibilities. Burak Bedikyan is one of the finest artists on the horizon.” (Brent Black – criticaljazz.com on 33119 Leap of Faith)

Guitarist/composer Gene Segal has released three albums on SteepleChase LookOut: Mental Images (SCCD 33114), Matter (SCCD 33121) and Spiral (SCCD 33132) during the period from 2014 to 2017, all of which received critical and public acclaims. Always being adventurous, unpredictable, inventive Segal showcases his new and in a way debut album here for the SteepleChase’s main label with a little bit more jazz-bound material. “… rich and exciting chops from Segal’s axe make for a blues jamming delight.” (George W. Harris – The Jazz Weekly on Mental Images) “… The band has a joyful swing…Music that grows and grows.” (The Jazz Weekly on Matter)

During the five decades of his career alto saxophonist Andy Fusco has been regarded a musicians’ musician and he has played with numerous artists and led various combination of instrumentation except an ensemble with guitarist. So here’s Andy Fusco’s first ever guitar (pianoless) quartet with venerable veteran John Hart who gives Andy and the group a new space to explore. “…The chemistry between members of the quintet and their collective wisdom is on a level seldom attained on contemporary mainstream jazz recordings.” (David A. Orthmann – AAJ on Whirlwind SCCD 31811)

Since Stephen Riley made his recording debut as a leader on SteepleChase with piano-less trio SCCD 31584 Inside Out (2005), this trimmed down format has stayed with Riley on many recordings including this latest album, which pays tribute to the great Sonny Rollins who first recorded this format in 1957. “The tenor saxophone trio is one of the great, if somewhat underutilized line-ups in jazz. Stephen Riley has made a study of the format and delivers a fine addition to a limited canon with Hart-beat…. Hart- Beat is a really solid recording, with some noteworthy playing making it a worthy successor in a lineage of great tenor saxophone trio records.” (Greg Simmons – AAJ on “Hart-Beat” SCCD 31742)

As some of the critics have predicted, Richmond put together another quality cello album here again. Mike Richmond the Philadelphia-born award-winning bass player with vast experience including playing with Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Horace Silver, to mention a few is also a dedicated educator receiving a Teacher of the Year Award from New York University (1994). After the release of his previous album “The Pendulum” SCCD 31826 Richmond has been frequently performing cello as his main instrument. “Mike Richmond’s beautiful new recording – his 11th as a leader - is the first on which he plays cello exclusively .… Richmond and his quartet of seasoned players give the music a ‘singing’ quality something Richmond seeks in all his playing.” (Donald Elfman - New York City Jazz Record on The Pendulum SCCD 31826)

Pedrito Martínez‘s album Rumba de la Isla features songs once interpreted by Camarón de la Isla, the legendary flamenco icon. The album celebrates the convergence of both the Cuban and Flamenco rumbas. The great rumbero Pedrito Martínez integrates in his own personal way, classic songs by Camarón de la Isla in a unique tribute to one of the greatest flamenco artists.

Tracklisting:

01 Que a mi me vio de nacer
02 Yo vivo enamorao
03 Dos estrellas relucientes
04 Solo vivo pa' quererte
05 Volando voy
06 Quiero quitarme esa pena
07 No naqueres na' de mi
08 Gitana te quiero
09 Homenaje a Camaron

Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, George Benson and Jack DeJohnette helped this trumpet titan record the 1970 LP that countless critics and fans hold up as Freddie's very best. Leading to his beautiful duet with Benson, Here's That Rainy Day, are epic renditions of Straight Life and Mr. Clean that feature one heroic Hubbard solo after another!

BLUE MOSES was pianist Randy Weston's most popular recording, reaching No. 16 on the Billboard Jazz chart in 1972. Weston is stunningly backed here by Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Grover Washington, Jr.. (tenor sax) and the arrangements of Don Sebesky. The album features four of Westons own compositions, most famously the title track "Ganawa (Blue Moses)" and "Marrakesh Blues".

TOO GOOD ME 40TH EDITION

With a reputation for deconstructing popular songs and the avant-garde, it seems natural for the bad boys of jazz, The Bad Plus, to record their version of Stravinsky’s controversial masterpiece The Rite of Spring. This new recording captures The Bad Plus’ unique version of the piece that they debuted on tour in 2011 in a multi-media program entitled “On Sacred Ground: Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.” The show received critical acclaim at every stop with the New York Times calling their interpretation “electrifying,” and the Boston Globe describing it as “exhilarating...dramatic, dynamic.”

After gigging with Jim Hall, Clark Terry and Mongo Santamaria, this outstanding flutist rose to solo fame with his own CTI LPs. This one, from '74, is an immensely impressive double album that ranges from jazz to funk to classical-styled pieces: In the Beginning; Moment's Notice; Restoration; Reconciliation; Airegin, and more!

MORNING STAR 40TH EDITION

THE LITTLEST PRISONER

PURE DESMOND 40TH EDITION

Originally released in 1972, Joe Farrell's Grammy-nominated OUTBACK is re-released here.

Wild Horses/Rock Steady (Cti Records 40T)

When Grammy Award winning musician Billy Childs was 11 years old, his older sisters introduced him to the work of Songwriters and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer/songwriter Laura Nyro. Her blend of Broadway-inspired melodies, jazz improvisation and socially conscious lyrics have stayed with him. Now Billy has returned to his early source of inspiration, conceiving and orchestrating his new album, MAP TO THE TREASURE: REIMAGINING LAURA NYRO. Childs is not alone in his enthusiasm for Nyro's music, an incredible range of musicians join him in interpreting her narratives. Classical soprano Renee Fleming and cellist Yo-Yo Ma add new meaning to her hometown ode, 'New York Tendaberry.' Jazz stars Esparanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter collaborate on Nyro's pictorial 'Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp,' and R&B chanteuse Ledisi updates one of Nyro's biggest hits, 'Stoned Soul Picnic.' Other prominent voices include Alison Krauss, Rickie Lee Jones, Shawn Colvin, Dianne Reeves, Susan Tedeschi, Lisa Fischer and Becca Stevens, with featured instrumental soloists Chris Botti, Jerry Douglas, Chris Potter and Steve Wilson.

Legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell's first release on OKeh Records, Big Sur, features all-new music commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival which premiered at their festival in 2012. While staying at the Glen Deven Ranch, Frisell was captivated by the beauty and grandeur of the Big Sur, California coastline which inspired him to write this transcendent new music. He is joined on the recording by the talented musicians of his Big Sur Quintet; Jenny Scheinman (violin), Eyvind Kang (viola), Hank Roberts (cello) and Rudy Royston (drums).

After his storied stint with Ray Charles and years of solo LPs on Atlantic, Hank came to Kudu in the '70s. This funk-soul-jazz delight from '75 teams his sax with Bob James, Randy Brecker and Pepper Adams among others; the title Stevie Wonder tune joins Sho Is Funky; Groovy Junction; Jana, and more!

BRIA - With a unique fusion of modern-day pop sensibility, combined with sizzling musicianship, Bria Skonberg makes a firm claim on fresh territory in the sophisticated pop landscape pioneered by Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall and Michael Bubl�. Titled Bria, her debut album on Portrait Records features standards plus five original songs. Skonberg credits producer Matt Pierson with helping her tie together the best aspects of the music she's been exploring, in a quest "to fuse my love of classic jazz with worldly rhythm, percussion, contemporary songwriting and more." Singer/Trumpeter's debut album on Masterworks/OKeh Records �New album brings a millennial flavor to a collection of standards and originals �"Poised to be one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation." - Wall Street Journal �On tour throughout 2016

Live Recording from July 7th, 1988, Karlsruhe (Germany). A Jazz evening that had everything: intimacy and exaltation, subtleties and fireworks, modernism and Old School. With his predilection for the piano trio as a central form of expression, Michel Petrucciani was out of step with the mid-eighties. He was a driven man, playing in his most active period more than one hundred concerts a year, with the feeling deep inside him that, given his illness, he had less time available than other people, a feeling which he repeatedly mentioned in talks with friends and journalists. Petrucciani wanted to condense his music, releasing energy under tension in an awaited discharge. The bassist Gary Peacock and the drummer Roy Haynes were the perfect partners. One had been socialized in post bop, sowed his wild oats in Free-Time and later, as a partner of Bill Evans, Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett among others, perfected his trio playing. The other had personally experienced the birth of bebop and was one of the busiest jazz luminaries in his field.

ALL BLUES 40TH EDITION

Guitar virtuoso Pasquale Grasso presents Be-Bop! a brilliant new tribute to be-bop pioneers Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Be-Bop! kicks off in exhilarating fashion with Dizzy’s quintessential 1942 composition, “A Night in Tunisia." Grasso achieves an astonishing balance of technical wizardry and swing, sounding like two guitarists coming out of the gate on the challenging head on top of the syncopated Latin rhythm. (Sony)

Versace joined the New York scene in 2002. It did not take him long to establish himself as one of the top players as organist/pianist earning three consecutive placings as a Rising Star in Down Beat Critics Poll from 2006-08 and has been one of the busiest and most versatile musicians around. “endlessly inventive...He really has an extraordinary talent.” (Marian McPartland) “All For Now (SCCD31889) makes a solid case for what an all-around inventive player he is.” (J. D. Considine- Down Beat)