The eerie stillness of New York City during the Covid-19 pandemic led many residents to a state of contemplation and inner exploration. Saxophonist/composer Marc Mommaas found himself drawn to sounds that he grew up with but had eschewed for his own musical path in jazz, namely classical music. The self-described expressionist was surprised to find himself immersed in the sounds of the Impressionists. // Mommaas dove into the music of the Impressionists but found himself particularly drawn to one of the instigators of the movement, Gabriel Faur�, who eventually taught Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger. It was with Faur�'s esthetic in mind that Mommaas began to write music for his new recording, The Impressionist. // Coming from four generations of classical musicians, Mommaas still hears the sound of his mother's piano playing Chopin when he was a child. As a saxophonist, Mommaas was entirely jazz oriented, inspired by the deep passion his father had for Jazz (a prolific Dutch painter and artist with a capital A). However, as the City slowed down during the pandemic Mommaas found himself drawn to the impressionistic sounds of Faur�, instigated by his famous Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 // The study of Gabriel Faur�'s idiosyncratic composing style led Marc Mommaas down a path of discovery and rediscovery. The music hit him in a time and place where it made the most sense to channel into brilliantly fashioned original music, presented here as The Impressionist.

Originally from the suburbs of Hamburg, Germany, Peters discovered the vibraphone as a young percussionist invited by his tutor to engage with a new, harmonic instrument. Peters's fascination and subsequent musical study led him to conservatory in Cologne, where he studied with Tom van der Geld and David Friedman. An exchange scholarship allowed Peters the opportunity to study in New York City in 2016, at New York University and the Manhattan School of Music, where he developed a relationship with Stefon Harris. His arrival in New York City has allowed Peters to invest in the City's flourishing young jazz scene. Peters's wide interests in all aspects of improvisational music allow him to be at home among both the avant-garde and the traditionalists, a perfect place to be in New York's eclectic milieu. Peters even programs a series at the Green Lung Studio in Brooklyn. Of course, the pause to the music world brought on by the pandemic lockdown shut off many of Peters's avenues of expression. Rather than get frustrated, he decided to hone his focus on his craft and composition. Peters took a musical turn and began to gravitate toward music with melodic clarity. He began to experiment compositionally with simplicity, limiting compositions to one or two ideas to pull from to develop. From there, the pieces could be embellished by the talented improvisers he would engage to perform them. All of the original pieces find reflection on musical inspiration from musical engagement with heroes, teachers, and experiences from Peters's life. At the end of August 2021, Peters assembled an outstanding cast of musicians to record Spring at Man Made Music in New York. The incredible quintet included trumpeter Adam O'Farrill, alto saxophonist Caleb Wheeler Curtis, bassist Walter Stinson, and drummer Buz Donald. Their wide range of expression can be heard augmenting the fascinating pieces Peters wrote.

Alto saxophonist Randal Despommier offers with A Midsummer Odyssey, a captivating duo session with guitarist extraordinaire Ben Monder. The central focus is the highly accessible yet always enigmatic music of Swedish baritone saxophonist Lars Gullin (1928-1976). // It was a chance encounter with "Danny's Dream," a lithe and melodic piece played for Despommier by his friend Olof L�vmo in Italy in 2005, that sparked the altoist's deep and longstanding interest in Gullin. Despommier describes the tune as "a mix between a Norse folk-song arrangement by Edvard Grieg and a Billy Strayhorn ballad." Having triggered the process that would ultimately lead to A Midsummer Odyssey, L�vmo fittingly took on the role of assistant producer.

The world at large has been inundated with news from the recent Russian incursion into the country of Ukraine. While the storms of war gather, pianist and composer Vadim Neselovskyi chooses to remind people of the country's beauty and cultural legacy. More specifically, Neselovskyi looks to his hometown on the Black Sea to inspire his new solo recording, Odesa: A Musical Walk Through a Legendary City. // Generations of Odesa and Ukraine residents have witnessed strife and hardships. Vadim Neselovskyi chooses to remember the beauty of the place where he was born rather than the darkness and obstacles. Odesa: A Musical Walk Through a Legendary City is a truly magnificent, singular tribute to the pearl of the Black Sea.

In-demand Chicago bassist Ethan Philion - praised by bass legend Rufus Reid for his "wonderful internal pulse," and by The Washington Post for his "well-honed chops and astounding musicality" - has long looked to Charles Mingus as a towering role model. Mingus' highly physical bass technique, his up-front communicative style as a bandleader, his interest in blending composition and improvisation, his pursuit of a unified voice in both small and large group settings, and not least of all his uncompromising antiracist politics and the way they manifest throughout his oeuvre: these qualities continue to inspire Philion and so many others in the decades following Mingus' untimely death from ALS in 1979, at age 56. // Now, in Mingus' centennial year of 2022, Philion is proud to present Meditations on Mingus, a powerfully swinging and inventive set of Mingus masterworks as arranged by Philion himself and performed by a stellar 10-piece ensemble. "My goal was to put together a program of pieces that speak to current events," Philion states. "The themes of the songs on the album - racism, prejudice, identity, economic inequality - are all still relevant to the world today. These compositions ask listeners to reflect on humanity's continued capacity for evil, but as Mingus's psychiatrist Edmund Pollock put it, they are also 'a call for acceptance, respect, love, understanding, fellowship, freedom - a plea to change the evil in man and to end hatred.'"

The righteous and bombastic nature of the great bassist/composer Charles Mingus made him a polarizing personality. His unique personality, combined with his groundbreaking music, were magnetic for open-minded listeners. Clarinetist Harry Skoler discovered Mingus and his music early in life. This discovery would change his entire trajectory as a person and musician, which Skoler celebrates on his new recording, Living In Sound: The Music of Charles Mingus. // The music that Harry Skoler, Walter Smith III, and their brilliant cast recorded on Living In Sound captures the many moods of the iconoclastic Charles Mingus. There are shades of tumult, harmonic depth, conceptual depth, and abandon. A perfect tribute to the legend to mark his centennial year.

The singular catalog of the great pianist/composer Carla Bley has been celebrated and performed for decades. She has not only performed her unique compositions in her own star-studded bands but has had them canonized by such legendary artists as Gary Burton and Paul Bley. Having had first-hand experience playing with Carla Bley in two groups, guitarist Steve Cardenas and his trio mates bassist Ben Allison and reed master Ted Nash, have created a brilliant recording of nine Bley pieces on their new album, Healing Power.

The New York-based tenor saxophonist and composer was born and raised in Texas and began performing professionally at age 16 with his father, Joe Killian, a jazz pianist and Hammond organist who worked in bands led by sax legends Sonny Stitt, Jimmy Ford, and Don Wilkerson. With a saxophone spirit reminiscent of Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, and James Clay, the twenty-first-century Texas Tenor seeks to modernize this rich lineage by developing a highly personalized compositional approach coupled with a consistent group sound steeped in simpatico and interplay.

Everybody has literal and figurative homes. There are the physical places where heads are laid at night and then there are the feelings, people, activities, or spaces that provide a feeling of the comfort of home. Gregory Lewis has found a musical home delving into the Hammond organ and the music of the great composer/pianist Thelonious Monk, a practice that has allowed him opportunities to play with extraordinary musicians and visit amazing places, and his new recording Organ Monk Going Home brings all of these aspects to bear. // As Gregory Lewis did find out, it is possible to go home again. The organist took the inspiration gained from a trip to Africa, his ancestral home, to revisit relationships with longtime friends and collaborators, Kevin McNeal and Nasheet Waits, and to further his explorations of the music of Thelonious Monk on Organ Monk Going Home.

Composer and pianist �lvaro Torres has interest in dialogs and possibilities between jazz and free improvisation. His work has deep roots in western classical music, but always maintains a particular focus on building unique improvisational aesthetic. Born in Madrid in 1993, he graduated from Conservatori del Liceu in 2016. Since then he's been focused on performing and composing his own projects and also as a sideman, playing more than 150 concerts over the last two years. Collaborations with different groups have taken him to Spain, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Nepal, Colombia and United States.

One of the most valuable gifts of travel is to gain the friendship of those you meet from other cultures. For a musician, this is fundamental in widening a net of collaborators and musical inspiration. The recent pandemic shut down the populace's normal travel patterns, disrupting these exchanges. On his new recording, Way Back, guitarist Davy Mooney celebrates the return of international travel and his renewed musical partnership with his collaborators in Brazil. Jazz is a language that is spoken all over the world. Speaking it is a way for Davy Mooney to find a connection in other places and with other people. Traveling back to his second home in Brazil, Mooney has recorded a fantastic album of unique original music on Way Back.

When we come to live with dogs we don't think, at first, about the proto-dogs some tens of thousands of years ago who first wandered into a group of humans and was taken in. We don't think, at first, about the subsequent years of shaping and molding and breeding and refining and tailoring that has resulted in the specimen of dog who appears before us today. And we definitely don't think, at first, about how profound it will be for each of us that this creature has wandered into human life - into our life. By the time we start thinking about these things, we are well on our way to the inevitable: the end of the lives of this animal - this character - who has slipped into our lives, our minds, our hearts. To live with dogs is eminently familiar - even ordinary, at first glance. But glance more, look closely at that warm form in your room looking back at you, and you see how unordinary it is. This keen-nosed, preternaturally agile and responsive animal, whose ancestors lived in earthen dens, who coursed together to take down large prey, is in your home - and you have forged a bond with them. The bond exists beyond words, forged in touches and gestures and gaze. They've become the breath we expect in the room, the greeting we anticipate at the door, the responsiveness that we look for from the world. Then they are gone, one day. They exit your room with the same abruptness with which they entered. In their absence the room is chilly, the world is flat. The Normyn Suites is an elegy; to listen is to spend time in that space of loss, reckoning, questioning, and mourning. At the same time, though, with each note, each phrase, we are propelled back into life. To listen is to hear that heart beat again in your head; it is to fill that room with warmth and meaning. It is to remember their presence, the softness of their ears, the affection in a lick. You can feel their pools of eyes gazing at you. You know they are running across that field, just out of your view. They are just behind that door, in the other room, down the hall. You nearly hear the thump of their wagging tail on the floor. I used to think of the end of a dog's life only as absence. But it is also a presence, for they, irrevocably, change us. I am half me, half the dogs I've known. And I'd have it no other way. Normyn, a long-eared, short-legged spirit, is woven into Leonhart's music, and I now am pleased to say I know her, too." -Alexandra Horowitz (author of "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know")

The idea that the creation of an infinite number of melodies is attainable from just 12 tones has always fascinated me. Additionally, I find it intriguing that folk music, the traditional music of the people in a country or region, is strikingly analogous in it's raw melodic content despite developing in relative isolation to one another over hundreds of years. As I composed the music for this album, I had the idea of folk melodies in mind: minimal but not minimalistic - simple but not simplistic - miniature melodic moments; specifically crafted for skilled improvisers to instantly absorb and interpret. Apart from the composed melodic content, this music was fully improvised without frameworks or forms. // The melodies set the tone for group improvisation. "Heaven Above" is the only exception, in which the improvisations occur within a circular form over a predetermined harmonic sequence and tempo. // John, Michael and I have been playing together for several decades resulting in a deep, nearly telepathic, musical connection.

Developing a program of solo piano music is the ultimate challenge for any improvising pianist. Lucian Ban's mesmerizing new recording of solo piano improvisations, Ways of Disappearing, represents a daring addition to the genre and is a powerful and uncompromising statement for his first unaccompanied solo album.

The life of a professional musician typically requires stretching beyond a single genre to insure a healthy career. Pianist David Cook is a jazz pianist and composer of the highest order. He also wears another hat as a musical director in the realms of pop, folk, and blues. Returning to jazz and his incredible quintet is as much a pleasure for him as for his listeners, as heard on his new recording, Loyal Returns. Originally from Ohio, Cook settled in New York City in 1999. His career in music has required him to split his time between his own jazz related projects and being a musical director for big name acts like Taylor Swift and Shayna Steele. Even with all these divergent tasks, Cook remains true to first love: jazz. The rewards of coming home to his own sound world and musical friends is reason enough for David Cook to feel content. His new recording, Loyal Returns, is a whole-hearted tribute to the comradery of music making.

The music of Brazilian guitarist and composer Baden Powell has enchanted listeners for decades. His ability to combine elements of jazz, classical, and Brazilian folkloric music into his own singular genre that was spoken only on his nylon string, acoustic guitar has maintained his quiet legend status throughout the world. // Born in France, but raised in Brazil, bassist/composer Gui Duvignau was drawn to the music of Baden Powell through his Brazilian guitarist friends, who all considered Powell a fundamental figure in the worlds of Brazilian music and acoustic guitar. During his own guitar study, Duvignau asked friends for pointers and they continually referred him to Powell's techniques. Further exploration of Powell's repertoire led the bassist to the revelations provided by the fantastic music of the guitarist. // Years of studying and performing the music of Baden Powell led Duvignau to the idea of developing a recording celebrating the great guitarist. Duvignau's new recording, Baden, uses Powell's beloved songs as a foundation for explorative interpretations and improvisations from Duvignau's fantastic ensemble, along with two highly esteemed guests, Ron Carter and Bill Frisell. // As a well-studied musician, Duvignau was astounded by Powell's classical-honed technique and ability to communicate across genres. The guitarist's music was a breath of fresh air and there was a sense of the spiritual in everything that Powell played, including the many interpretations he made of religious music of Brazil's African-derived religions, like Candombl� and Umbanda. The guitarist was unique as he looked more toward the influences of samba rather than the bossa nova style that was popular at the time. // Duvignau felt that the best way to pay tribute to Powell was to play his music as openly as possible; not try to make a recording that was a Brazilian jazz record. Thus, Duvignau pointed this out to the musicians that he wanted to play with as he knew they could take the music anywhere. He welcomed back two mentors and friends who had appeared on his previous recording, 3, 5, 8, woodwind master Billy Drewes and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. Duvignau also recruited fellow Berklee alum, pianist Lawrence Fields, a great bandmate and consummate professional. // To make the project even more special, Duvignau invited his mentor Ron Carter to participate on a track. The bassist also recruited the great guitarist Bill Frisell to add his brilliant tones to a number of the pieces.

Losing a parent can remind the bereaved of the moments lost and the chapters that remained unfinished in their relationships. Saxophonist and composer Carlos Averhoff, Jr. Knows these feelings all too well. When his father, legendary Cuban saxophonist Carlos Averhoff, passed away, the younger Averhoff had just begun an album that would represent their first collaborative work. Though his father left too soon to complete it, Averhoff, Jr.'s album Together serves as a perfect tribute to his father's career and their mutual respect for each other.

DON't LET GO is a Chamber Music America new jazz works commission (funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation). Structured as a song-cycle, it explores the nuances and complexities of "hope" in the context of current social, political, and environmental realities.

A sixty-year career as a successful professional musician requires flexibility and perseverance. Woodwind master Bill Easley has been able to achieve this feat by being a fantastic musician and putting himself into promising musical situations. He believes the key to his success has been his attraction to diversity in both music and life. On his new recording, Diversitonic, Easley aims to make a personal statement utilizing musical influences that have impacted his life and career.

The practice of pairing music with poetry has a long history. Setting verse to music has become a way to amplify the emotional impact of the writers' words. Argentinean percussionist and composer Minino Garay created a recording, Speaking Tango, that uses poetry to find the essence of the Argentinean tango in contemporary music, something that has been attempted in the genre at least since poet Horacio Ferrer collaborated with Astor Piazzolla.

My previous recording, Sanctuary, is a musical reflection on places and characters in my personal life that have provided a sense of creative refuge and a feeling of home. With Love and Sadness takes a more expansive view, examining my seemingly delusional aspiration that we can somehow evolve toward a more compassionate and inclusive society. This is balanced musically against the darkness of an ongoing realization that systemic racism in America is still so much more pervasive than I had imagined. The structure of the piece emerged as I was reflecting on the depths of this national crisis during a trip to the Maine wilderness last August. As a result of pandemic-related closures, it was the first time my wife and I had traveled in many months. It felt like a new perspective, at least early in the journey. The shape of this composition outlines the evolution of my reflections throughout the course of that trip.

The great Argentine-American pianist, composer, and arranger experienced the full brunt of COVID-19's destructive energies during the pandemic. Franzetti contracted the COVID virus. One of the effects of his infection was a loss of coordination, leading to several falls. When he couldn't remember the changes to "All the Things You Are", he knew something was wrong. CAT scans showed a subdural hematoma. // Three brain surgeries and months of physical rehabilitation brought Franzetti's coordination back. He also saw firsthand what the solitude of quarantine meant, as he wasn't allowed to see anybody, including his wife, for 10 days while he recovered in the hospital. // Once he was able, Franzetti felt motivated to not only prove his musical chops were still there, but he also wanted to make music emblematic of the struggles that people had gone through during this unforgettable time. Franzetti brought longtime collaborator, bassist David Finck, and the excellent drummer Billy Drummond in for a recording session at 360 Sound Studio in Orange, New Jersey in late May 2021.

Bassist John H�bert has long been influenced by Mingus's music. It was Mingus's 1975 Atlantic recording, Changes One, that etched the clarity of the legend's vision and tone into H�bert's mind. Using the music and ensemble fluidity of the album as a direct inspiration, H�bert assembled an incredible band to play with the spirit of Mingus as a beacon for a number of performances from 2011 to 2013. The recording, Sounds of Love, presents the ensemble in their element, in a thrillingly dynamic live performance. // Having set roots in New York in the mid-1990s, H�bert became one of the most in demand bassists of his generation, upholding duties in bands led by Andrew Hill, Paul Bley, Mary Halvorson, and Uri Caine. H�bert continues to participate in a longstanding musical relationship with piano great Fred Hersch and has found himself in academia as a professor at Western Michigan University.

On Echoes of the Masters, Taru Alexander creates an aural tribute to his father, the great Roland Alexander, and the tremendous musicians who passed the tradition down to him and the future generations through their impact on the bandstand and their examples off of it. Drummer Taru Alexander was endowed with music by his father, saxophonist Roland Alexander, and an extended family of professional musician mentors in his native Brooklyn, New York. The younger Alexander celebrates the legacy of his father and his father's peers on Echoes of the Masters, a collection of pieces by well-known jazz composers performed by an outstanding group of musicians who came of age under the tutelage of legendary performers on the bandstand. // A lifetime of musical experience has imbued Alexander with the skills, the knowledge, and the swagger to play jazz as it should be played. His credentials spread from bands led by Roy Hargrove, Gary Bartz, Carlos Garnett, and many more, so when he was considering who should join him on his new recording, Alexander wanted to include other musicians who had truly paid their dues. Pianist James Hurt has been a focal part of the New York jazz scene since he arrived in 1994. Alexander met saxophonist Antoine Roney and bassist Rashaan Carter on a recording session led by saxophonist Michael Marcus in 2008. Roney has been a stalwart leader and sideman in New York alongside fantastic musicians like Jacky Terrasson, Donald Byrd, John Patton, and his brother, Wallace Roney. Carter carries the history of the jazz bass on his shoulders having studied with Buster Williams, Reggie Workman, and Ron Carter.

One of the powers that music holds is the ability to sway emotions and atmospheres. Hearing music can make a listener remember a special moment, feel a certain way, or have a sensory experience beyond the aural. For pianist Megumi Yonezawa, the atmosphere in a room changes as soon as a musical note has been struck. Yonezawa wants to utilize her command of the musical language to provide listeners with the sense of immersion in the best moments of a day. Her new recording, Resonance, is a collection of original compositions and creatively arranged standards that will transport those who indulge into pleasant mindsets.