Forest Light is the band around Italian singer Marta�Arpini. The quintet is in search of a unique and individual sound that connects the musicians' imagery and intensive playing. They use Marta's material and invigorate a special universe of deep enchantment. The group combines the suggestive atmosphere of the world of the songwriter with the intensive collaboration characterizing jazz, explores unique and individual colors and develops a quaint cross-over language in order to tell meaningful stories through the purity of the "songs". Marta�Arpini�was born in Crema in 1994 and has been studying music since her childhood days. Having graduated in jazz singing from�Civici�Corsi di Jazz in Milano with distinction, she just graduated at Amsterdam conservatory, where she worked on original compositions for her new project Forest Light, semi-finalist of Keep�an�Eye International Jazz Award in March 2018. The Amsterdam-based quintet, lined up with vocals, guitar, vibraphone, double bass and drums, is working on Marta's arrangements and original compositions. "Telling meaningful stories through the purity of the songs" - Marta invites the listener into her world of experiences, her own, charming microcosm; desirable, tender and heartfelt on the one hand, energetic, fresh and effervescent on the other.

John and his music are unique... He always has a great deal to say in his quiet, sincere way, and it resonates. - Just Jazz Guitar. Master guitarist and improvisor, John Stowell, has spent the last five decades touring the world, most often immersed in the universal jazz repertoire improvising with artists from wherever he's visiting. Through his recordings with "Scenes," and his quartet with Bay Area saxophonist Michael Zilber over the last 20 years, Stowell has had the chance to perform and focus on his own compositions more than ever before. It was through the mastering of those recordings that engineer, bassist, vocalist, producer Dan Dean discovered the nuances of Stowell's writing. The idea of collaboration came when Stowell heard Dean's recent classical voice recording, "Songs Without Words," where he layered multiple tracks of himself in what writer Raul da Gama called "... music-making of the highest order, which plumbs the depths of all of the emotions from wonderful joys to abject lamentations." Taking 10 of Stowell's compositions, Dean & Stowell layered voices, bass, and guitars over the course of a year, discovering unique avenues into the music with the end result feeling spontaneous, joyous and in the moment. "Dan Dean will redefine what you think is possible to achieve with the human voice. Prepare to be astonished." - Melinda Bargreen, Author & Music Critic

Patterson displays creativity as a soloist and arranger... and a technical virtuosity that is quite impressive. - Trombone Journal. Trombonist Ben Patterson's fiery technique and expansive compositional vision combine for a thrilling quintet session of 10 wide-ranging originals. From the opening title tune, a master-class in form & fire with tight ensemble passages and soaring solos, to the straight-ahead, Messengers-esque "Suits Me Fine," Patterson unveils thoroughly compelling vehicles for his Washington, DC-based group. All inspired soloists and master musicians, Patterson features guitarist Shawn Purcell, pianist Chris Ziemba, Paul Henry on bass and drummer Todd Harrison.

Led by Les DeMerle's dynamic drumming, his band swings hard with tight arrangements... Bonnie Eisele is the powerful centerpiece of this exciting act... - Downbeat. The 10th recording of renowned drummer Les DeMerle for Origin Records, "Hot Night In Venice" captures the fire, excitement and bristling energy Les has been bringing to world stages for over 50 years. And a show it is, as his longtime quartet offers up tight arrangements of jazz classics and serious in-the-pocket blues, but most of all, the band is groovin' hard, havin' fun and swingin' big time. Bonnie Eisele's sensitive, sassy vocals highlight the set, creating an ambiance that adds to the feeling of being at the club enjoying the set. From his ground-breaking Transfusion band of the late '60s, taking over Buddy Rich's seat with the Harry James Orchestra for 12 years, or his tours with the Manhattan Transfer and Wayne Newton, Les DeMerle has always been about elevating the band, bringing a visceral, unbridled dynamism to the stage. "Eisele and DeMerle are a hot combination. Her powerful voice and natural feel for rhythm come across in an explosive stage performance. His energy is absolutely contagious." - Florida Times-Union

Once in a great while, a musician emerges with such authority and such seemingly effortless originality that his place in the front ranks of his instrument is unquestioned. So it is with David Friesen. - Nat Hentoff. A major international jazz figure for over 50 years, bassist-composer David Friesen continues his unflagging process of creating new defining works, with the ambitious, expansive, and deeply personal musical explorations found on Testimony. Through the desire to better understand his Mother's Ukrainian heritage, and with inspired leg-work from his Czech-based assistant, Natalie Digtyar, Friesen found himself on a 2015 tour of family landmarks in Smila, Ukraine, fully researched and led by a television crew and the local historical museum. Meeting Oleksandr Pirozhenko, director of the National Academic Symphonic Band of Ukraine, set in motion the collaboration heard here, beginning with a sold-out 2016 "homecoming" concert in Smila's Concert Hall, followed by this live recording from Kiev's National Philharmonic Hall in December, 2018. Arrangements of Friesen's profoundly spiritual compositions unfold, offering passages exploding with orchestral grandeur alongside lone whispers from solo piano, vibes or bass, and intimate quartet vignettes, all reflecting the myriad emotions exposed through his journey of ancestral discovery.

Buddy DeFranco was one of the few jazz clarinettists to come to prominence in the post-war era when the instrument generally saw a decline, and he was one of the only clarinettists to successfully find a role in the changing musical environment brought about by the emergence of bebop.

Preceded by Nove Cantici per Francesco d'Assisi and Virtue (for Julian of Norwich), Teresa de �vila is the third and final CD in Zorn's trilogy inspired by towering figures of Christian mysticism. Written for the all-star acoustic guitar trio of Bill Frisell, Julian Lage and Gyan Riley whose performances are steeped in a feeling of love and mutual respect, the music is both beautifully simple and strangely complex, drawing equally on classical modernism, bluegrass, jazz, Jewish and renaissance music. Filled with compositional surprises, mysterious moods, beautiful harmonies and a stunning lyricism, Teresa de �vila is a must-have for all fans of acoustic guitar music. This is one of the most personal and varied books of music Zorn has yet written-a lovely tribute to the enduring legacy of one of the world's most beloved spiritual figures. Includes an extended appreciation by renown philosopher Arnold Davidson.

Heaven and Earth Magick showcases Zorn's fabulous and compelling blending of classical virtuosic instrumental writing with the improvisational world of Jazz. Completely notated works for piano and vibraphone brilliantly performed by Steve Gosling and Sae Hashimoto are set against a dynamic improvisational rhythm section of Jorge Roeder and Ches Smith. An exciting new musical world filled with an exhilarating sense of drama and a mischievous wit. Zorn's unique mastery of instrumental writing and wild improvisational conducting skills are here in all their thorny complexity. Essential! Auto-da-F� * Ac�phale * Asclemandres * Descent into the Maelstrom * Konx Om Pax * Casting the Runes

This album is a unique musical marriage between double bass player Gianmarco Scaglia, who has released 20 projects in the past, and drummer Paul Wertico, who gained worldwide recognition as a member of the Pat Metheny Group from 1983 to 2001. "I think that music, in most cases, "speaks" much better than the words. This album reflects exactly my personality and my approach to life and to music itself. I am grateful to the musicians, to Paul, Simone and Mirko who shared this vision with me. A special mention to Stefano Amerio (Artesuono) for his precious professionalism." (Gianmarco Scaglia)

Connie Haines was one of female vocalists who established their reputations as singers with the prominent big swing bands of the early 1940s before going on to forge a solo career in the post-war era as the viability of the big bands declined and television offered new opportunities for a new generation of photogenic solo performers. Working first with the orchestras of Harry James and then Tommy Dorsey, in the latter case alongside Frank Sinatra, she had notable success during the war years before recording with Gordon Jenkins for the fledgling Capitol label, and recording for Mercury, Signature and primarily for Coral in the post-war era. This 50-track 2-CD set comprises recordings from all those relationships, the selection of performances with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, with one or two featuring Sinatra, The Pied Pipers and Jo Stafford, including four Top 20 hits with "Two Dreams Met", "You Might Have Belonged To Another", "Kiss The Boys Goodbye" and "What Is This Thing Called Love?". The selected A & B sides of her solo singles also feature her solo hits on Coral from 1949 "How It Lies, How It Lies, How It Lies!" and "Maybe It's Because". She was a talented song stylist, equally at home singing with big bands, or performing the mainstream pop that characterised the post-war decade, and this will appeal to lovers of what is often called "golden age of popular music".

Classical Music

“Mood” deciphers “ballads” here in this Rich Perry new album, which is, to quote the liner notes author Neil Tesser, “.. all ballads, all handled with skill and taste, yet all pushing at the edges to find something else.” “The SteepleChase sessions… constitute a body of work equal to anyone currently in the jazz mainstream. Perry's editing, shifts in tone and phrasing, and embellishments of songs like "Gone With The Wind" on Gone (SCCD 31670) evince a genuine appreciation of the melodies, as well as a desire to make his own way through them.” (David A Orthmann-AAJ)

This recording of Miroslav Vitous is the eighth publication in the “European Jazz Legends” series. In hindsight, “Infinite Search,” the title of Miroslav Vitous’ first album as a leader from 1970, which featured players like Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, Jack DeJohnette, or Joe Henderson, seems prophetic. The bassplayer, composer, educator, former member of the Czech Olympic swimming team, co-founder of the trailblazing group “Weather Report,” and the man behind “the go-t string library for producers and film composers,” is still constantly on a quest, and never without a project. At 68, Vitous is far from retiring, working on a symphony, preparing gigs with a Big Band or the Prague Symphony, and occasionally presenting his music in concerts with his current group. This live recording from the Theater Gutersloh presents him with his band- featuring Aydin Esen on keyboards, Roberto Gatto on drums, and Gary Campbell and Robert Bonisolo on saxophones, interplaying with Vitous on his singing upright bass. The music is a fascinating fusion of modern Jazz traditions and new musical ideas and concepts. In the magazine Jazz thing in April 2016, Vitous says, “I can’t copy, because the original music in me is so strong, that it will always come out. I’m lucky.”

Although guitarist Nate Radley is a relatively new name on SteepleChase label, he has been an important member of the NY jazz scene since 2000 when he moved there with a master’s degree in music from New England Conservatory. He has made impressive appearances on this label in Eric Rasmussen’s “School of Tristano” albums SCCD 31623, SCCD 31644 and SCCD 31663 as well as on Andrew Rathbun’s “Where We Are Now” SCCD 31665. For his SteepleChase leader-debut album Nate Radley presents highly personal music style both as performer and composer.

Trumpeter/composer Marcus Printup, stalwart of Jazz At The Lincoln Center Orchestra since 1993 presents his latest album here as In Memoriam of his late father filled with delightful compositions penned mostly by Printup to celebrate life. “Printup is such an accomplished and versatile player that he’s adept performing tunes from any point in the many decades of jazz dealt with here.” (Joel Roberts – The NYC Jazz Records on “Homage” SCCD 31730)

Sylvia McNair has won two Grammy Awards, and is today’s leading interpreter of American Popular Song. After a thriving opera career, she recorded several albums, including her award winning albums with pianist Andre Previn. This programme includes a mix of new and old standards, such as Orange Colored Sky, Love Is In The Air, Summertime, and One Hundred Easy Ways. Jazz musicians Ted Taylor, Jeremy Allen, and Steve Houghton accompany McNair for this recording.

Freddie Slack was a boogie-woogie pianist and swing bandleader who started out with Jimmy Dorsey's band in the 1930s and subsequently racked up a string of hits in the 1940s, first with the Will Bradley Orchestra and then leading his own band, some of them with the fine singers Ella Mae Morse and Margaret Whiting on vocals. This 49-track 2-CD collection begins with his hits with the Will Bradley Orchestra on Columbia, and then comprises selected A & B sides from his releases on Decca and Capitol through to the time he left the label, and did not release any records for another five years. It features all his chart entries with Will Bradley, including the Top 10 hits "Beat Me Daddy Eight To The Bar", "Down The Road Apiece", "Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat" and "There I Go", plus all his career pop and R&B hits with his own band, including the Top 10 successes "Cow-Cow Boogie", "Mister Five By Five", "That Old Black Magic", "Riffette" and "The House Of Blue Lights". Along with hits that feature Ella Mae Morse, Margaret Whiting and Liza Morrow, it features his hit with Johnny Mercer, "I Lost My Sugar In Salt Lake City". Other featured vocalists are David Street and Charlotte Blackburn, and there are also notable recordings accompanying blues singers Big Joe Turner and T-Bone Walker. It's a highly entertaining showcase for the range of his music, especially his renowned boogie-woogie piano

The late, great Dave Brubeck surely would appreciate this album, which is a tribute to the legacy of jazz giant. Sabine Kuhlich and Laia Genc have chosen some of Brubeck’s greatest work to cover, including possibly his most well-known pieces, Unsquare Dance and Take Five. Vocalist and saxophonist Sabine Kuhlich has studied jazz in New York City as well as Amsterdam. She is also a passionate composer, and an incredible arranger. She has been teacher of the Jazz Department at the Conservatory Maastricht since 2006. Laia Genc is a modern jazz pianist also based in Germany. She performs frequently with Blue Art Orchestra and Miss Jones Big Band, and is active at jazz festivals across Europe.

A gifted vocalist and prolific songwriter, Emma Frank's previous releases have earned her rave reviews - including four stars from DownBeat for her 2018 release 'Ocean Av'. The evolution continues with her fourth and most ambitious full-length recording to date 'Come Back'. Says' Frank "I'm interested in the intersection between folk song and contemporary jazz. In this collection of songs, we play with odd meters and tempo shifts, and the emotional interest lies partly in improvised orchestration, while staying true to a song form and narrative. Although we recorded with a typical jazz quartet - upright bass, grand piano, and drums - we also added layered guitar, synths, and strings to the arrangements."

2022 release. Simply put, Samara Joy is next. At just 22 years old, her Verve debut Linger Awhile shows that with a voice, tone, and phrasing that harkens back to the most legendary jazz vocalists, Samara belongs in the company of iconic labelmates from Ella Fitzgerald to Sarah Vaughan to Billie Holiday. Samara is remarkably savvy on TikTok and Instagram, fostering a community of devoted followers through fully organic means. She is poised to be a household name, synonymous with timeless jazz music.

This quintet was gathered by John Heward to open the Guelph Jazz Festival in September 2014. The recording is from a concert given in Montreal several days before the festival opening. The music is free improvisation: no score, just a resolution to make music. It was a special occasion to have Heward and legendary bassist Barre Philips, both at the age of 80 at the time of the recording, at the core of the quintet. They are joined by a stellar group of long-time Heward collaborators: Lori Freedman, Joe McPhee and Dana Reason. The release of this record is sadly a memorial tribute to John Heward (1934–November 2018). Heward, from Montreal, was an internationally recognized percussionist in free jazz as well as a renowned painter and sculptor. He was an influential figure in the development of abstraction and improvisation in both visual art and music.

Tex Beneke was a big band saxophonist and singer who joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1941, and remained with him until Miller broke up his band the following year to join the Army Air Forces, with Beneke also enlisting in the Navy. Having performed on all Miller's big hits of that era, and with Miller having died over the English Channel in 1944, Beneke got permission from Miller's estate to form a "ghost band" in 1946, initially called "Tex Beneke With The Glenn Miller Orchestra, which eventually became Tex Beneke & His Orchestra a year or two later. This great-value 48-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A and B sides of his releases leading the Glenn Miller Orchestra and his own orchestra during these years on the RCA-Victor, MGM and Coral labels through to the mid-1950s. It features all his twelve hits under his own name from these years, including the Top 10 hits "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop", "I Know", "Give Me Five Minutes More", "Passe", "A Gal In Calico", "Anniversary Song" and "St. Louis Blues March". As well as his own featured spots as vocalist, it also has performances by Garry Stevens, Artie Mann, Lillian Lane, Glenn Douglas, Gwen Bari and Ray Eberle, along with the vocal groups The Crew Chiefs and Moonlight Serenaders. It 's an entertaining set that sees Beneke recapturing the spirit of the Miller band, but also establishing a style of his own as the market changed in the post-war era.

Guitarist John Hart has established the status of leading figure in the modern jazz guitar scene with highly acclaimed releases from Blue Note and Concord in the 90s. He has performed and recording with Jack McDuff, Terumasa Hino, Jimmy Smith, and Lou Donaldson, among others, as well as leading his own group. Hart now divides his time between New York and Miami, Florida where he is a lecturer at his alma mater the University of Miami Frost School of Music. “…He’s an amazingly inventive soloist and composer who is not afraid to step out of his comfort zone.” (John Heidt – Vintage Guitar Magazine)

It takes a bold talent to step into the shoes of Nina Simone. Ledisi has already shown she's up for the challenge, taking on the powerhouse musician's emotionally searing and socially direct songs from her PBS special Ledisi Live: A Tribute to Nina Simone.

Fusing a modern-day pop sensibility with sleek and timeless jazz chops, singer, trumpeter and songwriter Bria Skonberg returns with her second album for OKeh Records, With a Twist. The album is a collection that pays tribute to legendary ladies of song while offering her take on songs by Leonard Cohen and Ed Sheeran, along with three of her own compositions.