What Freelon is building is not just a castle of love, but an expanded repertoire for jazz singers - The Washington Post. Multi Grammy nominated vocal artist Nnenna Freelon is back, delivering her eleventh album after a decade-long hiatus from the studio. With Time Traveler, she offers a celebration of love and a prayer of hope for those living with loss. The sessions for the album stretched over two years, between 2018 and 2020, coinciding with the loss of Freelon's soulmate and husband of forty years, Phil Freelon, to ALS. Freelon draws from her & Phil's shared love of jazz and rhythm and blues, to step through an imagined doorway where past, present and future collide. From the album's centerpiece, a medley of Marvin Gaye classics, to standards such as "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Moon River," or her self-penned title song, Freelon reminds us of the grace and elegance that naturally accompanies her approach to interpreting melody. Inspired by her emotive glances to the past, and soulful presence in the here and now, she paints a portrait of reverence and gratitude for the gift of love that permeates every aspect of the human condition.

Standards consists of a series of standards that were not on the 2017 Kauflin/Fonnesbæk release Synesthesia, where most of the material consisted of original compositions. Justin and Thomas occasionally warmed up for the Synesthesia session by jamming on a few standards - not really considering their release, but more as a means of developing a common language regarding well-known melodies. And since they were in the studio, these functioned as an excellent diversion, after which they could relax with the other takes on the agenda. At the time they even considered deleting these 'diversions', which would have been a rather hasty decision! So now you can hear a mix of the 'left-overs'. There is no editing, which means the numbers were recorded as though it were a live concert, and then mixed. There are two tunes that were on the duo's first album - It's All Right with Me and Nigerian Marketplace - but they both felt that these takes were strong enough to make it in their own right. The young jazz superstar Justin Kauflin is a pianist, composer and producer. His international recognition proves its worth on this album: He is a precise and playful pianist, but always laid-back and elegant. His style mingles perfectly with the quieter Scandinavian Fonnesbæk and together, their understated approach makes a powerful statement in itself. It’s Kauflin’s simplicity and skill that impresses the listener, his eloquence on the piano never throwing the audience off, but always inviting them to sharpen their senses to the smallest of details. Thomas Fonnesbæk is a fascinating musician who exudes technical brilliance and a superior sense of rhythm, as well as a melodic and harmonic sensitivity reminiscent of Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen that never overshadows his own unique style.

2018 release. Vincent Thekal, tenor saxophonist from Brussels, Belgium, introduces Origami, his second opus as leader with bassist Alex Gilson and drummer Franck Agulhon. He continues to explore his own universe with the trio format, with eight new tunes in different moods, from straight ahead swing to contemporary grooves and ballads. A new sound to discover!

... SOMEONE needs to remind all of us what an alto sax is supposed to sound like! Auditory riches like a balm in Gilead. - Jazz Weekly. In 2001, alto saxophonist Brent Jensen released "The Sound of a Dry Martini: Remembering Paul Desmond." Resonating immediately with radio stations and their audiences, the album has been a consistent presence on the airwaves and has been streamed thousands of times a week since that technology was first conceived. Some twenty years later, Jensen now offers the house another round. Joined by guitarist Jamie Findlay, his long time partner in interpreting Desmond's works, Jensen improvises new melodies as rich and satisfying as the tunes from which they are based, subtly coloring his lines with romance, melancholy and joy. He shares a stylistic affinity with both Desmond and Lee Konitz in a lyrical sense, weaving singing, free-flowing lines in his own singular voice through Desmond favorites such as "Take Ten," and "Desmond Blue," or standards like "These Foolish Things" and "Alone Together." Supported by an outstanding Seattle cast - drummers Stefan Schatz and John Bishop, bassist Chris Symer and pianist Bill Anschell - Jensen creates another irresistible tribute to an iconic musical voice. "If this is the sound of a dry martini, then make mine a double. Highly recommended." - JAZZ REVIEW

Listening to this album takes you back to the atmosphere and sound of Jazzhus Montmartre on a random night in the 1960s, engulfing you in Dexter Gordon’s enormous aura. Dexter’s arrival in Copenhagen had a tremendous impact that left a lasting impression on the Danish jazz scene. He was handsome and well-dressed. His playing was superb, with a giant sound; his introductions and showmanship were unique and captivating. In addition, Dexter felt the Danish mentality was well-suited for playing and enjoying jazz. “It was always there”, Alex Riel remembers “It wasn’t a case of going to work, even though we played every, single night in June, July and August during the summer of 1964. Dexter and Tete were there solely for the music, and so were Niels-Henning and I. It is so obvious when I hear the music today. Dexter loved being in Montmartre. He often stayed and jammed with the night shift when it took over, playing on till early morning. I clearly remember us standing outside Montmartre one bright summer morning when the milkman came by. In those days the milkman drove around, delivering bottles of milk to the front doors of apartment buildings in Copenhagen. He brought his young daughter along to lend a hand, and it was hard not to notice her ample bosom beneath her thin T-shirt. Dexter took one look, then said, “Really (that’s what he called me), can she just walk around town and there’s no one who ...? You could never do that in New York ... I’m staying right here!’ And Dexter ended up owning Copenhagen!”

With the release of his latest studio album 50, Herb Alpert hits a tremendous milestone in a storied music career that began over 60 years ago in 1962: 50 is the Tijuana Brass maestro's 50th studio album! The 89-year-old Alpert has seen his share of high watermarks. By the numbers, he's sold over 72 million albums worldwide, earned 29 gold and platinum records, and has been awarded 8 Grammys. 50 is another impressive number to add to an already impressive list of stats. And importantly, 50 also commemorates 50 years of marriage to singer Lani Hall, their golden anniversary! Teeming with the good vibes that characterize the trumpeter's decades-long catalog, 50 is a continuation of the path Alpert has been blazing in the past decade. There is a mix of reimagined classics covered in Alpert's instantly recognizable style, highlighted by The Chords' doo-wop classic "Sh- Boom", Elvis' "Are You Lonesome Tonight", "Baubles Bangles And Beads" (famously recorded by Frank Sinatra, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Wes Montgomery, among others), and more. Plus, there are touching, new original compositions like "Dancing Down 50th Street". On 50, Herb strikes the delicate balance of honoring the past while keeping his eye set on the future. It's no wonder he's still going strong after all this time!

New York composer, trombonist & alto flugelhornist Scott Reeves' Jazz Orchestra has been hard at work since 2008, but it was only in 2016 with the release of the group's debut recording, "Portraits and Places," that a wider audience was offered a peek at Reeves' broad and sophisticated talents. With outstanding New York musicians, including saxophonists Steve Wilson, Tim Armacost, pianist Jim Ridl and vocalist Carolyn Leonhart, Scott's music offers an inspired approach to big band writing, combining a contemporary harmonic palette and nontraditional forms with infectious, swinging grooves and great soloing by world-class jazz artists. "Without a Trace" features arrangements of standards such as Kurt Weill's "Speak Low," and "All or Nothing At All," along with Wayne Shorter's "Juju", and then four Reeves originals, including "Something for Thad," a tribute to the great Thad Jones. "... a keen ear for melody, harmony and counterpoint... his compositions are sophisticated yet accessible, his arrangements scrupulously burnished and invariably engaging." - ALL ABOUT JAZZ.

Though a legendary figure from his monumental contributions to the clarinet and soprano saxophone's role in jazz, it was the compositions of Sidney Bechet that inspired master saxophonist David Liebman and guitarist John Stowell to dig deep into his catalog to compile and explore this set of rarely heard gems. Each possessing singular voices themselves that have inspired generations of other performers, Liebman & Stowell have created a very personal and intimate duo project celebrating another giant's work, their conversations making for compelling listening. "... a conversation between masters of their craft... sensitive and sublime... a marvelous collection of melody, harmony and joie de vivre." - Jazz Weekly

Without knowing or planning it, saxophonist/composer Benjamin Boone has spent his life preparing for a collaboration with Philip Levine. Long fascinated by the inherent musicality of the spoken word, Boone crossed paths with the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet as fellow professors at California State University, Fresno, and they ended up working closely together in the three years before Levine's death in 2015. Boone and Levine's "The Poetry of Jazz" captures a genre-expanding partnership unlike anything else in the jazz canon. Produced by piano great Donald Brown, the 14-track project features the compositions of Boone, the poetry of Levine, and a stellar band with special guest appearances by Tom Harrell, Greg Osby, Branford Marsalis and Chris Potter."Benjamin Boone knows how to get inside the poem, Phil Levine's inscrutable and imploding loops of poetics, his observations of the seen and unseen. Boone knows where the thing called poetry lives, an ocelot among the waters, a sky-shaped Rain God that flares down upon us. He does this with a myriad of instruments, with human breath chiseling and burning through brass and string, reeds and skin and hands and resin. He is one of the very few that can lure Phil's poetry-magic and call it out and show it to the world, Beyond words, up there with the muses." - U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera

With his focus on 'the art of the trio' since moving on from the Phil Woods Quintet in the late '80s - the last decade incorporating his innovative development of trio 'Rubato' playing into 7 albums on Origin Records - pianist Hal Galper made a major, personal musical statement in adding his old friend and saxophone titan Jerry Bergonzi to a late 2016 tour and live recording. Diving into the 'Rubato' deep end with the trio, Bergonzi provided another dimension and added spark, opening unforeseen avenues to the trio and quickly becoming an integral part of Galper's musical concepts going into the future. Thus, the Hal Galper Quartet, featuring Jerry Bergonzi! Recorded at Cleveland's Tri-C, Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts, the quartet recorded live in an open session format with a small but involved audience. Bassist Jeff Johnson contributed much of the music for the tour and four of the tracks for the recording. His tune title "Cubist," provided the implied visual of a subject with many parts out of place or overly-dramatized, offering new perspectives on a familiar image, and a fine metaphor for the music. "... a moment of thrilling uncertainty, slightly airborne and stretched out in unusual shapes and motions, and (the moment extended) out for the length of a song, each and every time." - Wondering Sound"... The high level of integration and communication the trio displays is rare and quite thrilling to experience... " - DOWNBEAT

Two widely respected Brazilian musicians, originally meeting and performing together on a 2014 tour, saxophonist Sergio Galvao & guitarist Lupa Santiago developed a quick and exciting rapport, vowing to work more together. Soon after a second tour, Galvao relocated to France where he formed a trio with two dynamic French musicians, bassist Clement Landais and drummer Franck Enouf, making plans to record as a trio in the spring of 2017. By coincidence, Lupa was touring Europe during the same period and the idea to join the trio's recording was born. Meeting in the studio in Normandy on the first day of recording, they brought their compositions and after many jokes concerning soccer, the name for the recording and band came very easily: 2x 2. The music presented is fully jazz, but infused with rich experiences and deep influence from their own cultures and travels.

On Tandem, pianist Dawn Clement explores the magic of musical pairs with some of her closest musical colleagues from the past 20 years. In duets with the legendary trombonist Julian Priester, drummer Matt Wilson, vocalist Johnaye Kendrick and others, Clement enjoys intimate conversations through jazz compositions by Monk & Tristano, her own originals, and classics such as "My Ideal," "In the Wee Small Hours," and "I Think of You." The result is a collection so fresh and raw it's as if the listener has eavesdropped on these musician's most guarded secrets. It's Clement's unique ability to tap into that vulnerability that makes her music so relevant and resonant.

Drummer, vibraphonist, and composer Michael Waldrop's second release on Origin is an ambitious and diverse representative of his work, highlighted by a wide-ranging, cross-genre aesthetic and his wildly dynamic big band. Inspired by the earthy and primal works of Cuban artist Wilfredo Lam, arranger Jack Cooper transformed three of Waldrop's compositions into an evocative and epic "Origin Suite," with the movements titled after three of his paintings. Featuring Waldrop's Big Band, guitarist Jimi Tunnell, saxophonist Mario Cruz, and German vocalist Marc Secara, it's a dramatic opening for an album that goes on to feature several other very distinctive voices including percussionists Brad Dutz & Jose Rossy, and keyboardist Scott Kinsey, and compositions by Jimi Tunnell, Gerald Stockton, Waldrop and Jack Copper. "Waldrop writes hummable tunes that jump in guess-where twists... sharing bustling charts with ex-boss Jack Cooper, he packs missed crannies with lightning fills." -DOWNBEAT

All About Jazz once stated, “Andrew Rathbun is an artist who takes chances with his recordings. You don’t hear any paint-by-the-numbers jazz discs from him.” This latest release proves again how accurate this statement is. Canadian-born Rathbun has established himself as one of the most compelling voices of American jazz scene today both as performer and as composer. While the composer’s socio-political awareness is manifested in the tune titles, the music which is intellectually emotional speaks louder to our consciousness. “Reedman Andrew Rathbun’s recording dates — dependably rhapsodic, songful, rational — each have plausible logic and worked-out thematic.” (Fred Bouchard – Downbeat on SCCD 31781 Numbers & Letters)

With Seeing, Tord Gustavsen begins an intricate new chapter in his series of acclaimed trio recordings, initiated in 2003 with Changing Places - an album that is today considered a classic. "The new recording with it's compact, concentrated song forms, reflects my personal development as I get older, going for the essentials in life and music," says the Norwegian pianist. The group's interplay draws strength from restraint, patiently building the music toward it's climaxes, while Gustavsen, a true master of the trio format, shapes the whole with his delicate touch and subtle gospel glow.

With Mirror Image, Matt wanted to explore what's become an increasingly prominent theme in his playing and composition: the reconciliation of his jazz and classical sides, this album finally brings them together, both old and new, in a very organic way. Whether it's through Tribute to John Coates, the Ravel Concerto or Satie's Gnossienne no. 1, it's all one cohesive sound, one style coming from two worlds that seem opposed but are not; Classical and Jazz have cross-pollinated since the early 20th century, and their musical histories have reflected that mutual inspiration ever since.

Code Quartet / GENEOLOGY - Code Quartet is comprised of Christine Jensen on saxophones, Lex French on trumpet, Adrian Vedady on acoustic bass and Jim Doxas on drums. Citing themselves as grown out of a jazz genealogy, they came together with the equal goal of composing and improvising in a cordless quartet setting. The quartet draws on composers from Fletcher Henderson to Paul Bley, Charlie Haden, Ornette Coleman, and beyond. The compositions are inspired by visual art, poetry, the environment, politics, and social movements. JUSTIN TIME RECORDS

2018 release. Lindsey Webster is the first vocalist to score four #1 Smooth Jazz radio hits in a row and was recently named the #1 Billboard Smooth Jazz Songs Artist for 2017. She's been on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart for an amazing 60 weeks. Her swift rise has been nothing short of spectacular! Love Inside promises to be Lindsey Webster's breakout album. The album's first single, "Love Inside," is quickly following the suit and making it's way up the chart!. Other highlights such as the sensuous "It's Not You, It's Me" (featuring Rick Braun) and the soulful "Free To Be Me" (featuring Norman Brown) help make Love Inside a must have release for Lindsey's growing legion of dedicated fans!

2018 release. Smooth Jazz Superstar Marion Meadows is without question one of the most popular and unique talents on the jazz scene today. Marion has sold close to one million albums in his brilliant career. His constant string of radio hits and relentless touring have garnered legions of fans, and his appearances with such varied artists as The Temptations, Michael Bolton and Will Downing are a testament to his broad audience appeal. Soul City, Marion's most intimate and heartfelt album to date, is a star-studded event that takes the listener on a sensuous journey through a soundscape of brilliant original compositions and masterful improvisations. The album is co-produced by Marion's long time hit-making collaborators, Chris "Big Dog" Davis (Will Downing, Gerald Albright, Maysa), Rahni Song (Najee, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson) and Dave Love. Soul Traveler, Marion's previous Shanachie release, debuted at #1 on the Smooth Jazz charts, and garnered 3 top 10 Smooth Jazz Radio singles. Highlights include the funky "Soul City" featuring Norman Brown, the deeply sensuous ballad "Be With You" with vocals by the amazing Will Downing, "Merry Go Round" featuring Smooth Jazz icon Peter White and much more!

Classical Music

Following an acclaimed tribute album to Benny Goodman, the 'King of Swing', the Julian Bliss Septet returns with a new album that showcases the music of jazz legends, George and Ira Gershwin, and - by popular demand - some of Benny's compositions and much-loved tunes. The Julian Bliss Septet was formed in 2010 and quickly became known for their trademark inspiring jazz-fuelled shows which have captivated audiences across the globe. Their dazzling virtuosity, extraordinary musicianship and charming humor shines through their programmes of swing, Latin, American and jazz music. The band has played at some of the most prestigious venues and festivals around the world, including the famous Ronnie Scott's and Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Bermuda Jazz Festival and on multiple US tours to sold-out clubs and concert halls including Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York).

Following the breadth of 2015's live and post-processed electro-acoustic release 'Paradigm Shift', bassist Michael Janisch launches new project Worlds Collide with a band featuring saxophonist John O'Gallagher, trumpeter Jason Palmer, guitarist Rez Abbasi and drummer Clarence Penn. Recorded in Abbey Road's legendary Studio 3, and engineered/mastered by Tyler McDiarmid, it also includes guest saxophonist George Crowley, keyboardist John Escreet and drummer/percussionist Andrew Bain. Another London / An Ode To A Norwegian Strobe / The JJ I Knew / Frocklebot / Intro To Pop / Pop / Freak Out

Fifth album from American trumpeter Andre Canniere for Whirlwind with a new band featuring Brigitte Beraha - vocals, Tori Freestone - tenor saxophone, Rick Simpson - piano & keyboards, Tom Farmer - double bass, Andrew Bain - drums. Andre Canniere is an acclaimed trumpet player, composer and educator currently based in London. Originally from rural Pennsylvania, Canniere spent the first five years of his career in New York City where he worked with artists such as Maria Schneider, Becca Stevens, Donny McCaslin, Kate McGarry, Ingrid Jensen and Darcy James Argue. Since his arrival in the UK, Canniere's profile has been steadily rising, both as a solo artist and a collaborator. In 2012 Canniere released his critically acclaimed debut Forward Space on Whirlwind Recordings ("the new label of the moment" - BBC Radio 2) which Jazzwise hailed as "one of the best recordings in a long time" and listed as one of their 'Best Albums of 2012'. The following year Canniere released 'Coalescence', his second Whirlwind album which was equally lauded by the press and firmly established Canniere as "one of the most compelling artists on the current London jazz scene" (The Scotsman). Suicides / Colours / Erasure / My Star / Arrival / One More Down / Endure

2024 release. 5x Grammy and Oscar-winner Jon Batiste returns with a pure piano album, Beethoven Blues (Batiste Piano Series, Vol. 1). Reimagining the transcendent works of Ludwig van Beethoven, alongside original compositions inspired by Batiste's youth competing in local piano competitions and gigging in the heart of New Orleans, the album extends timeless classics across the genre spectrum. It is a way of paying homage to Beethoven's artistry and bringing it into a singular moment, in true creative partnership with Batiste's artistic work and journey.