2018 release. Jamie Baum on this project: "I found there to be very deep connections going back centuries, between certain types of Jewish music (my earliest musical influences) and Arabic, Middle Eastern and South Asian music. To make a long story short, researching these musical connections and composing music based on them became the focus of my project, Bridges, for my Guggenheim Fellowship. This music represents a "bridge", highlighting the similarities found in diverse religious music traditions that connect us, expressed in a modern jazz/improvisatory format played by musicians of those various backgrounds. Drawing on influences from Jewish, Muslim/Arabic and Hindu/South Asian music, these stellar musicians transform my compositions with an urgency and commitment into a unique, exciting tapestry, taking the listener (and themselves) into territory that feels both familiar and unknown."

2018 release. Raymond wants the music of Real Feels to connect to his listeners. So rather than compose complex, over the top pieces, he focused on simplifying and writing music that people could sing along with. The majority of the music on Joy Ride was written during a self-imposed summer retreat in which Raymond made sure to write every day. He also decided to compose at the piano, an instrument on which he is less in command, creating a natural handicap to insure the pieces would be more natural.

2018 release. The discovery of the music of Leadbelly was transformative for young Adam Nussbaum. The only child of artistic parents in Norwalk, Connecticut, Nussbaum was exposed to many recordings, from classical and folk to jazz and blues. It was the image of Huddie Ledbetter on the original Folkways 10-inch record covers that fascinated the five year old. The celebrated blues and folk musician's music seared itself into his ears, as it does in young listeners, informing the future drummer's musical approach for years to come, most explicitly on his new recording, The Leadbelly Project.

2018 release. On this recording, jazz saxophonist Wayne Escoffery presents this great quartet on a number of original pieces, a standard and an original piece by the ensemble's brilliant drummer, Ralph Peterson, who Escoffery has worked alongside since Escoffery's arrival in New York in 2000. The rest of the band is equally pedigreed. Pianist David Kikoski has been a regular collaborator in the Mingus Big Band and with Eddie Henderson, and bassist Ugonna Okegwo has been driving the rhythm section of Tom Harrell's ensemble for the entirety of Escoffery's tenure. Escoffery's quartet is augmented by the percussion of Jaquelene Acevedo on a number of pieces.

2017 release. For Homecoming, there was only one guideline: All compositions had to be by Vince Mendoza. The second condition was set by the Vince himself: He wanted to use only newly written pieces - and it goes without saying - they were made to measure for the WDR Big Band. The band appreciated his high level of commitment. The recording shows, that permanently employed musicians of a broadcasting house orchestra, working in a well-organized setting, are not necessarily just "finishing a project" but can be inspired and at ease when performing. There is no hint of this tiring theme/solo/solo/solo/theme-pattern as Vince Mendoza is a true master of the organic form and the musical arc, a master of densely interwoven musical thoughts. The six- to nine minutes long compositions are complex and intensive without being excessive - on the contrary: the music breathes.

2018 release. The concept of freedom in music relates to many things. Bassist/composer Clovis Nicolas didn't eschew formal jazz harmony and rhythm in the search for freedom but found a measure of added purpose and space for his bass playing in a chord-less band format without piano or guitar. Freedom Suite Ensuite is a recording of Nicolas's efforts in this formation and a tribute to the musician who exemplifies playing free within a form, saxophone great Sonny Rollins.

2017 release. Ferber has led his big band over the past six years; it is made up of players who are not afraid to be expressive, whether in a big band or small ensemble setting. They have to be comfortable playing lyrically and melodically as well as be acute listeners who are willing to interact and feel time together. To accomplish this, Ferber assembled musicians of stylistically diverse backgrounds. In his trombone section alone there is a veteran of the Woody Herman Big Band and one of Kronos Quartet's in-house composers.

2017 release. Like most jazz musicians, Strosahl has examined the full scope of the jazz tradition to inform his own approach to the music. He has, however, gone a few steps farther. Strosahl's admiration for the polyphonic music of the 16th and 17th centuries has shaped his compositional technique, and his knowledge of the classical canon, modern composition, and an array of improvised music has been translated to a large musical "toolset." He makes use of this toolset with his "Team," made up of tenor saxophonist Sam Decker, clarinetist Michael Sachs, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, pianist Nick Sanders, bassist Henry Fraser and drummer Connor Baker.

2017 release. Producing A Thing Called Joe was an exercise in abandon for Flouzat. On the day before the recording, the drummer spent a leisurely afternoon picking tunes and comparing different versions, making a home cooked dinner and engaging in casual conversation with his bandmates. The next day Flouzat, pianist Sullivan Fortner and bassist Desmond White met at The Bunker Studios and took turns calling tunes from a list, making arrangement suggestions on the spur of the moment and rarely recording more than two takes. When the day was done, eighteen tunes were recorded. Then came the work of distilling the material and discovering the right sequence for listeners, so they could do what listeners used to do with old LPs: listen to them over and over again. A budding songwriter, Flouzat has always drawn a lot of his inspiration from the wit and understated sophistication of composers and lyricists like Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, Oscar Hammerstein and the Gershwin Brothers. His interest in the American Songbook led him to learn the lyrics of lesser known standards and to call them out at jam sessions, delving into their many interpretations and incorporating them into his drum routine.

Having just celebrated his 80th birthday, pianist Steve Kuhn has continued to get to the heart of things with his long-standing trio of bass guitarist Steve Swallow and drummer Joey Baron. The ensemble's deeply resonant relationship can be heard on their new recording, To and From The Heart, a poignant collection of pieces that showcases these masters' highly wrought abilities in wringing emotion from the ether.

2017 release. Jazz is supposed to be spontaneous and unpredictable. When you play with Martial this couldn't be more true. He never repeats himself; his harmonic choices range from Tatum to McCoy to Schoenberg; he will bend the form of a composition in the moment and as anyone who is familiar with Martial's piano playing knows, his technique is flawless (approaching 90 years old as I write in May 2017!) // The several times we have played together in the past year plus have been quite significant for me. While the repertoire played represents the standard jazz song book (chosen at the gig itself), to interact with arguably the most famous European jazz artist of all time playing standards is not something one does every day. At the same time the challenge for me is to adjust and react to the Maestro's ideas at a level that I have rarely had to deal with, particularly in the bebop idiom.

2017 release from the jazz pianist. Note from Denny Zeitlin: "In the two years since Sunnyside's 2015 release of Riding The Moment, George and I have continued our expedition into new territories of free improvisation, and have found the journey to be very enriching and exciting. For listeners having a first contact with our duo, I'll repeat my remarks from our first album, since the set and setting remain the same. This album, like Riding the Moment, has roots going back to the late sixties, when I began a decade of exploring the electro-acoustic integration of jazz, classical, funk, rock, and free-form music. My trio included Mel Graves or Ratso Harris on bass, and throughout, the incredible drummer/percussionist George Marsh. We recorded and toured the West Coast, concluding this period with my electro-acoustic-symphonic score for the 1978 remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers."

2017 release. The diverse Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene has spawned an incredible array of brilliant musicians. Like many smaller markets, the Twin Cities seem to breed multi-dimensional musicians who are versed in many styles and are willing to try anything. Vector Families is a perfect example of this ethos, as three generations of forward thinking musicians have converged to deliver For Those About to Jazz/Rock, We Salute You. Drummer/composer Dave King is no stranger to the world of collaboration and eclecticism. While attending a performance in a local club, King was happily surprised to see bassist Anthony Cox on the bandstand. Cox had recently returned to the Midwest from a fruitful stretch in New York where he played with such luminaries as Geri Allen, Marty Ehrlich and John Scofield. This began a musical bond between Cox and King that has lasted 20 years. Cox was an obvious choice for any project and a chance to record with him would be special and long overdue. But so would working with the polymath and guitar genius Dean Granros, a Minneapolis creative music legend who has experimented in jazz, psychedelic rock and new music. The Vector Families lineup is completed by the fantastic saxophonist Brandon Wozniak.

2017 release. For the past couple of years, Kolker has led a dynamic and wide-ranging trio featuring Billy Mintz, an outstanding drummer and composer with whom Kolker has played with regularly for years, and the brilliant guitarist Steve Cardenas. The empathetic interaction between the three musicians makes for fascinating, moving music. For this recording, Beckon, Kolker presents the trio along with a number of pieces featuring a woodwind ensemble. Kolker's overdubbing of woodwinds has been an important element of his recorded output.

2017 release. Some of Green's best work has been in the trio format, historically a configuration that has been one of the most popular in the advancement of jazz. The ensemble featured here is made up of bassist David Wong and drummer Rodney Green. Benny Green has been performing at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center for more than 35 years. He was introduced to the stage while in the ensembles of Betty Carter and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Since then, Green has tried to make a point of playing the Northern California venue yearly. Begun as a non-profit and festival in 1975, Kuumbwa has maintained a steady presence in the jazz world as one of the premier jazz venues in the United States.