Veteran alto saxophonist Andy Fusco, despite his long-time active career which had begun with the 5-year tenure with the Buddy Rich Big Band in the late 70s, has been notoriously under-recorded as a leader. His SteepleChase debut album last year “Whirlwind” SCCD 31811, though it took 12 years before its release, has marked the new era for the virtuoso instrumentalist. Here on his new album (only one year has passed since the last one) Fusco leads his hand-picked band to present a tasteful and full-blooded program. “Whirlwind is one of those rare releases that exceeds craft and competence, and establishes its own reasons for being. Among other things, it's a bottomless well of a jazz record. The more you play it, the more discoveries you make. The music offers multiple perspectives and can be enjoyed in a number of ways.” (David A.Orthmann – AAJ on SCCD 31811)

Guitarist/composer Gene Segal is rapidly becoming a stalwart regular player of SteepleChase Lookout with this his 3rd album, for which Gene assembles an organ trio. With his unpredictable, open, unconventional style still intact Segal applies a mini paradigm shift to straighter jazz and reveals a new dimension. “While Segal still loves the funk, as the opening "Healing Feeling" definitively shows, the remainder of the album doesn't easily fit into any one musical pigeonhole; unless there's a category at your local music store called "accomplished, original jazz-rock from out of left-field."” (Dave Wayne – AAJ on SCCD 33114)

The winner of Downbeat Magazine’s “Rising Star” critics poll 2015 cornetist and composer Kirk Knuffke is presenting here his interpretation of compositions by the two iconic practitioners of 60’s free jazz movement Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman. For Kirk – being identified himself with new jazz – who had known Coleman in his late years personally, this engaging tribute is an axiom. "One of modern jazz’s most skilled navigators of the divide between inside and outside, freedom and swing", he has "full command of his most demanding instrument…” – (All About Jazz)

Italy’s new piano-forte star Federico Bonifazi hails from Umbrian region but his musical soul belongs to the jazz scene of New York city where this his second SteepleChase LookOut release was produced. On this album Bonifazi invites trumpeter Philip Harper of the Harper Brothers to be featured. “You'll see is an album worthy of special attention, designed and built with strong artistic personality and with a huge communicative generosity, in which Bonifazi interacts with his fellow performers with that nurturing freedom with humility and discretion that only great artists possess and that’s what makes this CD a real gem in the musical production of the Umbrian pianist.” (A Proposito di Jazz on SCCD 33125)

Late bassist Milt Hinton is celebrated for a stage and studio career that intersected with countless legendary musicians - from Dizzy Gillespie and Cab Calloway to Barbra Streisand and Willie Nelson - for an incredible seven decades. Groove Dreams, a new recording by versatile bassist Peter Dominguez, honors Hinton's legacy with solo bass tunes from artists as varied as Duke Ellington, Stevi Wonder, Bill Evans, and Chick Corea. Performed on the 18th-century Italian bass Hinton played throughout his career, each song explores the nuances and deep colors of the instrument - qualities not always discernible in ensemble playing. A renowned bassist and educator in his own right, Dominguez met Hinton in 1981 and won the inaugural Milton J. Hinton Scholarship Competition that same year. More than three decades later, Dominguez was instrumental in forging a relationship between the Hinton estate and Oberlin Conservatory, where he is a professor of jazz studies and double bass. Oberlin's relationship with the Hinton estate has grown to include a scholarship fund; an extensive collection of papers, films, and personal artifacts amassed by the Hintons; a biennial summer Institute for Studio Bass; photographs taken by Hinton throughout his career; and four basses formerly owned by Hinton that continue to be played by Oberlin facutly, students and visiting artists. ''Words are not adequate to express the experience of playing Milt Hinton's bass,'' says Dominguez. ''We are ever mindful of its provenance and Milt's enduring spirit that thrives within it.''

Chris Byars’s ongoing endeavour to re-discover and celebrate works by outstanding jazz composers of the past generations produced here another collection of gems by alto saxophonist Frank Strozier superbly arranged by Byars. Born in Memphis, TN in 1937 Frank Strozier grew up playing piano in the nourishing Memphis blues/jazz environment. Strozier established himself in New York as highly acclaimed alto sax player and composer in the 1960s, performing a. o. as a member of The Miles Davis Sextet. “The music of Duke Jordan is surely worthy of re-appraisal and when it is refurbished and re-interpreted as creatively as it is here it emerges as much more than a trip down memory lane but serves as inspirational source material upon which to build a new music.” (Evan Dixon - Jazz Views on SCCD 31787 The Music of Duke Jordan)

Stephen Riley started his recording career with SteepleChase in 2005 with an amazing (and unusual) piano-less trio SCCD 31584 Inside Out. Since then he had more often than not opted for the piano-less format until he recorded his 2013 quartet release SCCD 31765 Lover with Peter Zak on piano. Riley and Zak started performing as duo and made their first duo release SCCD 31806 Haunted Heart to critical and public acclaim. So here’s “Deuce” to follow up by the empathic twosome. “…This session is his third meeting with pianist Peter Zak, whose sensitive accompaniment allows Riley the breathing room he thought could only be found in pianoless groups. This time, however, it’s just the pair, finding new avenues through a mix of jazz standards and gems from the Great American Songbook. Without timekeeping by a rhythm section, the players rely on intuition to anticipate their joint path…. With Haunted Heart, Stephen Riley and Peter Zak have achieved that rare chemistry that demands future projects together.” (Ken Dryden, New York City Jazz Record on “Haunted Heart” SCCD 31806)

Composer and saxophonist Nicola Alesini is one of the most prominent new sounders in the rhythms and melodies of the Mediterranean tradition. In his music, always open to the whole universe of the language of art, there is a meeting and mingling of jazz and popular music, ambient and world music. Visionary, magical, and suggestive are the stylistic figures of his compositions and his sometimes lyrical, sometimes scratching phrasing. He has worked with musicians such as Glen Velez, Hans Joachim Roedelius, David Sylvian, Roger Eno, David Thorn, Harold Budd, Steve Jansen, and Richard Barbieri. This new release is a concept album based on the book “Invisible Cities” by Italo Calvino, and is a journey in the imagination of the composer where “impressions” and “memories” become sound. A symphony of saxophones, popular clarinet, bass clarinet, and keyboards is heard here. “Totally unreal places, wonderfully without time nor space. And, once again, packed with music that knows how to scratch the soul with velvet nails.”

The SLD Trio is an exciting and adventurous group of young musicians from Buenos Aires. The Argentinian capital is not a city that is exactly known for an extensive free-jazz and improvised music scene; however, there is a dedicated core of artists and musicians in the city, and the members of this piano trio, pianist Paul Schocron, bassist German Lamonega, and drummer Pablo Diaz, are at the heart of it. Individually, they have studied at institutions like the Classical Composition at Rosario University, and the Contemporary Music School (part of the Berklee International Network, which is run by the popular music school in Boston), as well as the University of Fine Arts in La Plata. They have been working together for years, along with other important Buenos Aires musicians like Enrique Norris. All the while, their musical rapport has grown closer and closer, and most recently the trio has been greatly expanding their network of collaborators and welcoming new influences. This is a lovely and exciting album from a trio that is just as willing to give as to receive, and ready to synthesize the familiar with the unknown. On Tensegridad, these three strong, empathetic musicians are flexing their creative muscles, working hard together to share their excitement in making music, and giving back the community that they have received as much from.

Listening, eight years after it was created, to this primary chapter in the recorded legacy of Myra Melford's first trio evokes a rush of feelings. There are warm memories of in-person encounters with Melford, Lindsey Horner and Reggie Nicholson; and satisfaction regarding how the ideas Melford articulated here as both pianist and composer have metamorphosed into the triumphs of her subsequent music. What is absent is the uncertainty one often feels when contemplating the recent past, that feeling of needing more time to take the full measure of a musical statement. Melford has made it easy for us, through the clarity of both these now-historic performances and her subsequent efforts, to hear the present works as both glorious ends in themselves and the foundations of her ongoing creations. Melford formed the trio in 1990, and immediately began the touring and recording that made her and it among the most positive signs of musical health in the early 1990s. What set the trio immediately apart was its ability to merge a strong blues feeling with notions of rhythmic and structural complexity associated with the exploratory end of the jazz-trio spectrum. The music conveyed a strength and unguarded emotionalism that burst forth in dynamic arcs, with a sense of shape and completeness that made the trio’s collective creations anything but random. Even as the band broke new ground, it was clearly a product of the jazz tradition. However odd the meter or angular the thematic material, the music always had a propulsion that all sides of current debates on jazz aesthetics could identify and celebrate as swing.

Pianist/composer Stanley Cowell at age 75 is having an on-going renaissance as a performer since his retirement from Rutgers University in 2013. The group presented here is scheduled to have a three-night stint at New York City’s renowned live jazz spot Smokes in May. This is Cowell’s 15th release from SteepleChase. “…Cowell’s recording career now spans more than thirty years….an impressive consistency of purpose and the highest level of musical thought.” (Richard Cook & Brian Morton – The Penguin Guide to Jazz)

Pianist/composer Carl Winther dedicates this album to his father, legendary Danish trumpeter/composer/bandleader Jens Winther, whose untimely death February 24, 2011 stunned his fans. Carl Winther himself is an award-winning artist who - while attributes his musical foundation to his famous father - is his own voice to establish himself in the international scene. “ .. If you are into highly modern jazz trio with American roots, this album has a lot to offer.” (Brian Petre – Jazz Special on SCCD 33130 “Deconstructing Mr. X”)

We must not complain, we must fight'', is motto Louis Sclavis repeats almost like a mantra. The 64 year-old from Lyon likes the process this triggers. The son of a photographer, whose own photographs have been shown in exhibitions and adorn the covers of is newer studio aubms, began playing the clarinet at ten. His inspiration back then was the music of Sidney Bechet, France's biggest Jazz star at the time. From there he went on to the conservatory, where at sixteen he saw a concert by the Workshop d'Lyon and immediately began playing their sophisticated style of Free Jazz. ''You could say that I experienced a very fast transition from new Orleans Jazz and the music of Duke Ellington, which I also liked back then and still like a lot, to Free Jazz'', he laughingly admits. ''I only found out later what happened in Jazz musically inbetween.'' True to his fighting spirit, Sclavis soon engaged himself in the French - and European - Jazz scene with a vigor to match his extraordinary talent, winning the Prix Django Reinhardt in 1988 already and recording many ground breaking albums, such as ''Carnet des Routes'', inspired by a tour of Western and central Africa with Henri Texier and Aldo Romano. The concert documented on this album opened the WDR 3 Jazzfest at the Theater Gutersloh on February 2, 2017, which also happened to be Louis Sclavis' 64th birthday. As a present to himself and to his audience, he presented a new quartet that evening, with Sylvain Riffet, who more than stepped up to the plate as the second reed-voice on saxophone, the excellent Christophe Lavergne on drums and Sarah Murcia on bass. Sclavis adores this eclectic group and explains that especially Sarah Murica, best known in France for accompanying chansonnier George Moustaki or writing the score to a successful movie about Serge Gainsbourg, brings a different flair and freshness to the music. ''I like drummers and bassplayers, but they just did not appear on any of my last albums'', he says. ''So I was very happy to be playing with a real ''Jazz rhythm section'' again in Gutersloh.''

Harmonica and jazz? It would be hard to come up with more than a few names that have brilliantly combined these concepts together. The Belgian Toots Thielemans, a living legend on the chromatic harmonica would be leading the way, together with Stevie Wonder, with whom the instrument has gained access into the world of soul and pop. Then all of a sudden, Konstantin Renfeld appears; very young and a genuine talent on the diatonic harmonica, which he plays fully chromatically. He sets standards here which are otherwise only met by the US virtuoso Howard Levy. Even as a child, Konstantin Reinfeld was irresistibly attracted to music. His enthusiasm for the freedom of jazz grew equally alongside his autodidactic study of the instrument. Learning the increasingly demanding playing techniques which that kind of music requires was a unique incentive for Reinfeld, and brought him an increasing sense of self-fulfillment. ''After the release of my debut album, the common musical understanding within the band has grown stronger because of our live performances at festivals and concerts. A consequence of this was an effort by everyone in the band to carry this energy which we had developed on the stage into the studio.'' (Konstantin Reinfeld)

Alto saxophonist/composer Zaid Nasser has been perfectly pedigreed as a jazz musician, having the legendary bassist Jamil Nasser as the father and growing up surrounded by the elite players of the New York jazz scene. Zaid has performed with Cecil Payne, Junior Cook, Joe Hendricks, Harold Mabern, among others, leads his own group and tours extensively overseas. “Zaid’s sound is organic and authentic. He plays smart music with a kind of freedom that is unusual … Nasser’s unique personal tone and phrasing reveal intricately crafted, imaginative, and ingenious musical lines, woven into tight thematic improvisation.” (Luke Kaven – Smalls)

Pianist/composer Mark Soskin has been one of the leading players on the New York jazz scene for a number of years. Although Soskin’s name still is associated with Sonny Rollins with whom he worked more than a decade in the 80s and 90s, Mark has left his own strong footprint on performing and recording front. Soskin is also a dedicated educator currently in the faculty of Manhattan School Of Music. On this his first release from SteepleChase Mark Soskin with his favorite rhythm section presents the quintessence of piano trio jazz. “Soskin combines an always melodic approach with a rich vocabulary that draws on a wide range of influences.” (Warren Allen – AAJ)

Jamey Haddad met saxophone player Billy Drewes when both were music students in Boston. Nearly 45 years later, the longtime friends have made their first recording together: a collection of nine tunes written by Drewes and performed by Under One Sun, eight musicians who represent five countries and whose ages span five decades. “As my musical journey led me from one continent to another, and as I experienced a planet crying out for understanding, this team of players cosmically came forward,” says Haddad, a longtime professor of advanced improvisation and percussion at Oberlin Conservatory. “The sheer joy of every member experiencing their bandmates’ artistry truly exemplifies the human capacity to celebrate what makes us unique.” Joining Haddad and Drewes are Michael Ward-Bergeman, Luisito Quintero, Roberto Occhipinti, Leo Blanco, Ali Paris, and Salar Nader. Also included are performances by fellow Oberlin faculty trombonists Jay Ashby and Lee Allen, Oberlin Conservatory brass students, and Hadra des Femmes de Taroudant, an all-female vocal ensemble from Morocco.

To help artists develop exciting projects that are difficult to realize under existing conditions is the goal of the SWR NEWJazzMeeting. This legendary sound laboratory for jazz of the SWR was founded in 1966 by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and takes place every year. The idea: musicians who always wanted to perform with one another but who, for a variety of reasons, have so far not been able to do so, develop a concert programme in the broadcaster’s studios that the SWR then presents in several concerts in its transmission area. In the course of its fifty-year history, the SWR NEWJazz Meeting has in this way served as a driving force for new trends in jazz. “I see a particular value in exploring the music of my South African homeland and making it fit for the future.” Kyle Shepherd, born in 1987, is the most innovative and important pianist of the contemporary South African jazz scene. His sound boldly makes reference to the roots of township jazz and the Goema Beat of his hometown of Cape Town. Nevertheless, he refuses to be put into a pigeonhole; his horizon extends far beyond his beloved Cape Jazz. “It’s cool to choose the African thing in conceptual questions. But just as cool to choose something else.” Kyle Shepherd, the most innovative and important pianist of the contemporary South African jazz scene, is the curator of the 2016 SWR NEWJazz Meeting. At his wish, four young jazz musicians from South Africa and the Benin-born guitarist and singer Lionel Loueke (who since 2001 has been living in the United States) met in November 2016 at the SWR’s Baden-Baden radio studios. The musicians named their project “Sound Portraits From Contemporary Africa”. The African improvisers experimented for five days and developed a concert programme that they then presented on a tour in the SWR broadcasting area.

Downbeat: A mega-production without equal. The hard grind for this exceptional double album has in every respect extremely fresh interpretations and solo contributions. Jazz Times: This is an astonishing extended album. Fay Claassen dominates the entirety of this release. Claassen replaces Baker's trumpet revealing her amazing skill at phrasing. This album brought Fay worldwide eurphoric reviews, as well as the first “Chet Baker Award,” a first place in the “All About Jazz” critics poll in New York, the ‘Choc’ from the French magazine “Jazzman” and finally in 2013 her first gold record in the Netherlands. She has, up to this point, published five albums under her own name. As a guest soloist, she can be heard on fifteen additional releases.

Since her SteepleChase debut with “Now And Zen” album (SCCD31432) of 1998 LeeAnn has been one of the front runners of women in jazz. Neither her earlier lengthy sick leave nor her current fragile physique could hinder her from releasing this strong album renewing and widening her creative scope. “Ledgerwood doesn’t set out to blaze trails. Her intent is to craft thoughtful, personal originals that build on and dovetail with a rich archival repertoire. To the pianist’s credit, she succeeds. Simple Truth is an appropriate and understated title for this modest, inviting album.” (Carlo Wolff- JazzTimes on SCCD 31705)

A New York City native, veteran drummer Eliot Zigmund has performed with numerous jazz luminaries throughout his long career but most known is his tenure with Bill Evans in the 70s where Zigmund’s sensitive and tasteful support to the great pianist was always present. Here on his new album Zigmund leads a consummate quartet fronted by up and coming sax talent Chris Cheek. “Zigmund is that breed of percussionist who does not count their pride alongside their visible signs of virtuosity. He is in every way a musician with extensive experience but above all the art of listening.” (Jazzman Magazine)

One of New York’s (or rather World’s) top Hammond Organ players Brian Charette has kept us in anticipation of something new every time he goes into recording studios. His unique approach has deepened and expanded the boundaries of music that B-3 organ can create. Here again for his sixth release on SteepleChase Brian opted for a somewhat unusual Organ-Piano trio format with repertoire of traditional materials dotted with experimental treatments conjuring up a compelling middle ground between past and future. “Brian Charette has emerged as one of the top organists of his generation because of a fresh approach to his instrument, drawing from musical influences around the world with often surprising results.” (Ken Dryden – New York City Jazz Records on “The Questions That Drives Us” SCCD 31784)

Camaraderie - a partnership of organist Mark Minchello and saxophonist Bob Hanlon - is a follow up to their first Steeplechase release Trinomial. This CD features the outstanding guitar work of Vic Juris and Bob Devos as well as newcomer Charlie Sigler and drummers Andy Watson and Pete McDonald. “AH! The Hammond B3 trio with sax and drums, and Hammond hitter Mark Minchello makes the team wheeze, groove and fog up an interesting and well thought collection of tunes. They keep away from the blues and instead venture into uncharted waters by doing tunes not usually associated with this genre.” (George W. Harris – Jazz Weekly on Trinomial SCCD33117)

Mike Richmond, Grammy Award-winning bassist with vast experience with leaders such as Miles Davis, Stan Getz, Horace Silver, Jack DeJohnette, Gil Evans, Chet Baker to mention a few, leads here his own group with cello as his instrument for the first time. Cello as a jazz instrument is still a rarity but its history goes back to the 50s when Oscar Pettiford broke new ground. Richmond put together this all-Pettiford-composition album to honor the pioneer. “…Dance for Andy is one of those rare CDs that sustain interest through a 70-minute-plus duration.” (Richard Cook & Brian Morton – The Penguin Guide on SCCD 31267) “Richmond is as nimble fingered and resourceful a bassist we have heard in some time.” (New York Daily News)

Young Anderson Brothers (Peter and Will are identical twins) both on clarinet here band together with two veteran clarinetists Ken Peplowski with rich background in big band jazz and multiple Grammy Award winner Paquito D’Rivera to perform live to a jubilant audience. “They are sparkling virtuosos and their clever, tidy arrangements for various combinations of clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone are smart and refreshing…. everything they play sounds fresh, creative and in the moment.” (Paul de Barros – Soundposts)