A fascinating paradox defines “Echoes Of The Inner Prophet”, Melissa Aldana’s follow-up to her acclaimed Blue Note Records debut as a leader, 2022’s “12 Stars”. As the GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist and composer explains, her new album reflects her “personal journey, with an especially introspective point of view. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Whether we are talking about gender, political, racial, cultural, economic status, or oceanic divides we are all closer than we think when gaining perspective on how similar we all are instead of hyper focusing on minute differences. For this record I chose a set of songs that I felt would speak to our core in a variety of ways as ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Detroit born Guitarist/Composer Dan Baraszu started playing guitar at the age of 9. Early in his career, he explored many different styles of music. However, when he first heard the genius of Jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, Dan devoted himself to becoming a die-hard Jazz artist. His major influences include ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Elmo Hope Trio is an album by jazz pianist Elmo Hope recorded in 1959 and originally released on the Hifijazz label but rereleased on Contemporary Records. Overshadowed throughout his life by his friends Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope was a talented pianist and composer whose life was cut short by drugs. His first important gig was with Joe Morris’ R&B ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Bebop
Call on the Old Wise is Nitai Hershkovits’ first record for ECM, presenting his powerful pianistic ingenuity in a largely improvised solo setting. Nitai’s improvisations unfold like compositions being created in real-time: “It’s like I’m playing with several periods of music at once, but in a sort of augmented-reality-environment,” ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
The Chicago Sound (Remastered 2023)
Ware is best known for his work with the Thelonious Monk quartet in 1957-58 and for his live recordings with the Sonny Rollins Trio at the Village Vanguard. Ware’s exceptional timing, economic placement of notes combined with an adroit use of space and time in ensemble playing with Monk was perfectly suited to the pianist’s music. Perhaps the best illustration of this is Ware’s inter-play with Monk on ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Hard Bop
Arturo O’Farrill returns to his first love—the piano—on his remarkable new Blue Note album Legacies. Renowned as a composer, arranger, and bandleader, here the 8-time GRAMMY-winner puts the emphasis back on his striking pianistic abilities with a 9-song set that juxtaposes stunning solo piano flights and dynamic trio performances with O’Farrill ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Latin Jazz
Renowned Danish saxophonist Niels Vincentz and his trio set out in open terrain on Gravity, their second recording for SteepleChase. Inspired by the great "pianoless" jazz groups (Gerry Mulligan, Sonny Rollins, Steve Lacy, Ornette Coleman), Vincentz is joined in his venture by two top drawer musicians - bassist Cameron Brown and drummer Billy Hart. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Hard Bop
Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums (Remastered)
Newly remastered from the original analog tapes by Grammy-winning engineer (and former Contemporary Records studio employee) Bernie Grundman, the 20-track set presents two classic albums from the legendary saxophonist’s catalog: Way Out West (recorded in March 1957) and ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Hard Bop
Legendary bassist/composer Buster Williams celebrates 80 years (and counting) along a path to musical enlightenment on his stunning new album, UNALOME, featuring vocalist Jean Baylor, saxophonist Bruce Williams, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, pianist George Colligan, and drummer Lenny White. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Christian McBride's New Jawn Prime
Christian McBride's New Jawn — trumpeter Josh Evans (Jackie McLean, Cedar Walton, Rasheid Ali), saxophonist and bass clarinetist Marcus Strickland (Roy Haynes, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Chris Dave, Bilal, Robert Glasper), and drummer Nasheet Waits (Jason Moran, Joe Lovano, John Medeski) — is back with their highly anticipated sophomore album, ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Free Jazz
Sonny Rollins, one of the last living icons of modern jazz, was and is a role model for countless generations of saxophonists. This is also the case for Johannes Enders, one of the most important European voices on the tenor saxophone. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Revival: Live at Pookie's Pub (Remastered)
A thrilling, previously unissued live recording of Elvin Jones' quartet that captures the legendary drummer's emergence as a bandleader at a little-known NYC club where he had a weekly residency after leaving John Coltrane's band in the late 1960s. Featuring Joe Farrell on tenor saxophone, Billy Greene on piano, and Wilbur Little on ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Hard Bop
Finally, a new full-length Candy Dulfer album called ‘We Never Stop, A party platter of stanky jams, silken R&B, jazz, and pop-funk, ‘We Never Stop’ features several guest appearances by Chic guitarist, producer, songwriter, and three-time GRAMMY Award-winner Nile Rodgers. Take a listen to the first single “Jammin’ Tonight (feat. Nile Rodgers),” a bold injection of party pop-funk ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Smooth Jazz
Discover the life and music of jazz luminary Ron Carter, the most recorded bassist in history. The album "Finding The Right Notes" is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, which was filmed over a period of six years and invites viewers to get to know the man behind the bass. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
Approaching 80 years of age is occasion enough for anyone to take a moment and look back on a life well lived. For legendary drummer Al Foster, those eight decades have been more memorable than most, filled with exhilarating sounds and encounters with some of the music’s most iconic legends. On REFLECTIONS, Foster revisits the work of several of those peers alongside an inspiring quintet of all-stars: Nicholas Payton, ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Free Jazz
If Stefano Bollani were to speculate on being named an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro with his album "Carioca", he might just succeed. At least if Brazilian critics and jazz fans have their way. They celebrated the Italian pianist effusively for his masterful recording of Brazilian classics. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Latin Jazz
Acclaimed drummer and composer Billy Drummond will release his new album Valse Sinistre on August 5 via Cellar Music Group. A major release for Drummond, this is his first album as a leader since his 1996 cult hit, Dubai (Criss Cross), which was named the top jazz album of the year by critic Peter Watrous in the New York Times, and ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Contemporary Jazz
The Dreamer features The Gabor Szalay Trio performing six Jazz Classics. Including Alone Together by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz, There Will Never Be Another You by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, Body And Soul by Johnny Green, Edward Herman, Robert Sour and Frank Eyton, Waltz New by Jim Hall, St. Thomas by Sonny Rollins and In Walked Bud by Thelonious Monk. ...
Genre: Jazz
Subgenre: Free Jazz
On Blattwerk's new album, you can hear original arrangements of Ludwig van Beethoven (Ode to joy, Adagio from Pathétique, etc.), Gerog Friedrich Händel (Concerto Grosso No. 6) or Gioachino Rossini (Barber of Seville), among others. And of course saxophonists have a very special relationship with jazz.
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868), Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921), Alban Hauser (b. 1986), Ástor Piazzolla (1921-1992), Sonny Rollins (b. 1930), Ivan Jones (b. 1940), Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994)
Genre: Classical
Subgenre: Classical Crossover
