Jazz ♫ Music only | In the now, or recently, or that you love...

[MoreWatts]

From AllAboutJazz.com: "The Toronto-based A&M (Adema & Manoukas) Octet,... on its debut 2022 recording, New Roots, performs, five original compositions, a brace of jazz ensigns by Thelonious Monk, and another by Dizzy Gillespie.... Adema plays trombone, Manoukas baritone sax, but they don't crave the limelight, instead assigning ample blowing space to their talented teammates, who include trumpeter Evan Dalling, saxophonists Brenon Parmar and David Hodgson, pianist Josh Smiley, bassist Leighton Harrell and drummer Keith Barstow.... An octet's size is splendid for jazz purposes, combining the power of a big band with the intimacy of a smaller group. The A&M Octet makes the most of that, retracing some of the storied ensembles of yesterday while adding an eloquent contemporary voice to the mosaic. "

The videos are 2 album tunes played live, in studio. This is Adema's 2nd album as leader. Please enjoy some nice, new, jazz, by some fresh, new, talent.

A&M Octet, New Roots, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[MoreWatts]

From AllAboutJazz.com: "Recorded in September 2021, at the Samurai Hotel Recording Studio under the direction of Mike Marciano, this is the fifth album from contemporary jazz group, Opus 5. Entitled Swing On This, it comprises eight tracks that average around seven minutes each. Hailing from the Netherlands, Opus 5 is a stylish quintet made up of Seamus Blake on tenor saxophone, Alex Sipiagin on trumpet, drums by Donald Edwards, bass by Boris Kozlov, and David Kikoski on piano and Fender Rhodes.... Here then is a proper little 'supergroup.' The first album was released in 2011 and the rest, as they say, is history.... A most enjoyable effort."

I couldn't find a quality, short, video of Opus 5, so here’s a video of their leader Seamus Blake, with fellow tenor Troy Roberts, who I recommended here, doing a bit of a blow at Emmett’s Place. YouTube and Spotify links to the full album follow. Please enjoy another nice, recent, modern jazz album.

Opus 5, Swing On This, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

 

[Peterinvan]

I especially like a close miked double bass (well recorded/mastered):

https://listen.tidal.com/album/114542267

 

[MoreWatts]

Grammy Award nominees and winners for jazz 2023 are worth a look.

The Peter Erskine Trio on Live In Italy was a Best Jazz Instrumental Album nominee. Drummer Erskine co or lead ~40 album releases, won 2 Grammies, started with Stan freakin' Kenton, and was integral with the bands Weather Report and Giant Steps.

The video is a recent, live in the studio, performance by the trio, and YouTube and Spotify links to the album follow. Pianist Alan Pasqua really shines on this release.

Peter Erskine Trio, Live In Italy, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[MoreWatts]

SWR is a public radio broadcaster in Stuttgart, Germany, and sponsors The SWR Big Band, which has released ~27 albums since 1997, many in collaboration with jazz giants. I posted some holiday music, with singer Paul Carrack, here. Their recent album Bird Lives, was a 2023 Grammy Award nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, with collaborators listed in the title.

I couldn't find a video from this release, so the vid below is from pianist John Beasley's previous large ensemble project, the MONK'estra, which plays Monk, with a somewhat free-big-band result. The new album is more brash and straight-ahead. YouTube and Spotify links to the nominated album follow. Please enjoy another 2023 jazz instrumental Grammy nominee. It's a good one.

Magnus Lindgren, John Beasley & SWR Big Band, Bird Lives, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[MoreWatts]

From Spotify: "For over three decades Grammy-Award Winning, Panamanian, Pianist-Composer, Danilo Perez, has been lauded as one of the most creative forces in contemporary music. With Jazz as the anchoring foundation, Perez’s Global Jazz music is a blend of Panamanian roots, Latin American folk music, West African rhythms, and European impressionism.... Since 1993, Pérez has released ~12 albums which have earned him critical acclaim, and numerous accolades around the world.

For nearly 20 years, Pérez has been part of the Wayne Shorter Quartet, alongside bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade..., and they won the 2019 Grammy for Shorter's album Emanon." Perez's album Crisalida was a 2023 Grammy Award nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album. The video is an in-studio performance of a tune from the album. YouTube and Spotify links to the full album follow. Please enjoy another 2023 Jazz Grammy nominee.

Danilo Perez featuring the Global Messengers, Crisalida, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[MoreWatts]

The combination of Joshua Redman (sax), Brad Mehldau (keys), Christian McBride (bass) and Brian Blade (drums) is essentially, a modern day, jazz, super-band. Their recent album, LongGone, was nominated for the 2023 Grammy, as Best Jazz Instrumental Album. The video is a nice performance of an album tune, and YouTube and Spotify links follow. Please enjoy another jazz instrumental nominee from the recent Grammy Awards.

Redman, Mehldau, McBride, Blade, LongGone, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[MoreWatts]

Ron Carter and the Jazzaar Festival Big Band released Remembering Bob Freedman, and earned a 2023 Grammy Award nomination for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. The Jazzaar Festival is a spring, Swiss, jazz fest that has run since ~1997, and has an emphasis on jazz education and youth.

From the festival website: "The album features the bass legend Ron Carter with acclaimed jazz instrumentalists trumpeter Ryan Quigley, saxophonist Antonio Hart, trombonist Jason Jackson, pianist Donald Vega, and drummer Carl Allen, as seasoned role models for twelve selected aspiring young jazz musicians from the Swiss music scene that completed the big band. This was recorded live and the concert was rehearsed and performed under the direction of Christian Jacob. The concert took place on April 12, 2019, at Aarau, Switzerland. The production was a long-awaited collaboration between Jazzaar Festival producer, Bob Freedman, and Ron Carter, which took a sudden tragic turn when Bob sadly passed away in the middle of planning." The project marched-on, and hence, the album title.

"Mom, 'member that weekend I played with Ron Carter at the festival? Well, we might win a Grammy Award." The 2 videos are live performances of album tunes, and are nicely recorded. YouTube and Spotify links to the nominated album follow. Recently, I posted here about Ron Carter's latest album, new biographical documentary, and another big band album. Please enjoy another 2023 Grammy jazz instrumental nominee. This one is really nice. As are all Ron Carter projects.

Ron Carter & the Jazzaar Festival Big Band, Remembering Bob Freedman, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[SpinifexV]

This is not jazz, but it sure sounds like it. At least, what a russian classical composer from the soviet era believes jazz should sound like.

It's actually my favorite "classical" album: Frank Dupree playing Nikolai Kapustin's Piano Concerto no. 4.

 

[MoreWatts]

Just another Grammy Award nomination, for Best Latin Jazz Album, for trumpeter Arturo Sandoval. Ten Grammies, an Emmy, and a Presidential Freedom Award weren't enough, so his 2022 release Rhythm & Soul was a stellar attempt for yet another accolade. This is his ~63rd album as leader, since 1976.

The first video is an in studio performance of an album tune, and the 2nd is just a nice Latin jazz music vid. YouTube and Spotify links to the new album follow. Please enjoy another jazz nominee from the recent Grammy awards.

Arturo Sandoval, Rhythm & Soul, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[DarrylG]

 

[ohanm]

qobuz://163094243.flac

 

[MoreWatts]

From JazzTimes: "The best live music takes you somewhere in the moment, though if we’re lucky there will be microphones on stage to capture the moments of discovery and surprise. This happened five years ago when Wayne Shorter performed with an ensemble of former protégés and collaborators including drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, bassist/vocalist/composer Esperanza Spalding, and pianist Leo Genovese at the 2017 Detroit Jazz Festival.... A remarkably adventurous performance." The release was nominated for a 2023 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, as Live At The Detroit Jazz Festival.

I couldn't find video of this album combo, so here's some others. The first video is a bit fuzzy, but the audio is fine, with Wayne and Esperanza duet, in studio. The 2nd vid is Wayne's quartet doin' a standard, and on piano is Danilo Perez, featured here, who was nominated for a 2023 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. Please enjoy another 2023 Jazz Grammy Award nominee.

Wayne Shorter, et al, Live At The Detroit Jazz Festival, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[melvinjames]

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

“I’d been to see a psychiatrist and happened to mention that I was a composer, and he said: ‘Maybe that’s the source of all your problems. Why don’t you just get rid of that illusion and think more honestly about what it is you do. You’re a waitress! You’re a cigarette girl at Birdland.’ He said I should go and look for a job as a seamstress, so I went to the garment district to look for work because I thought that sewing was the only skill that I had. I went to the garment district, sat there in a chair waiting to talk to a designer who never showed up. Finally I just left. And then George Russell called and asked if he could record ‘Bent Eagle’. So I was rejected by the garment industry and accepted by the music industry all in the same week. And that’s what finally started me off.”

Carla Bley

 

[Elgrosso]

Good stage!

 

[MoreWatts]

From AllMusic.com: "The second album from alto saxophonist Remy Le Boeuf's big band Assembly of Shadows, 2021's Architecture of Storms is an enveloping production showcasing his kinetic improvisation and deeply textured compositional skills... While much of the album evokes a seemingly improbable combination of the '60s modernism of Stan Kenton with the languid ECM expressionism of Keith Jarrett, Le Boeuf also weaves in more contemporary influences... This is an album of dazzling and nuanced modern creative jazz that conjures cinematic landscapes, both real and imagined." This is Remy's 2nd big band release, and his 2nd Grammy nomination, this one for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album this year.

The videos are studio performances of the first 2 album tunes, and they're really nice. YouTube and Spotify links to the nominated album follow. Please enjoy another 2023 Jazz Grammy nomination.

Remy Le Boeuf's Assembly of Shadows, Architecture of Storms, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.

 

[MoreWatts]

Miguel Zenon released Musica de las Americas, which was nominated for a 2023 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. From AllAboutJazz.com: "For their part, Zenon and his musical partners have the DNA/spirit of Charlie Parker in their blood. Open a vein and the indigenous, Spanish and African souls flow freely. Zenon's alto sax tone is similar to Parker's—sharp-edged, with a sweet and sour dynamic, spewing intricate melodies. His quartet has evolved to a peak of perfect interplay and cohesive elocution, and the additional percussionists and the low-in-the-mix vocals on two tracks add an element of exaltation. This is Zenon's finest recording to date." This is his ~15th release as leader, and ~4th Grammy nomination.

The videos are the first 2 album tunes, performed live, in studio. YouTube and Spotify links to the full album follow. Please enjoy another really nice 2023 Jazz Grammy nomination.

Miguel Zenon, Musica De Las Americas, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.