Tenorist Eric Alexander and altoist Vincent Herring celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their first saxophone ‘battle’ on Split Decision (SMOKE Sessions, 2025), recorded live at NYC’s SMOKE Jazz Club. This is the third time on record that the two giants have sparred, with each session growing a little friendlier since 2005’s The Battle (Highnote, 2005). […]
Catholic saint Thérèse of Lisieux once stated, “If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness. There would be no wild flowers to make the meadows gay.” To some degree, we perceive something as beautiful because of its ability to step outside of the ordinary. But how do we do […]
It has been quite some time since we heard from second generation AACM members Adegoke “Ade” Steve Colson and Iqua Colson, but GLOW: Music for Trio … Add Voice (Silver Sphinx, 2025) sums up their artistry well: protest pieces, spirituality, and pure jazz that is more accessible than you might think. The couple has been […]
Still We Dream (Posi-Tone, 2025) is trumpeter and composer Josh Lawrence’s seventh release for the label that prides itself on revealing the “New Frontier of Jazz.” With it, the four-time Grammy nominee and regular member of Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band delivers a rather unusual album for a trumpeter. The music mostly consists of […]
Portland, Oregon native and current NYC resident, tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover may be best known as a member of the all-female jazz supergroup Artemis. Or possibly as a member of Christian McBride’s Ursa Major. But she is also a bandleader, having recently released her third album as a leader – Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Savant, 2025). […]
Fresh off his complex project Server Farm (Irrabagast, 2025), where he led a nonet in blending electronics and hues of Artificial Intelligence with acoustic jazz, Jon Iragabon now moves to a more conventional chord-less quartet on Someone to Someone (Irrabagast, 2025). That statement is not to imply that Iragabon’s music has suddenly turned conventional. For […]
In 1835, German instrument makers Wilhelm Wieprecht and Johann Moritz patented the first tuba as a brass instrument that could carry the bassline for a marching band. By the end of the century, it could be found in orchestras through scores by Richard Wagner, Hector Berlioz, and others. Jazz was also not immune to the […]
For a musician who excels in both big bands and combo settings, large and small, sometimes it’s refreshing to take a ‘less is more’ approach. Such is the case with Ron Blake. With SCRATCH Band (7tēn33, 2025), the veteran saxophonist, composer, and educator forms a trio with fellow Virgin Island native Reuben Rogers on bass […]
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Timed nicely for their appearance at the 2025 Newport Jazz Festival, Rachael and Vilray issue their third album, West of Broadway (Concord Jazz, 2025). The vocalist Rachael Price (also of Lake Street Dive) and the guitarist/singer/songwriter Vilray exist in that rare intersection of jazz, pop, and singer-songwriter fare. Their producer is Dan Knobler, Rodney Crowell’s […]
