Happy Holidays! Have Some Christmas Jazz!

Judging from the ads in my newspaper, the big retailers thought the Holidays started sometime in September. If you're like me, you're just now starting to get into the Holiday spirit. Also, if you're like me, you're a little wary of the term "Christmas music." Perhaps it conjures up the sounds of overproduced fluff by the likes of Celine Dion and Michael Bolton, or maybe you're just getting tired of the the oldies-but-goodies that come back every year.

Well, I come with good news of great joy to all jazz fans: AccuJazz.com is now featuring not one but four channels of quality Christmas jazz! There's the flagship channel, Swingin' Christmas, plus Christmas Vocals, Christmas Instrumentals and New Christmas Jazz. Unless you're a major Christmas jazz collector, you will be surprised by the amount of high-quality Christmas jazz out there, from classic albums by legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Ramsey Lewis, Jimmy Smith and Kenny Burrell to newer releases by artists as diverse as Wynton Marsalis and Carla Bley. There's even a version of "White Christmas" by Charlie Parker himself!

Our New Christmas Jazz channel is featuring my pick for Holiday CD of 2010, Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O, a fun and, at times, irreverent collection of Christmas tunes from one of the most infectiously joyous musicians working today. There's also plenty of other fresh new music from Al Jarreau, Harry Allen, the Hot Club of Detroit and many more.

Whether you're already in the Holiday spirit, or struggling to get into it, our Christmas jazz channels are probably just what you need. Consider them our Christmas gift to you.

Listen now at AccuJazz.com

Help Jazz! With HelpJazz.com

Big challenges require big action. That's why the young fellows at Search and Restore, a New York jazz community website and concert promotion operation, are trying to raise $75,000.

The big challenge, in this case, is expanding the audience for current, vital, creative jazz. The big action they're proposing is an epic video documentation of the jazz scene in New York and the expansion of their website as a hub of the jazz community.

If anyone is able to pull off something like this, it's the folks at Search and Restore. A small team of idealistic 20-somethings, they've staged countless cutting edge jazz concerts in New York and their website is the source for info on the NYC jazz scene. Their grand plan involves filming 4 concerts a week for an entire year(!) Read all about it on their fundraising website, HelpJazz.com. Or you could watch the founder's appeal right here:

I, along with hundreds of others, donated some money to their cause, but they're still a long way from their $75,000 goal, with only a week left. These Kickstarter fundraising campaigns are all-or-nothing affairs: if they don't reach their goal by next Monday, the 6th, then all the donors get their money back and the project is unfunded.

In another characteristically big move, Search and Restore is putting on a benefit concert tonight unlike any other. It will be a series of duets featuring such A-list musicians as Don Byron, Christian McBride, Ben Allison, Matt Wilson, Avishai Cohen, Theo Bleckmann, Henry Grimes and others. I'm sure they'll get a big turnout at the event, and I hope it results in some strong donations. If you're not in New York (and not at this gig in Chicago), then you can watch the all-star jazz duet madness via live streaming webcast at http://www.watchitoo.com/searchandrestore.

Donate! Now! at HelpJazz.com

Now Playing on AccuJazz - 11/19/10

These Now Playing posts always seem to start with the sentence, "it has been waaay too long since I did a Now Playing post." Well, it's as apt now as ever. The last one was in July and we've added a massive amount of music to the many channels of AccuJazz since then. Not only have we added a massive amount of music, but we've added a massive amount of really good music. New discs by Charles Lloyd, Vijay Iyer, The Bad Plus, Mary Halvorson, Danilo Perez, Rudresh Mahanthappa, I could go on, but, well, I will go on: it's all listed below.

As always, the title of each album is a link to purchase, and I've listed the channels on which you're most likely to hear the disc. Most all of the releases are playing on the Main channel and the New Releases channel in addition to the listed subchannels.

Please post any comments or questions you have about the new releases. Why don't you launch the New Releases channel as your soundtrack to reading the post? Or, pick from over 50 other channels at AccuJazz.com.

Charles Lloyd Quartet - Mirror (ECM)

Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream

Esperanza Spalding - Chamber Music Society (Heads Up)
Vocal, New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Bass, Third Stream, Women of Jazz

Conrad Herwig - The Latin Side of Herbie Hancock (Half Note)
Latin, New School, Modern Mainstream, Live Jazz, New York, Trombone, Groove Jazz

Mary Halvorson - Saturn Sings (Firehouse 12)
Guitar, New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, New York, Avant-Garde

The Bad Plus - Never Stop (E1)
Piano, New School, Cutting Edge, New York

Clayton Brothers - The New Song and Dance (ArtistShare)
Saxophone, Bass, New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast

Vijay Iyer - Solo (ACT)

Piano, New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York

Taylor Eigsti - Daylight at Midnight (Concord)
Piano, Vocal, New School, Emerging Voices, New York

The Marsalis Family - Music Redeems (Marsalis Music)
Straight Ahead, Modern Mainstream, Live, New Orleans, Trumpet, Trombone, Vibes

Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green - Apex (Pi Recordings)
Saxophone, New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, New York

Danilo Perez - Providencia (Mack Avenue)
Piano, Latin, New School, Modern Mainstream

Freddy Cole - Sings Mr. B (HighNote)
Vocal, Mellow Jazz

Larry Goldings and Harry Allen - When Larry Met Harry (Palmetto)
Straight Ahead, Piano, Saxophone, Modern Mainstream

Guillermo Klein - Domador De Huellas (Sunnyside)
Latin, New School, Cutting Edge

Houston Person - Moment to Moment (HighNote)
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, Mellow

Dave Douglas - Spark of Being (Greenleaf)
New School, Cutting Edge, New York, Trumpet, Fusion

Jim Rotondi - 1000 Rainbows (Posi-Tone)
New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Trumpet

Cyrus Chestnut Trio - Journeys (Jazz Legacy Productions)
Straight Ahead, Piano, Modern Mainstream, New York

Jane Monheit - Home (Emarcy)

Vocal

Denise Donatelli - When Lights are Low (Savant)
Vocal, Women of Jazz

Dmitry Baevsky - Down With It (Sharp 9)
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, Bebop, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Europe

Avishai Cohen - Introducing Triveni (Anzic)
New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Trumpet

Ryan Cohan - Another Look (Motema)
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Chicago

Spanish Harlem Orchestra - Viva La Tradicion (Concord)
Latin, New York

Greg Ward's Fitted Shards - South Side Story (19/8)

Saxophone, New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Fusion

Grant Stewart - Around the Corner (Sharp 9)
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, Bebop, Modern Mainstream, New York

Soulive - Rubber Soulive (Royal Family)
New School, Organ, Fusion, Beatles, Pop Composers, Groove Jazz

Isaac Delgado - L-O-V-E (Sony Classical)
Vocal, Latin

Tamir Hendelman - Destinations (Resonance)
Straight Ahead, Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast

Bobby Watson - Gates BBQ Suite (Self-Released)
Saxophone, Modern Mainstream, Big Band

Dave Holland and Pepe Habichuela - Hands (Dare2)
Guitar, New School, Europe, Bass

Jeb Bishop - 2009 (Better Animal)

New School, Chicago, Avant-Garde, Trombone

Doug Beavers 9 - Two Shades of Nude (Origin)
New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Big Band, Trombone

Jason Adasiewicz - Sun Rooms (Delmark)
New School, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Vibes

The Cookers - Warriors (Jazz Legacy Productions)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Trumpet

Owen Howard - Drum Lore (BJU)
New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Drummers

Ches Smith and These Arches - Finally Out of My Hands (Skirl)
New School, Emerging Voices, New York, Avant-Garde, Drummers

Mason Brothers - Two Sides One Story (Archival)

New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Trumpet, Trombone

Ted Rosenthal Trio - Impromptu (Playscape)
Straight Ahead, Piano, Modern Mainstream, Third Stream

David S. Ware - Onecept (AUM Fidelity)
New School, New York, Avant-Garde

Gabriel Alegria - Pucusana (Saponegro)
Latin, New School, Modern Mainstream, Trumpet

Rufus Reid - Out Front (Motema)
Modern Mainstream, Bass

Roland Vazquez Band - The Visitor (RVCD)
Latin, New School, Modern Mainstream, Big Band

William Parker - I Plan to Stay a Believer: the Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield (AUM Fidelity)

Live Jazz, Pop Composers

Christian Howes and Robben Ford - Out of the Blue (Resonance)
Straight Ahead, New School, Modern Mainstream

Jeremy Siskind - Simple Songs: For When the World Seems Strange (BJU)
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York

Tia Fuller - Decisive Steps (Mack Avenue)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Women of Jazz

Dave Bass - Gone (Self-Released)
Piano, Latin, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast

Mike LeDonne - The Groover (Savant)
Straight Ahead, Organ

Exploding Star Orchestra - Stars Have Shapes (Delmark)

New School, Chicago, Avant-Garde

Chris Colangelo - Elaine's Song (C-Note Records)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast, Bass

Myron Walden - Countryfied (Demi Sound)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York

Kneebody - Kneebody (Greenleaf Music)
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, Modern West Coast, Fusion

Brad Goode - Tight Like This (Delmark)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Chicago, Trumpet

Dan Marschak - Likewise (Press Rewind Productions)
Piano, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Modern West Coast

Ayako Shirasaki - Falling Leaves: Live in Hamburg (Jan Matthies)

Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Live Jazz, Women of Jazz

Peter Schwebs - Stories From Sugar Hill (Laika Records)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York, Europe, Bass

Chris Donnelly - Solo (ALMA)
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices

Marc Cary Focus Trio - Live 2009 (Motema)
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Live Jazz

Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble - Blueprints (Chicago Sessions)
Latin, New School, Chicago, Big Band

Michael Dease - Grace (Jazz Legacy Productions)
Straight Ahead, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York, Trombone

Sarah Wilson - Trapeze Project (Brass Tonic)

New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast, Trumpet, Women of Jazz

Tomas Fujiwara and the Hook-Up - Actionspeak (482 Music)
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, New York, Avant-Garde, Drummers

University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band - Lab 2010 (North Texas Jazz)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Big Band

Vox Arcana - Aerial Age (Allos Documents)
New School, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Avant-Garde

Tomas Janzon - Experiences (Changes Music)
Straight Ahead, Guitar, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast

Jacam Manricks - Trigonometry (Posi-Tone)
Saxophone, New School, Cutting Edge, New York

Garrison Fewell - Sound Particle 47 (Creative Nation Music)

Avant-Garde

Kenny Werner - No Beginning No End (Half Note)
New School, Third Stream

Hot Club of Hulaville - Django Would Go! (Hulaville)
Guitar

Sheryl Bailey - A New Promise (MCG)
Guitar, Modern Mainstream, Big Band, Women of Jazz

Dave Liebman - Live at MCG (MCG)
Live Jazz, Fusion

Ken Fowser and Behn Gillece - Little Echo (Posi-Tone)
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Vibes

Amina Figarova - Sketches (Munich)

Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe, Women of Jazz

Janis Mann - Blow Away (Pancake)
Vocal, Mellow Jazz, Women of Jazz

Kurt Schweitz Drexel Project - Multivalent (Self-Released)
New School, Cutting Edge, Emerging Voices, Chicago, Bassists

Phronesis - Alive (Edition)
Piano, New School, Cutting Edge, Live, Emerging Voices, Europe, Bassists

Milton Suggs - Things to Come (Skiptone)
Vocal, Emerging Voices, Chicago

21st Century Swing Band - Pittsburgh Jazz Legacy (MCG Jazz)
Straight Ahead, Bebop, Big Band

The ExPosed Blues Duo - Bare (Greene Avenue Music)

Vocal

Pedro Assad e Meretrio - Na Cozinha (Produzido no Pólo Industrial de Manaus)
Brazilian, New School, Fusion

Oster Welker Jazz Alliance - Detour Ahead (Jazzed Media)
Vocal, Modern West Coast, Big Band

Jacob Melchior - It's About Time (Self-Released)
Straight Ahead, Drummers

Ratko Zjaca and Simone Zanchini - The Way We Talk (In and Out)
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe

Joey DeFrancesco - Never Can Say Goodbye: The Music of Michael Jackson (HighNote)
Organ, Pop Composers, Groove Jazz

Rodney Richardson Trio - This is the Rodney Richardson Trio (Self-Released)

Straight Ahead, Guitar, Modern Mainstream, Organ

6th Street Quaternion - Summer Nights (Self-Released)
Vocal

The Battle of the Upper-Midwest Labor Day Weekend Jazz Festivals!

Foreshadowing the Bears vs. Lions season opener on September 12, Chicago and Detroit are staging a Labor Day Weekend battle of the jazz festivals, and we're all over it at AccuJazz. We've created channels devoted to the two fests, and you can listen right now!

Listen now: Chicago Jazz Festival 2010

Listen now: Detroit Jazz Festival 2010

While it's pretty clear who the favorite in the game will be, I'll leave it up to you to decide which jazz fest wins.

Detroit has a slightly larger lineup and possibly more big-name mainstream acts, but Chicago has a lot going for it, too. Chicago's lineup will appeal to the more adventurous listener. The contrast is made clear in the two fests' choices of Artists in Residence. Detroit selected straight-ahead jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller, a veteran of Tony Williams and Art Blakey's groups. Chicago has Nicole Mitchell, a lesser-known (though that's rapidly changing) local flutist and composer known for her rough, edgy sound and long-form conceptual compositions.

Joining Miller in Detroit will be heavy-hitters like Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Maria Schneider, Tia Fuller, Benny Green and Roy Haynes. Less jazz-intensive listeners hoping for something a little more mainstream can catch Tower of Power or the Fabulous Thunderbirds, too. As usual, a nice amount of local talent will also fill the stages throughout the festival's 4 days.

While Nicole Mitchell is playing five performances at the Chicago Jazz Fest, she still left room for a few other artists to perform. The Jazz Institute of Chicago, who programs the festival, leans slightly left-of-center and very much towards Chicago. The final lineup, however, includes a little something for everyone. Headliners include broad-appeal vocalists Kurt Elling and Rene Marie, as well as big-name legends like Ahmad Jamal and Ramsey Lewis. Modern jazz stars Brian Blade and Brad Mehldau are also showing up on Sunday, and avant-garde master (and former Chicagoan) Henry Threadgill is playing the main stage Sunday night.

Detroit has a rich history of incubating some of the greatest talents jazz has ever known, turning out the famous Jones Brothers, Paul Chambers, Milt Jackson and Tommy Flanagan. But from what I can tell, Chicago has the more vital scene circa 2010 (though I might be biased, considering myself a small part of that scene). If they show up early enough in the day, Chicago Jazz Festival attendees will get a taste of the world-class jazz being created by local players. Highlights of Chicago artists performing at the fest include first-call drummer Dana Hall with special guest Nicholas Payton, avant-garde pianist/composer Paul Giallorenzo, Gen-Y post-afrobeat group NOMO, trumpeter Corey Wilkes and vocalist Saalik Ziyad.

Elling and pianist Mike LeDonne have the distinction of being the only artists playing both the Detroit and Chicago fests in the same weekend (and Elling's also playing the Tanglewood jazz festival in Massachusetts on Saturday! Somebody's got an ambitious agent). I'd imagine some sidemen might also be trucking between the two fests, but that info's not on the publicly posted schedules.

Whether or not you're going to be attending one of the fests, head over to AccuJazz.com and give the channels a listen. They're full of great music and offer up a lot of variety. And if you are going to the Chicago Fest, hopefully I'll see you there!

Staff Picks: Mikrokolektyw - Revisit

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

10) Mikrokolektyw - Revisit (Delmark)

Polish avant-jazz duo Mikrokolektyw are the first European jazz group to release an album on Chicago's 57-year-old Delmark Records. One wonders why it took Delmark so long to make the leap across the Atlantic, but it does seem an appropriate fit. I think of Mikrokolektyw as something of a Polish version of the Chicago Underground Duo, a similarly open-minded trumpet-and-drums team with little concern for the boundaries of genre. Members of the Chicago Underground (a collective of musicians who record in a number of contexts, from duo to trio to orchestra) have recorded a handful of CDs for Delmark. Also: Chicago Underground Duo's most recent disc was on the inaugural edition of my Staff Picks channel.

The Mikros are a little less "out" than their Windy City counterparts, rarely engaging in the raw, in-the-moment free improvisation that is the M.O. of the Chicago Underground groups. Instead, trumpeter Artur Majewski and drummer Kuba Suchar craft off-kilter loops using both acoustic and electronic elements and improvising on top of them. Drummer Suchar rarely ventures far from the repeating groove pattern, content to be the foundation upon which all manner of electronic sounds and trumpet solos are built.

The acoustic/electric tunes are studies in patience and effective use of repetition. Oftentimes, as in "Running Without Effort," one bass line (played on what sounds like a balafon) persists for the entirety of the track. Yet Majewski and Suchar manage to hold the listener's attention through subtle layers of percussion, synthesizers, and a long, winding trumpet melody. Not all the tunes on Revisit are as minimalist, but all feature the same sort of churning rhythm and soft, melodic trumpet sound, creating a sound world unique unto itself.

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Julian Waterfall Pollack - Infinite Playground

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

9) Julian Waterfall Pollack - Infinite Playground (Junebeat)

As a jazz radio program director, I'm on the receiving end of a pretty huge amount of new music. When I get an email from an artist representing him or herself, I'm not always in a big rush to get their CD on the air, as there's already a steady stream of new music coming through. But when I got an email from 22-year-old pianist Julian Pollack, it only took me a few seconds of listening to sell me on getting his music on the air as soon as possible.

Something of a wunderkind, Pollack's bio is bursting at the seams with impressive associations and accomplishments: he appeared on Piano Jazz when he was only 18, his trio opened for Chick Corea at the Blue Note earlier this year, and, well, he just put out an immensely satisfying album called Infinite Playground. Clearly influenced by predecessors Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and Brad Mehldau, Pollack manages to avoid sounding like an impostor or an overly technical child prodigy. He's a fully-developed jazz pianist with a distinct voice.

Pollack and his trio open the album with a clever arrangement of Gershwin's "Summertime," taking one of the most overplayed tunes of all time and making it sound fresh, from plaintive start to abrupt finish. The 7 against 3 polyrhythm in the second half of the head is like rhythm porn for drum nerds like me. The disc is about half and half covers and originals, and Pollack turns out to be as promising a composer as he is a pianist and arranger. Among the originals, "Lily" is a spacious and gorgeous ballad, infused with just enough blues among the prevailing prettiness. "Blackberry," a funky odd-time groover, is the aesthetic opposite, with an impressionistic piano melody layered over a knotty bass line, and even a little hint of electronica at the very end.

Throughout Infinite Playground, Pollack and his trio mates, bassist Noah Garabedian and drummer Evan Hughes, keep things interesting, never engaging in the virtuosity-for-virtuosity's-sake grandstanding that plagues many young and ably-equipped jazz groups. Yes, they play Cherokee, that ultimate test of jam session virility, but they treat it tenderly, starting out in a spacious half-time groove, and never muddying up the time even when they're swinging at full speed. Making Cherokee sound effortless, now that's maturity.

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

8) Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned (ECM)

Restored, Returned is on ECM records, and that's right where it belongs. ECM is known for its spacious, minimalist, Euro-centric jazz-derived music, and pianist Tord Gustavsen's new disc is all of the above. The music on Restored, Returned is unusually spare, sometimes prompting my jam-session-drummer-self to wonder "are you allowed to do that?" And the music answers, "Yes, you are allowed to do that, and while I have your attention, why don't you listen a little closer. Hear those few notes on the sax, that one cymbal swell. Listen to how they resonate in the air, how you hear the overtones of Major 7 #11 chord more clearly than you ever have before. Isn't that beautiful?" "Yeah, sure is. Sure is," I answer, dumbfounded.

Gustavsen's previous three discs for ECM were with his longstanding trio of piano, bass and drums. Restored, Returned is the debut of the "Tord Gustavsen Ensemble," which adds saxophone and vocals to the mix (and switches out the bass player). Saxophonist Tore Brunborg is right in tune with Gustavsen's muted, subtle aesthetic, playing melodic, carefully considered solos that never get louder than mezzo forte.

Vocalist Kristin Asbjornsen is a striking presence, with a voice that is at times dreamy and soothing, at others earthy and gruff. Like the rest of the music on Restored, Returned, Asbjornsen's voice is rich with layers of subtlety. Listening to the symbiosis of Asbjornsen and Gustavsen, I can't help but think of The Bad Plus' addition of rock vocalist Wendy Lewis on their 2009 album For All I Care (one of my favorites from last year -- ah heck, anything by TBP is automatically in my all-time favorites). The music in question couldn't be more different, but it's the same scenario of a longstanding instrumental jazz group adding a female vocalist from outside of the jazz world. It's a risky and outside-the-box move on the jazzers' parts, and the rewards in both instances are many.

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Sarah Manning - Dandelion Clock

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

7) Sarah Manning - Dandelion Clock (Posi-Tone)

Sarah Manning is part of the ever-growing population of highly-educated young musicians making a go at the jazz life in New York, armed with years of practice, a few big-name mentors, and lots of ambition. Dandelion Clock, Manning's third release and first on the impressive Posi-Tone label, is evidence of the incredibly high level of musicianship coming out of that scene.

Manning the alto saxophonist and Manning the composer are both on display here. As a saxophonist her sound is striking, robust, and immediate. The melodies she writes for herself are memorable and perfectly suited to her distinct voice on the sax. She's also careful to compose thoughtful accompaniment parts for the rhythm section, effectively turning her quartet into a small post-bop orchestra. On "Crossing, Waiting," for instance, the rhythm section careens back and forth between a steady pedal tone and frantic free-bop, mirroring the contour of the saxophone melody.

Manning's band consists of pianist Art Hirahara, drummer Kyle Struve and bassist Linda Oh, whose excellent 2009 album, Entry, made a lot of jazz critics' best-of-'09 lists. It's quite clear from listening that Dandelion Clock wasn't a one-off recording session by musicians who haven't spent much time together. The lines of communication between band members are fluid and open, the rhythm section often subtly changing feels based on what Hirahara or Manning are playing in their solos.

Critics often decry the current generation's lack of passion or originality; with Dandelion Clock, Sarah Manning and her cohorts have proven that technical facility and book smarts can still lead to interesting, risky, and ultimately enjoyable music.

Further reading: A nice AllAboutJazz interview with Manning

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Fred Hersch Trio - Whirl

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

6) Fred Hersch Trio - Whirl (Palmetto)

Fred Hersch has been getting a lot of press lately, for two main reasons: 1) he's a really, really great pianist with a new album out, and 2) he suffers from AIDS, and came terrifyingly close to death in 2008, at points developing severe dementia and entering a two-month coma. He lost all motor function during that time, unable to eat, speak or play piano. And yet, somehow, Hersch has managed to produce more excellent music in the past year than most of his fellow jazz musicians who are in good health do in a decade. He released two CDs in 2009, Live at Jazz Standard with a group he calls the Fred Hersch Pocket Orchestra, and Fred Hersch Plays Jobim, a gorgeous solo piano album of songs composed by the timeless Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Now comes Whirl, Hersch's return to the piano trio format, something of a home-base for jazz pianists from every generation. There's no gimmick or over-arching theme to Whirl, just a highly-functioning modern jazz group playing a perfect program of originals and covers. As with the previously reviewed Jasmine by another titan of modern jazz piano, Keith Jarrett, Whirl at times embraces simplicity and stark beauty. Hersch's original habanera, "Mandevilla," opens with an almost-clichéd bass line and spins out a perfectly constructed melody that sounds like it could have been written in 19th-Century Cuba. But Whirl isn't all simple and pretty. Hersch originals like "Whirl," "Skipping" and "Snow Is Falling" are knotty and complex compositions, with gorgeous, organic melodies soaring over heady shifts in key and time-signature.

Throughout the album, the sympathetic playing of bassist John Hebert and drummer Eric McPherson perfectly compliment Hersch's heartfelt playing. It seems that the crucible of illness has only made Hersch more focused than ever, and, if Whirl is any indication, jazz fans should expect much more great music from the pianist in the future.

Further reading: An in-depth New York Times story on Hersch's recovery from illness

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Ideal Bread - Transmit: Vol. 2 of The Music of Steve Lacy

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

5) Ideal Bread - Transmit: Vol. 2 of the Music of Steve Lacy (Cuneiform)

The first thing I noticed about Ideal Bread was their unconventional instrumentation: trumpet, baritone sax, bass and drums. For you, the line-up might bring to mind the famous Chet Baker/Gerry Mulligan "pianoless quartet" from the early '50s. For me, it also brings to mind my band. So, naturally, I was excited to hear what this group of expert improvisers was going to do with those instruments. Once I started listening, I was beyond pleased.

The verbosely titled Transmit: Vol. 2 of the Music of Steve Lacy is a set of witty and grooving interpretations of compositions just now receiving a proper airing. Steve Lacy is widely considered one of the great soprano saxophonists and a leading architect of the jazz avant-garde, but damned if I can remember anyone ever playing one of his tunes on a gig. Ideal Bread saxophonist Josh Sinton (also a member of Darcy James Argue's Secret Society) studied with Lacy at New England Conservatory and took up the dissemination of Lacy's music as something of a cause upon moving to New York.

Personally, I wasn't familiar with any of the Lacy tunes on Transmit before hearing the album, but the band does a superb job of illuminating Lacy's unique compositional style. The tunes are remarkably logical. During the heads of certain pieces, like "Flakes," you can almost see the math playing out in front of you on a chalkboard, the simple melodic motif traveling around the band, building in intensity as a descending harmonic line provides counterpoint and forward motion, culminating in a perfectly timed unison statement just before the improvisation begins. The appeal of Ideal Bread is how they take these intensely logical, almost geometric tunes and use them as springboards for soul-searching improvisations that explore the nether regions of bop.

Trumpeter Kirk Knuffke is a killer improviser with a gorgeous sound that has been reaching a lot more ears since his recently joining the Matt Wilson Quartet (who played my favorite live jazz show this year, so far, at the Green Mill in April). Bassist Reuben Radding has a big, classic sound that is used most effectively for laying down foundational bass lines, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara moves lithely between tasteful swing and fluid, out-of-time explorations.

It must also be mentioned that the band has a sense of humor, most apparent on the track "The Dumps," during certain sections of which all four band members yell out, "The Dumps!" in all manner of silly voices before jumping right back into the quirky theme. It takes a special group of jazz musicians to be willing to engage in that type of out-of-the-box music-making, and that spirit is apparent throughout the disc, whether they're yelling with their voices or through their instruments.

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Regina Carter - Reverse Thread

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

4) Regina Carter - Reverse Thread (E1 Music)

Expectations were high for Reverse Thread, the culmination of years of study for Regina Carter, who was awarded the MacArthur foundation's much-coveted $500,000 "Genius Grant" in 2006. The leading jazz violinist of her generation, Carter has explored a lot of musical territory in her 16-year solo career, from classical to hip-hop, and, naturally, plenty of jazz-related territory in between. Reverse Thread is an elegant exercise in cross-genre line-blurring. To create her pliable hybrid genre, Carter delved into the music of Africa, the cradle of civilization and ultimate source of all American popular music forms.

Inspired by field recordings found in New York's World Music Institute, Carter layers ancient-sounding melodies over harmonies more typical of modern jazz. At various points throughout the album, the music is evocative of Argentinian tango ("Un Aguinaldo Pa Regina"), traditional African music ("Hiwumbe Awumba"), Appalachian fiddle tunes (parts of most every track), and reggae ("Juru Nani / God be With You"). Helping her navigate the broad stylistic territory is an impressive band including guitarist Adam Rogers, bassists Mamadou Ba and Chris Lightcap, accordionists Will Holshouser and Gary Versace, drummer Alvester Garnett and most notably, Kora artist Yacouba Sissoko. The arrangements are tailored to feature each player's voice clearly and effectively. I've gone back to Reverse Thread for many repeat listens and I plan on doing so for a good while.

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden - Jasmine

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

3) Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden - Jasmine (ECM)

The first chord of "For All We Know," the lead-off track from Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden's sublime new album, Jasmine, sets the tone for the rest of the disc. It's a major triad, the simplest of chords, held out for an entire measure. It's Jarrett's way of establishing that he and his partner have nothing to prove. Throughout Jasmine's 8 tracks, the name of the game is spare beauty.

It's almost shocking how simple the playing is at times. For a good portion of the album, Haden sticks solely to playing the roots of the chords, forgoing any inkling to fill up the empty spaces with passing tones or clever lines. Many of his bass solos consist of little more than rhythmically running up and down major scales, but his playing is so honest and in-the-moment that it somehow sounds revolutionary.

For Jarrett's part, he delves deep into his romantic side on Jasmine, going so far as to dub it music for lovers in the liner notes. Needless to say, this is no Barry White album -- the music is romantic and lush in the best sense of the words. Jarrett's playing is passionate, but lower-key than his playing with his longstanding "Standards Trio". He, like Haden, keeps it simple and lyrical for the most part, except for on the uber-standard, "Body and Soul." On this most-played of all songbook tunes, Jarrett must feel a little more like he has something to prove, deconstructing and obscuring the melody to a much greater level than on any other track on Jasmine. All 8 tracks, save Joe Sample's "One Day I'll Fly Away," are classic songbook ballads that have aged well through decades of interpretation.

Jasmine should satisfy jazz lovers of any bent. While I'm the first to admit that I can be biased towards the young and cutting-edge in jazz, there's no denying the power of two veterans earnestly playing some of their favorite old songs.

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: Dr. Lonnie Smith - Spiral

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

2) Dr. Lonnie Smith - Spiral (Palmetto)

Dr. Lonnie Smith has taken a place as one of the world's top jazz organists, and he's settled into a steady groove of releasing albums of such high quality as to merit such distinction. At the age of 68, Smith shows no sign of slowing his output or dumbing down his music, and Spiral is an eminently convincing case for the continued preeminence of the Doctor.

Spiral takes a wide view of soul jazz, an idiom of which Smith has become a figure head. From the impossibly funky boogaloo of the lead-off track, Jimmy Smith's "Mellow Mood," to the smoky, snail's pace swing of "Frame For the Blues," Smith and his band make a case for the diversity of the genre. Spiral isn't as eclectic as, say, Claudia Quintet's Royal Toast, but in a way, it's all the more impressive how much ground Smith and his trio mates cover while still staying within the realm of radio-friendly mainstream jazz. "I've Never Been in Love Before" is rendered as a classic swing tune, but it's the lone track on the disc of which that can be said.

Drummer Jamire Williams and guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg lay down an unconventional foundation for the standard "I Didn't Know What Time it Was," playing dark harmonies over a jittery Drum and Bass groove. The familiar tune takes on a whole new character. Harold Mabern's "Beehive" becomes an all-out rock-fusion jam, and Smith's R&B title track is more D'Angelo than DeFrancesco. At this point in his career, Smith could be forgiven for playing it safe, but the music on Spiral, like the album's name, isn't interested in the straight-and-narrow.

Listen to the Staff Picks channel here

Staff Picks: The Claudia Quintet - Royal Toast

All week, we'll be posting reviews of 10 new CDs just added to the AccuJazz Staff Picks channel. You can keep tabs on all the reviews as they come out here.

1) Claudia Quintet - Royal Toast (Cuneiform)

There is so much compositional, textural, and improvisational depth in Claudia Quintet's new album, Royal Toast, that I don't really know how to do it justice with words. But as your fearless AccuJazz program director, I'm going to do my darndest to try.

The Claudia Quintet is a longstanding group of top-flight New York improvisers led by drummer John Hollenbeck, also the group's sole composer. His singular compositional style reaches levels of sophistication that are truly unique in the world of jazz. Rounding out the Quintet is accordionist Ted Reichman, saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed, bassist Drew Gress, and vibraphonist Matt Moran. On Royal Toast, pianist Gary Versace joins the group to make it a sextet.

The group's music is often dubbed "post-jazz," or in Hollenbeck's words, "party music for smart people." It's what happens when a deft composer melds jazz, avant-garde improvisation, contemporary classical, "world" rhythms, prog rock, and a little bit of everything else into one glorious new style that sounds like nothing but itself.

Naturally, with such a broad range of influences, the music contained on Royal Toast spans many moods and sonic landscapes. The record starts off unassumingly, with "Crane Merit," a slow-burning ensemble piece that incorporates Reichian minimalist techniques so seamlessly you don't even realize the depth of what you're hearing until the 8th or 9th listen. Unless you're smarter than I am. Maybe then you get it quicker.

After a brief drum solo, one of many solo interludes by different band members throughout the album, the Quintet offers up "Keramag" as possibly its most ambitious statement. It's 8 minutes of ingenious motivic development complimented by inspired solos and richly layered ensemble parts. 9 times out of 10, the tune's heart-stopping climax has me going back and listening to the entire song again.

From the abstract, overdubbed "duets" of "Ted Versus Ted," "Matt on Matt," "Drew with Drew," and "Chris and Chris," to the rhythmic puzzles of "Armitage Shanks," the remainder of the album covers a lot of ground and is engaging to the very end. It's safe to predict that Royal Toast will have a significant impact on a generation of jazz composers, with musicians and fans alike hipping each other to Hollenbeck's multifaceted compositions for some time to come.

Listen to the Staff Picks Channel here

Staff Picks, Volume 2

I sincerely hope you all have enjoyed listening to AccuJazz's Staff Picks channel over the past few months (for those of you unsure of what I'm talking about, read all about it here). I hope you enjoyed it so much, in fact, that you've been waiting in eager anticipation of the channel's next installment. With many thanks for your patience, I'm happy to present to you 10 new CDs now playing on the Staff Picks channel.

Instead of writing up all 10 CDs in one super-long blog post, as I did last time, I'm going to offer a series of shorter posts detailing my choices. This post right here will act as a "hub" for all the reviews as I post them. All the new additions come from our most recent music update, which you can read about here.

1) Claudia Quintet: Royal Toast

2) Dr. Lonnie Smith: Spiral

3) Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden: Jasmine

4) Regina Carter: Reverse Thread

5) Ideal Bread: Transmit: Vol. 2 of the Music of Steve Lacy

6) Fred Hersch Trio: Whirl

7) Sarah Manning: Dandelion Clock

8) Tord Gustavsen Ensemble: Restored, Returned

9) Julian Pollack: Infinite Playground

10) Mikrokolektyw: Revisit

Listen to the Channel!

Now Playing on AccuJazz - 7/21/10

It's that time again. Time to update you loyal listeners on the ever-expanding pile of new music playing on AccuJazz's many channels. Here, in all its sprawling glory, is all the new music added since our last update. As always, the CD title is a link to purchase the album. Below the album info you'll see which AccuJazz channels are playing the album. My personal favs are adorned with the much-coveted double star (**).

**Regina Carter - Reverse Thread (E1 Music)**

New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, Women of Jazz

**Fred Hersch Trio - Whirl (Palmetto)**
Straight Ahead, Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Mellow

**Dr. Lonnie Smith - Spiral (Palmetto)**
New School, Modern Mainstream, Organ, Groove Jazz

**Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden - Jasmine (ECM)**
Piano, Modern Mainstream, Bassists, Mellow, ECM

Geri Allen and Timeline - Live (Motema Music)
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Live, Women of Jazz

Yotam - Resonance (Jazz Legacy Productions)
Straight Ahead, Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York

**The Claudia Quintet - Royal Toast (Cuneiform)**

New School, Cutting Edge, New York, Drummers

Steve Davis - Images (Positone)
New School, Modern Mainstream, New York, Trombone

Art Pepper - Unreleased Art Volume V (Widow's Taste)
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, Everybody's Boppin', Live, '80s

**Ideal Bread - Transmit: Vol. 2 - The Music of Steve Lacy (Cuneiform)**
New School, New York, Avant-Garde, Trumpet

**Julian Waterfall Pollack - Infinite Playground (Junebeat)**
Piano, New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Modern West Coast, Mellow

One For All - Incorrigible (Jazz Legacy Productions)
Straight Ahead, Everybody's Boppin', New School, Modern Mainstream, New York

**Gregory Porter - Water (Motema)**

Vocals, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Mellow

Arturo Sandoval - A Time for Love (Concord)
Trumpet, Mellow, Third Stream

George Brooks Summit - Spirit and Spice (Earth Brother Music)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, Fusion, Groove Jazz

Paul Carr - Straight Ahead Soul (PCJ Music)
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, Modern Mainstream

Hilario Duran Trio - Motion (ALMA)
Piano, Latin, New School, Modern Mainstream

Tord Gustavsen - Restored, Returned (ECM)
Piano, New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe, Mellow, ECM

Tomasz Stanko - Dark Eyes (ECM)

New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe, Trumpet ECM

Russ Kassoff - Bird Fly By (RHK Jazz)
Straight Ahead, Piano, Modern Mainstream, Mellow

Oleg Kireyev and Keith Javors - Rhyme and Reason (Inarhyme Records)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream

**Dave Chisholm - Radioactive (Self-Released)**
New School, Cutting Edge, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Big Band

Lee Ritenour - 6 String Theory (Concord)
Straight Ahead, Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast, Fusion

Ralph Towner and Paolo Fresu - Chiaroscuro (ECM)
Guitar, New School, Modern Mainstream, Trumpet, ECM

**Mikrokolektyw - Revisit (Delmark)**

New School, Cutting Edge, Europe, Avant-Garde

Rich Corpolongo Trio - Get Happy (Delmark)
Straight Ahead, Saxophone, Everybody's Boppin', Chicago, Composers: Bird and Diz

Robin McKelle - Mess Around (E1)
Vocals, Women of Jazz

Tobias Preisig - Flowing Mood (Obliqsound)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Europe

**Dave Peck - Modern Romance (Let's Play Stella)**
Piano, Modern Mainstream, Live, Modern West Coast

The Waitiki 7 - New Sounds of Exotica (Pass Out)
New School, Modern Mainstream

Denny Zeitlin - Precipice (Sunnyside)

Piano, Live

**John Goldman's Quadrangle - Outside the Box (Self-Released)**
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, Chicago

Beegie Adair - Into Somethin' (Adair Music Group)
Straight Ahead, Piano, Women of Jazz

Ernesto Cervini - Little Black Bird (Anzic)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, New York, Drummers

Five Play Jazz Quintet - Five Play Jazz Quintet (Auraline)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast

Frank Glover - Abacus (Owl Studios)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, Third Stream

Jose James and Jef Neve - For All We Know (Verve)

Vocals, Emerging Voices, Mellow

Tom Graf - Graffiti (Borrowed Time Music)
Latin, New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast, Groove Jazz

Moutin Reunion Quartet - Soul Dancers (Plus Loin Music)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe, Bassists

**Sarah Manning - Dandelion Clock (Positone)**
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream, Emerging Voices, Women of Jazz

Hugh O'Connor - For the First Time (True North)
Saxophone, Modern Mainstream, Mellow

**Roberto Occhipinti - A Bend in the River (Alma)**
New School, Modern Mainstream, Third Stream

**John Goldsby - The Innkeeper's Gun (Bass Lion)**

New School, Modern Mainstream, Europe, Bassists

Soft Machine - NDR Jazz Workshop (Cuneiform)
New School, Europe, Fusion, '70s

Bob Szajner - Live at the Montreux/Detroit International Jazz Fest (Cadence Jazz)
Straight Ahead, Piano, Live, '80s

Hardcoretet - Experiments in Vibe (Self-Released)
New School, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast, Fusion, Groove Jazz

Laurie Antonioli - American Dreams (Intrinsic Music)
Vocals, Modern Mainstream, Modern West Coast, Women of Jazz

David Pritchard - Metal Roads (Morphic Resonance Music)
Fusion

Sean Jelinek - Common Tones (Self-Released)

Chicago, New School, Modern Mainstream, Drummers

Jeff Antoniuk and the Jazz Update - Brotherhood (Atonal Licks Music)
Saxophone, New School, Modern Mainstream

Rita Edmond - A Glance at Destiny (T.O.T.I. Music)
Vocals, Women of Jazz