Bill Stewart Trio - Live At The Village Vanguard - Criss Cross
Between September 18 and September 23 in 2023, drummer Bill Stewart convened bassist Larry Grenadier and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III for their third weeklong trio engagement at the Village Vanguard, following residencies in April 2017 and in October 2018. The latter engagement transpired around the trio’s first album, Band Menu, a studio date that marked Stewart’s first leader endeavor without a chordal instrument. “I wanted to work with the open sound of the tenor trio. Not having a piano or guitar gives me the option to fill up more space with the drums or allow more space in the music. I was also thinking of the famous tenor-bass-drums recordings by Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson at the Vanguard. So I felt it was time to document the trio playing in the room.”
John Clayton - Talk To Me About Mulgrew - ArtistShare
A few years back, bassist John Clayton decided to call his friend, the pianist Mulgrew Miller and invite him into the studio to record. Not with the intentions of making an album, but simply for the joy of playing music with a good friend. Needless to say that on that day, as did with every other time he had the honour to play with Mulgrew, magic happened. We were all shocked and saddened when Mulgrew passed and John was even more grateful for having spent that time with him. Now ArtistShare wants to share it with you. Mulgrew was indeed a special gift to all that knew him as you will see from the interviews with his closest friends and colleagues John has collected. I hope you will join us in celebrating the life and music of this very special person and be a part of the aptly titled “Talk to me about Mulgrew” project. The ArtistShare Project Experience for ‘Talk To Me About Mulgrew’ includes: Features 10 episodes of “Talk to me about Mulgrew” where John surprises his guests with that question and gets touching and sometimes hilarious stories. Episodes include Kenny Barron, Billy Childs, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Russell Malone, Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes, and more.
Chicago Jazz Orchestra ft. Bobby Broom - More Amor - CJO Records
Acclaimed guitarist Bobby Broom is the featured soloist on a new recording by the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, More Amor: A Tribute to Wes Montgomery, due for release March 28 on Chicago Jazz Orchestra Records. The brainchild of CJO musical director/conductor Jeff Lindberg and Broom, the recording began with a seed planted in 2004, after Broom’s successful Montgomery retrospective concert performance with the big band and strings. “I was thrilled when Jeff contacted me about finally getting to work on this recording,” says Broom. “Seeing this vision through was an important collaboration for both of us.”
Bob James & Dave Koz - Just Us - Just Koz
Rooted in their decades-long friendship and driven by an adventurous spirit of creative camaraderie, contemporary jazz icons Bob James and Dave Koz mark a unique milestone in both their careers with the aptly titled duo album Just Us. A piano and saxophone only collection of fresh originals and colorful re-imaginings of Great American Songbook standards, its inspired format-free from the usual complementary support of a traditional rhythm section – liberates both to venture spontaneously beyond the trademark sounds that fueled their superstardom and years of Billboard chart-topping successes – and into a more spontaneous, organic soundscape ripe with dynamic new possibilities.