Each week, dozens of CDs and download links pour into my mailbox and email, and each week about 80% of what I hear gets tossed. Then I whittle down the remaining 20% to 10%, and the results pop up here each month.
Here are my April favorites:
Billy Childs—Triumvirate (Mack Avenue). Six-time Grammy-winning pianist Billy Childs has a new album out with Matt Penman on bass and Ari Hoenig on drums (except track 8). Childs has a wonderful way of sliding between abstraction and straight-ahead jazz. His chords are graceful and plush, and his swing is sensitive and determined. Penman and Hoenig complement him perfectly. I could leave this one on autoplay all day. To listen and buy, go here.
Here’s Thelonious Monk’s Ask Me Now…
Russ Spiegel—Timepieces (Ruzztone Music). Russ Spiegel is a gorgeous acoustic and electric guitarist. His chords are lush and full, his improvisation is lovely and his original pieces are seductive. Pat Metheny came to mind as I listened to Spiegel’s new album. He’s joined by Tal Cohen (p), Vince Dupont (b) and Brandon Lee Lewis (d). His special guests are Hendrik Meurkens (chromatic harmonica on tracks 3 and 9), Jean Caze on trumpet on track 6 and on flugelhorn on track 8, Tim Armacost on tenor saxophone on tracks 6 and 8, and Javier Nero on trombone on tracks 6 and 8. Pure bliss. To listen and buy, go here.
Here’s Spiegel and his trio playing the album’s title track…
Jon Regen—From Left to Right ( JRM/Symphonic). Before he was a jazz-pop singer-songwriter doing well on the charts, pianist Jon Regen led a jazz trio. In 1996, he recorded his first album but it was never widely released. Recorded direct to two-track on Carnegie Hall’s former Steinway Model D at Systems Two Studios in Brooklyn, the album features Regen, bassist Earl May (who played with Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Billy Taylor) and drummer Sunny Jain. The 26-year-old Regen sold copies of the self-produced CD at gigs and used it as a calling card around New York. As you’ll hear, Regen had solid jazz chops early and plays beautifully here with maturity and poise. And to have May along for the ride, how fortunate! Regen just programmed the upcoming NYC Downtown JazzFest and his album Live in London is due out later this year.
Here’s the entire album, track by track…
Jim Robitaille Trio—Sonic (Whaling City Sound). Sonic is a fascinating guitar trio album. Jim Robitaille plays guitar and guitar synthesizer and is backed by bassist Tom Casale and drummer Chris Poudrier. The record has an orchestral sound when Robitaille plays the guitar synth, and the songs are gentle fusion overall. I loved every track. To buy, go here.
Here’s the entire album, track by track…
Ted Nash, Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison—Triological (Sunnyside). Not since the Jimmy Giuffre 3 back in the late 1950s have I heard such superb jazz with this instrumental configuration. The trio features tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Ted Nash, guitarist Steve Cardenas and bassist Ben Allison. The musicians come together neatly and with finesse. Listening to the record is like overhearing a great conversation at the next table. I’d award it a Grammy now if I could. To listen and buy, go here.
Here’s See Forever…
Paulo Almeida—Love in Motion (Dox). Drummer Paulo Almeida was born in Brazil and lives in Basel, Switzerland, so you wind up with a combination of Rio samba and Alpine cool. Almeida is backed by Lorenzo Vitolo (p,synths), Josh Schofield (as,ss), Joan Codina (b) and Paulo Almeida (d,vcl,perc), plus Jorge Rossy (vib) and Lisette Spinnler (vcl). The music is heady and free jazz-y in places, but it’s rich in texture and color, and once you fall into the feel, it’s quite an adventure. To hear and buy, go here.
Here’s the entire album, track by track…