It's been a long time since that late May, 2013 week in Luleå, Sweden, where pianist Django Bates and his Belovèd Trio first collaborated with the renowned Norrbotten Big Band. Fully documented in the All About Jazz article Django Bates: From Zero to Sixty in Five Days, Bates, bassist Petter Eldh and drummer Peter Bruun, along with other non-Norrbotteners, including guitarist Markus Pesonen, tubaist Daniel Herskedal and trombonist/vocalist Ashley Slater, made the lengthy trek to this small coastal town, located just 100 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle (and already experiencing 22 hours of daylight), to collaborate with Norrbotten for an appearance at the first edition of Luleå's New Music Festival. The objective was for Bates and his band mates to bring a brand new book of music to life, the pianist largely expanding arrangements of Belovèd's existing repertoire, but also including a commissioned new work from the festival.

Cosmonauts is the exciting follow-up to PLS.trio’s 2015 debut album East River, which was lauded by All About Jazz as “the best in this category in many years”, and was nominated for “Best New Album” at the 2015 NPR Jazz Awards. With influences spanning from minimal and ambient music to hard-pumping dance music and bombastic rock styles, PLS.trio creates a blend which, while defying easy categorization, is compelling, distinctive, and oddly familiar. With Cosmonauts, these electronic-driven modern jazz explorers continue this tradition with a first-rate mix of precision, refinement, playfulness and invention.

Among Modern Jazz greats, Paul Desmond (1924 - 1977) had one of the most characteristic sounds on the alto saxophone. His clear, radiant, yet warm tone paired with a pronounced melodic lyricism led Desmond himself to compare it to a dry Martini. Born as Paul Emil Breitenfeld in San Francisco, California, he became world famous as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, whose biggest hit "Take Five" he composed. The Californian sound of the Brubeck Quartet, catchy in all its quality compared to the more aggressive East Coast Jazz, exactly matched the taste of the predominantly white college crowd of the '50s, and the quartet soon reached cult status through its Campus Concerts.

In 1987, Duke Robillard released the album Swing (Rounder), a successful combination of jazz and jump blues. He got his old friend, tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton to help him out with the recording. Although Robillard is primarily known as a blues guitarist, the record made it obvious that jazz is also deeply rooted in his musical DNA. With Swingin' Again, he revisits the jazz world, and he once again teams up with Hamilton to help him out.

Perhaps tenor saxophonist Houston Person is indeed A Lucky So and So, as he professes on his newly recorded album of that name, but it has taken far more than luck to sustain a long and successful career that spans more than half a century and numbers more than sixty albums as leader of his own groups. Person's "luck," such as it is, has been bolstered by his remarkable ability to connect with listeners—call it charisma or whatever you will—while settling chameleon-like into almost any company or framework.

Funny coincidence (as if that childish concept even exists at all) that among my favorite current prog bands, namely Mostly Autumn and Drifting Sun, both decided to raise their craft by introducing topflight recruits to the group. Mostly Autumn hired Henry Rogers, a superlative drum guru who immediately impacted the latest 2021 release Graveyard Star, while my 'bon ami' Pat Sanders cleverly brought in (though I must say I guessed right on my first try, much to Pat's chagrin!) the illustrious John Jowitt, a bass maestro who has played with a horde of top prog groups (Aaah, look it up!). I liken him to the UK's version of Tony Levin, in that not only are they much in demand whilst mastering their instrument but are both a pure joy to watch play, so effusive is their level of passion. Plus, they are both bald as a cue ball.

Malasartes has the pleasure and the honor, one more time, to présent you a recording of outstanding, beautiful music: Mismar, first album of the group of the same name, created and directed by double-bass player and composer Cédric Dind-Lavoie. We hope that this deep, introspective, extremely beautiful and original music will find the way to your heart.

Tatvamasi, from Lublin, comes back with a brand new, premiere material. And that is after their very well received last year’s album Haldur Bildur. The new album - The Third Ear Music - is quite an offbit recording. It is a compilation of seven pieces - documentaries of some stage experiences - that I created and registered in 2018-2019 with various musicians - describes Grzegorz Lesiak, the band leader and guitarist.

After lurking in the shadows for 20 years as a regional musician throughout the US, guitarist Lee Heerspink emerges from algae encrusted swamplands to offer his debut jazz-funk/fusion album Monsters’ Impromptu featuring some of the most respected musicians in Michigan namely, Jim Alfredson and Randy Marsh (of Organissimo).

Max Kutner, Eric Klerks and Andrew Niven, virtuosos all, were all also schooled in playful virtuosity, sprung rhythms, and no-holds-barred experimentation while playing in one or both of two of the great legacy bands of progressive music: The Grandmothers of Invention, who specialize in the reinvention of the Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention repertoire, and The Magic Band, John “Drumbo” French’s uncannily inspired tribute to the music of his mentor and monster, Don “Captain Beefheart” Van Vliet.

“Roaring Christmas” è un viaggio musicale attraverso le magiche atmosfere natalizie, in un mondo fiabesco popolato da folletti, elfi e renne, inseguendo stelle comete su strade innevate a bordo di slitte condotte da nonni con barba bianca e berretto rosso; una colonna sonora che alterna i classici brani tra i più evocativi del repertorio tradizionale a fianco di composizioni “minori”, perle rare recuperate da vecchie incisioni, oltre che nuove canzoni originali, scritte dalla band per l’occasione, che profumano di arancia e cannella.

My third self released jazz vocal album contains songs written in previous years but recorded more recently. Favouring swing, bossa and a bit of jazz fusion. Great solos throughout from Gabriele Agosta!

November 26th marks the arrival of Karmen Rõivassepp Quartet’s 2nd studio album „Breathe“. This album is a natural addition to the debut, displaying the maturity of style, storytelling and musical interaction. The music deals with intriguing topics of anxiety and abuse as well as politics and questionable love, which altogether sets the sentimental state of mind for the whole record. „Breathe“ is definitely a playful, yet thoughtful and reflective contemporary jazz album.

Known as one of Canada’s greatest voices, award-winning jazz vocalist Molly Johnson is a mother, singer-songwriter, artist and philanthropist, who has just released her highly anticipated new album, “Meaning To Tell Ya”. Produced by multiple GRAMMY Award winning Producer, Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Madeleine Peyroux, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones); it is more than a jazz record. It’s funk, it’s soul, it’s groove played by some of Canada’s best musicians. Says Molly: “Working with Larry was magic.

Growing up in Pretoria, Melorie Jane started the afro-funk, jazz band called ALL the MORE, in 2012. The group performed at venues such as Hard Rock Café Menlyn, Marais Street Acoustics and +27 Café. The group broke up in 2017 when Melorie Jane moved to Franschhoek, where she started performing mostly under her own name in various jazz, funk and contemporary jazz set-ups. She released her debut single 'till the morning comes in 2017 and her EP Different View, performed by her quintet, in 2018. Melorie completed her Bachelor's degree in music at the University of Pretoria and graduated with her Masters in Music Performance (specializing in jazz composition and piano performance) at the University of Stellenbosch in 2021.