Avishai Cohen’s third CD for the Stretch Records label, Colors, features the talented bassist, composer, arranger, producer, and pianist trusting his own imagination and intelligence in order to capture the auras of chord progressions and rhythmic patterns with this excellent use of musical metaphors. The composer wrote 13 selections for this program and each is a meeting of artistic colors, each rare and emanating its own originality through Cohen’s sense of harmony, expansive tones, and polyrhythms. His earthy placement of “Shay Ke,” a warm, ballad filled with the funk-Middle Eastern oud solo of Amos Hoffman, vocals of Claudia Acuna, and individual gifts from Jimmy Greene on soprano saxophone, is a prime example of Cohen’s ability to realize his maturing non-conformism. The inclusion of Avi Lebovich on trombone in addition to Steve Davis, makes the experiences of his circle of friends a splendid chance to grow musically.

At Home, Avishai Cohen’s sixth recording as a leader, features eleven profoundly beautiful compositions performed by his trio of Sam Barsh on piano and Mark Guiliana on drums, joined by special guests Yosvany Terry, (saxophones, chekere), Anne Drummond (flute), Diego Urcola (flugelhorn), Jeff Ballard (drums, percussion) and Tomer Tzur (hand drum). At Home reflects on, and celebrates, places, people, emotions and realizations that Cohen has encountered in his many sojourns around the globe, all the while exposing the innermost jubilation and contemplation of the bassist/composer. Stuart Nicholson, commenting on At Home, in Jazzwise Magazine, said “for my money [it’s] the most considered and best realised of all.” Indeed, Cohen exposes his many gifts as a melodic composer, powerful soloist and provoking leader, as never before, reflected in the brilliant performances by the trio and ensemble.

One has to hand it to the Japanese for caring for the United States jazz tradition in all its guises better than people in the U.S. do. Consider this 1979 album by Eric Gale. While the funky rubric of soul-jazz was deeply informed by disco in the late '70s, that didn't mean the music being created was without considerable merit. This disc is a case in point – and it cannot be had in the United States. Teamed with the funk-jazz mafia of Richard Tee, Harvey Mason, Steve Gadd, Ralph MacDonald, Dave Grusin, and Grover Washington, Jr., as well as Charles Earland and Idris Muhammad on the stellar groove jam "Trio" (the album's highlight), Gale offers up six midrange tunes that run the gamut from deeply funky…

Irakere (faux-Yoruba for 'forest') is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album Irakere. Irakere was a seminal musical laboratory, where historic innovations in both Afro-Cuban jazz and Cuban popular dance music were created. The group used a wide array of percussion instruments like batá, abakuá and arará drums, chequerés, erikundis, maracas, claves, cencerros, bongó, tumbadoras (congas), and güiro.

Though based in multiple musical realms, pianist Alain Mallet's ambitious Mutt Slang projects coalesce into a world that exudes 'exotic' yet ultimately feels familiar, the roots of its various components meeting somewhere deep within. Sharing the musical landscape with young musicians from Palestine, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Japan, Bulgaria, Panama, Ireland, Puerto Rico and the US, the complexity of their backgrounds - musically, ethnically, and otherwise, permeates the session, suffusing Mallet's compositions with an undeniable energy and life. "Mutt Slang is very much the result of this convergence of all the musics I love, of digging to get to their shared soul and rebuild something fresh, in order to discover where I belong and give others a chance to do the same." - Alain Mallet

Ice Cube has signed with Interscope Records and his first release with the label will be a reissue of his classic album Death Certificate for its 25th anniversary. (The album was originally released on October 20, 1991.) The reissued is out June 9. Death Certificate: 25th Anniversary Edition features three new songs: “Only One Me,” “Dominate The Weak,” and the new single “Good Cop, Bad Cop.” “Sadly, our community is dealing with many of the same issues,” Ice Cube said of the album’s relevance. “I only hope that young millennials feeling powerless in the ’hood can channel their own anger and frustration by listening to this record.”

Andrew Manze's interpretations of Vaughan Williams' Symphonies have been met with acclaim from audiences and critics alike. This third album in the series contains two masterpieces. The 5th Symphony of 1943 displaying a 'greatness of soul' as one commentator at the time wrote, draws on material for 'The Pilgrims Progress' from 1906. The 6th Symphony of 1944-7 stunned the audience at it's premiere - some tried to explain the works last movement as depicting a nuclear wasteland.

Andrew Manze's interpretations of Vaughan Williams's Symphonies have met with acclaim from audiences and critics alike. This second volume in his complete symphony cycle with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra features Symphonies Nos.3 and 4. These two works were heavily influenced by the Great War and its aftermath. Full of repressed rage and sorrow at the futility of the war, Symphony No.3 is often seen as a war requiem. Symphony No.4 is a violent and turbulent work, reflecting the post Great War world and the political turmoil of the 1930s. Both works are illuminated by Manze's distinguished leadership.

One of Australia’s greatest self-made successes, Tash Sultana is a one-person powerhouse who commands multiple instruments and gear, whether on-stage or in-studio. A globe-trotting sensation with a live show that needs to be seen to be believed, the 25-year-old’s second album Terra Firma is a natural evolution of their multi-dimensional jams. The follow-up to 2016’s ARIA-winning Flow State was recorded in a custom-built studio over nearly a year.

Avishai Cohen showed enormous promise as both a composer and an acoustic bassist on his first album as a leader, Adama, which he produced with Chick Corea for the company Corea co-owned, Stretch records. Reminding listeners of his Israeli heritage, the post-bopper brings a heavy Middle Eastern influence to such impressive originals as "Reunion of the Souls," "Ora," and "No Change." Although Cohen's 1997 music wasn't innovative – John Coltrane, Yusef Lateef, and Miles Davis successfully experimented with Middle Eastern elements when they embraced modal jazz in the late '50s – Adama has a certain freshness to it.