Mercy We Need is the second full-length album from Chicago pianist and composer Julian Davis Reid and his spiritual jazz quintet, Circle of Trust. Reid leads from the piano, joined by Tramaine Parker on vocals, Lenard Simpson on alto saxophone, Ethan Philion on bass, and James Russell Sims on drums, with Eva Supreme, Demond Read, … Continue reading
Road Dog is the newest album from blues harmonica master Mark Hummel and his All Stars, released on Rockinitus Records. It’s a career-spanning collection, combining tracks recorded recently with others over a decade old that had never before been released, all cut at Kid Andersen’s famed Greaseland Studio. Hummel handles harmonica and lead vocals throughout, … Continue reading
Wanderer marks a vibrant new chapter for vocalist Sarah Pillow, who brings her signature warmth and interpretive depth to a program of beloved jazz standards. Released on Buckyball Records, the album is shaped by vibraphonist and arranger Marc Wagnon, whose inventive charts give the collection its distinctive color, alongside an all-star septet featuring saxophonists Donny … Continue reading
First Flight (released on JSL Records) is the exciting debut album from Garden Winds, the new trio led by veteran jazz vocalist Judi Silvano alongside flutist Haruna Fukazawa and bassoonist Claire de Brunner. Spanning ten original compositions and just over 33 minutes, the record strips away chords and rhythm section entirely, favoring spontaneousu counterpoint, microtonal … Continue reading
Eric Jerardi‘s eleventh studio album, The Game, arrives October 30, 2026, on Alternator Records and Niche Records, distributed through Sony’s The Orchard. It was produced by Michael James (Robben Ford, Edwin McCain, New Radicals), who also plays guitar and keys, with Eric Colvin on piano, bass, and drums, and featuring the Muscle Shoals backing vocals … Continue reading
Max Hightower‘s The Blues Chooses You has arrived. It is released on MoMojo Records, recorded live-to-analog-tape at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville and produced by Hightower himself. The only thing else you need to know is that it is a smashing success. On the album, the harmonica player and vocalist is joined by guitarist Joe … Continue reading
Event Horizon Jazz Quartet is a Chicago-based collective featuring Jim Kaczmarek on saxophone and flute, Scott Mertens on piano, Donn DeSanto on bass, and Rick Vitek on drums — four seasoned sidemen whose combined résumés read like a who’s-who of jazz collaboration. What sets this record apart, though, isn’t pedigree so much as process: rather … Continue reading
Dave Bass is a jazz pianist who just can’t sit still stylistically — Bach, bebop, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, gospel, pop, it all shows up in his latest album. Trio Nuevo, Vol. 3 wraps up a trilogy he started in 2024 with bassist Tyler Miles and drummer Steve Helfand, and you can hear what brilliant … Continue reading
Giveton Gelin has always played like someone carrying more than one home inside him, and on Island Dreamer: III of III, the Bahamian-Haitian trumpeter turns that duality into a sprawling, seventeen-track statement. This is his sophomore full-length, arriving on Island Dreamer Records, and it plays less like a collection of songs than a single long exhale … Continue reading
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED if you want to enjoy yourself. On Party Time, trumpeter/composer/vocalist Rob Dehlinger and The Alpha Rhythm Kings deliver an exciting album of swing and blues. From the sound of it, they must put on a fantastic live show. Party Time offers 11 tracks, including four originals and several unexpected selections. It opens with … Continue reading
