Après le succès des deux albums de son trio Un Poco Loco et de sa création franco-cubaine en grand orchestre autour de la rumba ¿ Que Vola ?, le tromboniste de l’ONJ présente Animal, un trio inédit qui réunit, pour la première fois autour de ses compositions, deux musiciens parmi les plus en vue sur la scène jazz actuelle : Joachim Florent à la contrebasse et Sylvain Darrifourcq à la batterie. Pour ce répertoire original, hommage vivant et joyeux au monde animal, Fidel Fourneyron travaille sur le blues dans la mélodie et les inflexions, sur la recherche et l’originalité des sons, le groove toujours, le zapping et la surprise comme source d’inspiration dans l’improvisation, et la finesse des lignes et contrepoints comme tremplin à l’euphorie du jeu collectif.

Despite the economic difficulties in sustaining a large ensemble, trombonist, composer, and arranger Kenichi Tsunoda has kept his stellar, Tokyo-based big band together for over a decade. Showing off the band’s versatility, Tsunoda presents a program of his own compositions, a combination of the First Movement of “Concierto de Aranjuez” and Chick Corea’s “Spain,” as well as smart arrangements of standards such as “Caravan” and “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” The well-drilled ensemble includes a number of able soloists such as tenor saxophonist Tatsuya Sato, flutist Seiji Tada, alto saxophonist Keiji Hori, and pianist Yuichi Inoue…

Jimmy Heath at age 33 made his recording debut as a leader on this Riverside session which has been reissued on CD in the OJC series. The hard bop tenor-saxophonist is in superior form, contributing five originals (of which "For Minors Only" is best known), jamming with an all-star sextet (including cornetist Nat Adderley, trombonist Curtis Fuller, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath) and taking two standards as ballad features. The excellent session of late '50s straightahead jazz is uplifted above the normal level by Heath's writing.

The Ultimate Diva Collection is a 2003 compilation CD featuring some of the prized music from Verve Records. This edition was pressed in Russia, where there isn't Verve or Universal Records so this was most likely counterfeit but it's a nice clone.

An outstanding nine CD collection of rare jazz, blues, country, pop, cowboy, march, ragtime, vaudeville and gospel recordings that form our musical legacy, compiled by jazz historian Allen Lowe. More than10 hours of music in a presentation slipcase with a 127 page booklet containing many photos and a wealth of interesting information about the music. Space here only permits artist and song title listings of the first 4 CD's in the 9 CD set.

One of numerous Charlie Christian retrospectives released during the 1990s by the Masters of Jazz label, 1940, Vol. 4 taps a particularly tasty portion of this legendary guitarist's work with the Benny Goodman Quintet, Sextet and Septet. On tracks nine through thirteen, an extra dimension is added by the presence of Count Basie and several members of his trusty Kansas City swing band, including bassist Walter Page, trumpeter Buck Clayton, and saxophonist Lester Young. This compilation also contains examples of Christian's work as a member of an octet backing sweet dance band leader Dick Jurgens' star crooner Eddy Howard (tracks seven and eight)…

Lee Morgan shares this CD reissue with fellow trumpeter Thad Jones. Morgan's three selections feature a quintet with tenor-saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Bobby Timmons, bassist Jimmy Roser and drummer Art Taylor. While that hard bop group democratically performs one original apiece from Morgan, Timmons and Shorter, Thad Jones's date has four of his songs plus a previously unissued alternate take of "Subtle Rebuttal"; best-known is "Tip Toe" which was later recorded by The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Jones's septet is filled with Count Basie sidemen (trombonist Al Grey and tenors Billy Mitchell and Frank Wess) along with a fine rhythm section (pianist Hank Jones, bassist Richard Davis and drummer Osie Johnson) and is more swing-oriented than The Morgan group, but the two sets are equally rewarding.

This expansive Box Set contains all 63 of Tony Bennett’s albums in separate facsimile LP jackets, three DVDs, six volumes of Bennett’s non-album singles, a previously unreleased CD of his Las Vegas debut from 1964, and two discs of rarities, including Bennett’s first recording, an Army V-Disc of “St. James Infirmary Blues,” making it an absolute treasure trove for Bennett fans and collectors.

Off the heels of 2017’s acclaimed archival release Just Friends – Live at the Village Vanguard from 1988, jazz clarinet icon Eddie Daniels has a new project paying tribute to the world-renowned Brazilian composer and multi-instrumentalist, Egberto Gismonti. Heart of Brazil features Daniels with the top-shelf trio of pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Kevin Axt and drummer Mauricio Zottarelli, plus the Grammy Award-winning Harlem Quartet. With new arrangements by Ted Nash, Kuno Schmid and Josh Nelson, Heart of Brazil collects songs from Gismonti’s classic early 1970s albums on Odeon/EMI Records, such as his self-titled 1973 album, Água & Vinho (1972), Corações Futuristas (1976), Carmo (1977) and others.

Johnny Alf's sophomore LP bridges the gap between the Sinatra-inspired crooner sensibilities of his early career and the embryonic bossa nova approach of his creative heyday to forge a hip and sophisticated sound unique in the singer's catalog. Blessed with a stellar supporting cast led by pianist/arranger Celso Murillo, guitarist Neco, and bassist Luiz Marinho, Diagonal captures Alf at his most soulful, contrasting his ragged-but-right vocals against lush, string-sweetened backdrops - although a tad sentimental at times, the album's jazzy energy never flags, buoyed by the light, exotic tempo of the bossa beat.

Over the past few decades, pianist Benny Green has established himself as one of the premier pianists and trio leaders. In fact, it has been since one of his earliest professional gigs with singing great Betty Carter that Green has played alongside a vocalist. But it was upon hearing young vocalist Veronica Swift that Green was tempted to expand his aural palette with both voice and Anne Drummond’s flute playing in the effort to record his new Then and Now.

They say experience makes the master. I have been a professional singer for over 30 years. I have entertained at every kind of event and venue, from baby showers to major concerts; from weddings, night clubs and cruise ships to theaters, universities and jazz festivals. I have sung at open-air downtown concerts and made the occasional TV appearance as well. I have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Diana Krall, Ray Charles, Nancy Wilson, Sergio Mendez, João Bôsco, Elba Ramalho, Moraes Moreira and many, many others.

Recorded in February of 2005, this newly-discovered album with the legendary Triptych Myth trio and multi-disciplined instrumentalist/composer Cale Brandley spirals from the past towards the future. As visions of grandeur and intimacy unfold amongst the four musicians, somewhere between the improvisations and the form one can hear a fifth element–the eternal being of Musica–gently descending into the chalice woven by the musicianers.

Seattle has long been known as the hometown of jazz pioneers from the Jackson Street era, with Quincy Jones, Ray Charles and Ernestine Anderson all getting their start in the district decades ago. The Blues Chanteuse aka Nora Michaels also got her start in the emerald city and has been singing ballads and torch songs in nightclubs for over fifty years. To celebrate her 71st birthday, Michaels is releasing her latest EP, Blue Lullaby, in December of 2018. The seven new tracks feature her Blues Chanteuse Band and special guests on a collection of classic jazz lounge styled originals.

On the eve of the of the 30th anniversary of San Jose Jazz’s annual Summer Fest in 2019, the SJZ Collective, featuring the cream of Silicon Valley jazz musicians, is set to release its debut EP, SJZ Collective Reimagines Monk, on December 14. The EP is a collection of new arrangements of four Thelonious Monk compositions, featuring drummer Wally Schnalle, trumpeter/flugelhorn player John L. Worley, Jr., organist Brian Ho, guitarist Hristo Vitchev, saxophonist Oscar Pangilinan and bassist Saúl Sierra – each an acclaimed bandleader in their own right. The project debuted at the San Jose Jazz Winter Fest 2018, celebrating Monk’s centennial.