New Jazz Releases – 05/26/2025
By Russell Perry
Patricio Morales
I’m back after several weeks away. My sincerest thanks to Steve Harris, David Soyka and Gary Funston who stepped in to share their thoughts on recent releases in my absence. While I was away a pile of digital releases came in so this will be a bit longer than the typical post to catch up.
Dave Liebman / Billy Hart / Adam Rudolph – Beingness (Meta Records, release 05/23/2025). Dave Liebman – soprano saxophone, Billy Hart – drums, Adam Rudolph – percussion.
Saxophonist Dave Liebman and drummer Billy Hart first played together with Miles fifty years ago. Liebman and percussionist Adam Rudolf have been playing together consistently since 2016, but these three as a trio was a new ensemble when they were recorded live at The Stone in 2023. The resulting evening of improvised music is graceful and lyrical.
Thelonious Monk – Thelonious Himself (Concord, release 05/23/2025). Thelonius Monk – piano with John Coltrane – tenor saxophone, Wilbur Ware – bass.
This 1957 program of five covers and three originals has been remastered and reissued. This was Monk’s second solo disc, a format he returned to from time-to-time throughout his musical career. As a bonus, the set includes Monk’s Mood rendered by the trio of Trane, Monk and bassist Wilbur Ware. Highly recommended.
Dave Anderson – In Lieu Of Flowers(Label 1 Records, release 05/20/2025). Dave Anderson – saxophones, Grant Richards – piano, Lorin Cohen – bass, Jimmy Macbride – drums.
Saxophonist Dave Anderson’s latest is mostly an elegiac affair tinged with deep melancholy and loss. In addition to recollections of friends and family lost, the set list of ten originals includes tributes to Wayne Shorter (One For Wayne) and Maria Schneider (Arms of Maria).
Gillian Margot & Geoffrey Keezer – Gillian Margot & Geoffrey Keezer (MarKeez Records, release 05/19/2025). Geoffrey Keezer – piano, Gillian Margot – voice with Rogério Boccato – pandeiro, Peter Sprague – guitar.
Pianist Geoffrey Keezer (Live At Birdland, previewed 12/23/2024) and singer Gillian Margot are partners in music and life. Margot has recorded with Keezer’s trio in the past but this is their debut as a duo. The new releases is an intimate affair with both players at the top of their game. Recommended
Review: Jazz Views, UK Jazz News, Making A Scene
Jordan VanHemert – Survival Of The Fittest (Origin Records, release 05/16/2025). Terell Stafford – trumpet / flugelhorn, Michael Dease – trombone, Jordan VanHelmert – saxophone, Helen Sung – piano, Rodney Whitaker – bass, Lewis Nash – drums.
Tenor saxophonist Jordan VanHemert has reassembled the six excellent players from his last release (Down In The Soil, previewed 04/23/2024) although this time the ensemble sorts itself into several quintets with either trombonist Michael Dease or trumpeter Terell Stafford, two quartets with VanHemert plus the rhythm section and one duet each with pianist Helen Sung, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Lewis Nash. These duets are the highlights of the disc. There are five originals and four covers in this swinging set. Recommended.
Review: AllAboutJazz, Jazz Weekly, Making A Scene
Charles Chen – Building Characters (Cellar Music, release 05/16/2025). Randy Brecker – trumpet / flugelhorn, Bob Sheppard – tenor saxophone, Lawrence Feldman – tenor saxophone, Charles Chen – piano, Mike Richmond – bass, Adam Nussbaum – drums.
As in his debut release, (Charles, Play, previewed 01/15/2024), pianist Charles Chen’s second features a number of veterans – trumpeter Randy Brecker and tenorists Bob Sheppard (Veronica Thomas, Adam Schroeder & Mark Masters, Sarah McKenzie) and Lawrence Feldman (Bob Minzer, John Scofield), plus bassist Mike Richmond (Janet Lawson, John D’earth) and drummer Adam Nussbaum (Dave Goldberg, Chris Keefe, Tom Harrell). Straight ahead, well-played.
Review: Contemporary Fusion Reviews
Chris Smith – Jazz Grunge(Cellar Music, release 05/16/2025). Jure Pukl – tenor saxophone, David DeJesus – alto saxophone, Christopher Pawluk – guitar, Peter Slavov – bass, Chris Smith – drums, Valerie Costa – voice.
Austria-based drummer Chris Smith has released his debut recording capturing songs from his musical coming-of-age in Grunge of the 90’s from Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Fiona Apple. This is music that I do not know, so the melodies are unfamiliar to me and references may have been missed. Lots of guitar up front and heavy beats, but the sax frontline acquits itself well.
Ron Rieder – Dia Precioso (Meson Records, release 05/15/2025). Greg Hopkins – trumpet, David Harris – trombone, Mike Tucker – tenor saxophone, Fernando Brandao – flute, Alain Mallet – piano, Alex Roitman – bandoneon, Claudio Ragazzi – guitar, Queralt Girant – cello, Fernando Huergo – bass, Ricardo Monzon – percussion, Mark Walker – drums.
The compositions of Ron Rieder are rendered by a strong Boston-based ensemble. The set of eight originals is always melodic and punctuated by infectious Latin rhythms.
Review: AllAboutJazz
Jamie Shew – Spicy, Classy (and a little) Sassy (Self Produced, release 05/09/2025). Jeremy Siskind – piano, Kait Dunton – Rhodes / Hammond B3, Mike Scott – guitar, Lyman Medeiros – bass, Mark Ferber – drums, Jamie Shew – vocals, Mario Jose – backing vocals.
Southern California vocalist Jamie Shew has released her third album after an interval of eight years. Joining her for the ride on several tunes is Charlottesville-favorite Kait Dunton on Rhodes and Hammond B3. The program includes six selections from the songbook and three originals among which is my favorite, Enough. Shew has a warm and comfortable delivery that has bite when she chooses. Recommended.
Review: Paris Move
Clay Wulbrecht – The Clockmaster (Instru Dash Mental, release 05/02/2025). Jeffrey Parker – trumpet / trombone, Ramiro Flores – woodwinds, Clay Wulbrecht – piano / keyboards / Clockmystery, Rodrigo Cotelo – guitar / Clockmystery, Marco Messina – electric bass, Mateo Ottonello – drums with: Summer Kodama – upright bass, Federico Navarro Trías – Spanish guitar / electric guitar, Bob Hart – upright bass, Lee Hinkle – mallets / percussion.
Keyboardist Clay Wulbrecht has made an old-school fusion record with clear references back to the high-point of the genre in the 70s.
Review: Making a Scene, Jazz Weekly
George Colligan – Live At The Jazz Standard (Whirlwind Records, release 05/02/2025). George Colligan – piano, Linda May Han Oh – double bass, Jack DeJohnette – drums.
Pianist George Colligan (You’ll Hear It, previewed 05/20/2024) has shown us his trio chops on a few tunes in the last few releases and returns exclusively in that format this time with Linda Oh on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums (in whose band Colligan was once featured.) This his a powerful trio performing a set of eight original compositions.
Review: Downbeat, AllAboutJazz
Albare – Eclecticity (Alfi Records, release 05/02/2025). Mat Jodrell – trumpet / flugelhorn, Phil Roy – tenor saxophone / soprano saxophone, Phil Turcio – piano, Jake Mason – Hammond B3, Joe Chindamo – accordion, Albare – guitar, Phil Rex – bass, Felix Bloxom – drums, Salva Persico – percussion.
Australian guitarist Albert Dadon AKA Albare (Beyond Belief, previewed 03/25/2025) is back with his collaborator pianist Phil Turcio, but this time not in a guitar – piano quartet, but in a sextet with saxophone and percussion. The additional pieces add a lively dimension to the work that ranges from modal to R&B to funk.
Review: Jazz Views
Julia Úlehla and Dálava – Understories (Pi Rercordings, release 05/02/2025). Aram Bajakian – guitars / bass / piano / synths / percussion, Peggy Lee – cello, Josh Zubot – violin, Julia Ulehla – voice / effects / lotar.
The dominant voices in this new release are the guitar of Aram Bajakian (who also plays several other instruments) and the singing of Julia Ulehla, partners in life and music. They produce hypnotic music with a coarse edge, interpreting traditional Moravian folk songs through a very idiosyncratic lens. Very interesting.
Review: Rhythm Changes, Salt Peanuts
Keith Jarrett – New Vienna (ECM, release 05/02/2025). Keith Jarrett – piano.
Keith Jarrett is obviously a treasure and, now that he is no longer able to perform, new releases of concerts from the past get a lot of attention. Unfortunately, I have long since ceased to hear much difference among the very numerous solo sets that populate his catalog. Unlike some previous releases that filled an hour with a handful of tracks, this set consists of ten shorter tracks, each unique and several quite succinct.
Review: Jazzwise, AllAboutJazz
Arve Henriksen / Trygve Seim / Anders Jormin / Markku Ounaskari – Arcanum (ECM, release 05/02/2025). Arve Henriksen – trumpet, Trygve Seim – saxophones, Anders Jormin – double bass, Markku Ounaskari – drums.
There are moments when this trumpet – sax – bass – drums quartet owes obvious debt to the similar ensembles led by Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, but mostly there is a Northern folkloric vibe that overlays some serious chops by what some consider a Nordic Super Group.
Review: Jazz Trail, Jazz Views, UK Vibe
Transcendence – Music of Pat Metheny (FMR Records, release 05/01/2025). Bob Gluck – piano, Christopher Dean Sullivan – electric bass, Karl Latham – drums.
This piano trio translates the music of Pat Metheney without using a guitar. While I tend to appreciate Metheney’s writing for its strong melodies, there is a more textural approach at work here.
Samuel Hallvist – Song For Mimi The Haas Company Vol. 3 (Psychiatric Records, release 05/01/2025). Pete Drungle – Rhodes / Moog Odyssey / Mini Moog, various synthesizers, Samuel Hällkvist – guitar, Todd Reynolds – violin, Nicolas Draps – electric violin, Jerry Goodman – electric violin, Scott Tixier – violin, Mark Feldman – violin, Kirwan Brown – bass, Steve Haas – drums.
This release from Swedish guitarist Samuel Hallvist has a vintage fusion vibe and he comes by it honestly with the inclusion of violinist Jerry Goodman, formerly of the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Goodman is just one off five violinists (!) on the set, including Chicago’s Mark Feldman (who does not bring fusion sounds to mind generally.) Regular readers will appreciate that I usually don’t get too excited by Neo-fusion efforts like this.
Review: Making A Scene, Jazz Weekly, Scope
The Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra – Chronography (Then and Now) (Un Gyve Records, release 04/01/2025). Greg Hopkins, Bijon Watson, Carlos Ramos, Dan Rosenthal, Don Gorder – trumpets, Jeff Galindo, Peter Fanelli, Jeremy Duke – trombones, Peter Cirelli – bass trombone, Yulia Musayelyan – flute, Shannon Leclaire – alto saxophone / flute / clarinet, Lihi Haruvi – alto saxophone / soprano saxophone / flute, Rick DiMuzio – tenor saxophone / clarinet, Bob Patton – tenor saxophone / flute / clarinet, Fall Raye – tenor saxophone / clarinet, Billy Pierce – tenor saxophone, Brian Landrus – baritone saxophone / bass clarinet, Tim Ray – piano, Keala Kaumeheiwa – acoustic bass, Mark Walker – drums, Renese King – vocals.
Boston big band composer / arranger Greg Hopkins has pulled from his book of 55 years, ten solid arrangements for big band favorites from Duke, Rodgers & Hart, Dizzy.
Patricio Morales – La Tierra Canta (Northsound Records, release 04/01/2025). Victor Goncalves – piano / accordion, Patricio Morales – classical guitar, Daniel Zamalloa – mandolin, Kahil Nayton – cavaquinho, Sebastian de Urquiza – upright bass, Pablo Menares – upright bass, Rodrigo Recabarren – drums / percussion, Rodrigo Boccato – Brazilian percussion.
Chilean folk sounds overlay classical guitar and jazz phrasing in this lovely piece from guitarist and Ralph Towner-student Patricio Morales. The dominance of accordion over the string ensemble makes for a dreamy sound. My folk and international music friends will enjoy this as well. Recommended.
Review: AllAboutJazz, Jazz Weekly, Skope, Making A Scene
Max Johnson – In The West (Clean Feed, release 07/21/2017). Kris Davis – piano, Susan Alcorn – pedal steel guitar, Max Johnson – double bass, Mike Pride – drums.
This release from 2017 was recently sent to WTJU, perhaps to punctuate the untimely loss of pedal steel guitarist Susan Alcorn this past January. Like John Zorn’s The Big Gundown (1986) before it, bassist Max Johnson is inspired by the cinematic music of composer Ennio Morricone. The quartet is a who’s who of the avant guard scene with Johnson (I’ll See You Again, previewed 11/18/2024) and Alcorn (Canto, 2023) joined by pianist Kris Davis (Run The Gauntlet, previewed 09/02/2024) and drummer Mike Pride (Moppa Elliott, Mantana Roberts, Lisa Mezzacappa).
Review: Jazz DaGama, Free Jazz Collective
It’s good to be back. I hope there is some music here to tickle your ears.
Russell Perry
Jazz at 100 Now!
If your music isn’t changing your life, you’ve simply picked the wrong songs. – Ted Gioia
