New Jazz Releases – 01/20/2025

By Russell Perry

Carl Allen

Tributes to composers dominate the new releases this week with a Horace Silver set from Eldad Tarmu, Barry Harris from Bruce Harris and Ehud Asherie, Freddie Hubbard from the all-star ensemble Blue Moods, and Viennese film composers EW Korngold and Max Steiner from Peter Erskine.  To cap a strong week, we have new releases from pianists Joe Elefante and Michel Petrucciani (from 1988), drummer Carl Allen, plus saxophonists Kasan Belgrave and Dann Zinn.2025 is looking great.


Bruce Harris / Ehud Asherie – Thank You, Barry Harris (Arbors Records, released 01/17/2025).  Bruce Harris – trumpet, Ehud Asherie – piano.

Pianist Ehud Aherie and trumpeter Bruce Harris pay tribute to legendary bebop pianist / composer / educator Barry Harris in an unusual trumpet – piano duo.


Peter Erskine & The JAM Music Lab All-Stars – Vienna to Hollywood (Origin Records, release 1/17/2025).  Thomas Gansch – trumpet, Herwig Gradischnig – saxophone, Bob Sheppard – fluter, Danny Grissett – piano, Flip Phillip – vibraphone / persussion, Bertl Mayer – harmonica, Andreas Varady – guitar, Alyssa Park – violin, Thatiana Gomes – double bass, Fabricio Pereira – double bass, Peter Erskine – drums / percussion, Brian Kilgore – percussion.

Following his successful Bernstein set (Bernstein in Vienna, previewed 01/29/2024), drummer Peter Erskine (Weather Report) has recorded another composer tribute with the Vienna JAM Music Lab, this time bringing forward the film music of Viennese composers EW Korngold (The Prince and the Pauper, The Adventures of Robin Hood) and Max Steiner (Gone With the Wind).  The results are surprising soulful and swinging.

Review: Paris Move


Bill Moio – Try This (ITI Records, released 01/17/2025).  Wayne Bergeron – trumpet, Andy Martin – trombone, Eric Marienthal – saxophone, George Whitty – keyboards / piano / Rhodes / synthesizer, drum programming, Bill Moio – guitars / keyboards / drum programming, Jimmy Haslip – bass, Mel Brown – bass, Tommy Brechtlein – drums.

Guitarist Bill Moio’s latest set of original compositions is populated by LA studio pros with a smooth jazz meets Tower of Power kind of vibe.

Review: Paris Move


David Caffey Jazz Orchestra – At The Edge Of Spring(HDC Music, released 01/15/2025).  Jake Boldman, Brad Goode, Steve Hawk, Shawn Williams – trumpets, Jonathan Bumpus, John Mathews, Darren Kramer, Gary Mayne – trombones, Will Swindler, Drew Zaremba, Peter Sommer, Andrew Janak, Glenn Kostur – reeds, Dana Landry – piano, Joshua Zepeda – vibraphone / marimba / xylophone, Steve Kovalcheck – guitar, Erik Applegate – bass, Jim White – drums.

Composer / arranger David Coffey (Joe Syrian Motor City Jazz Octet – Secret Message) has released an eight-tune selection of his compositions in a very traditional big big band format.


Joe Elefante – Wheel of Dharma (Self Produced, released 01/13/2025).  Freddie Hendrix – trumpet, Erena Terakubo – saxophone, Joe Elefante – piano, Sameer Shankar – bass, Deve Heilman – drums.

Pianist Joe Elefante has released a trumpet – alto – piano – bass – drums quintet with a front line of Freddie Hendrix (Jazzmeia Horn, Christian McBride, John Dukes) on trumpet and Erena Terabuko (Ulysses Owens Jr, Tracy Yang) on alto.  Straight ahead and recommended.

Review: Paris Move


Carl Allen – Tippin’ (Cellar Music, released 01/10/2025).  Chris Potter – tenor saxophone / soprano saxophone / bass clarinet, Christian McBride – bass, Carl Allen – drums with John Lee – piano.

Drummer Carl Allen is a member of Christian McBride’s band Inside Straight and together with Chris Potter they made up the band for Renee Rosnes’s Kinds of Love (2021).  For his first solo effort in almost thirty years, Allen chose to record with a cordless trio and these three bring out the best of this format.  Potter’s last was one of the best discs last year (Eagle’s Point, previewed 02/19/2024) and he continues to be amazing. Solid on every track.  Highly Recommended.

Reviews: AllAboutJazz, Marlbank, UK Jazz News, Plastic Sax


Eldad Tarmu – Silver On Aluminum (Self Produced, released 01/10/2025).  Eldad Tarmu – vibraphone, Marty Isenberg – bass, Michael Shapira – drums.

Vibraphonist Eldad Tarmu has arranged eight compositions of Horace Silver (1928 – 2014) for a vibraphone – bass – drums trio.  Tarmu is a very rhythmic player and that fits well with this great body of work.

Review:” The JW Vibe


Kasan Belgrave – Dual Citizen (Tribe Records, released 01/03/2025).  Allen Dennard – trumpet, Michael Abbo – trombone, Kasan Belgrave – saxophones / flute, Brendon Davis – piano, Jonathan Muir-Cotton – bass, Robert Hurst – bass, Louis Jones III – drums, Michael Reed – drums.

Detroit saxophonist Kasan Belgrave comes from a solid Detroit background – his father was the renowned trumpeter Marcus Belgrave (1936 – 2015) and he studied with bassist Rodney Whitaker at the increasingly prominent Western Michigan University program.  Released on Tribe Records, the Detroit label his father co-founded in the 70s, Belgrave’s debut features seven originals by the leader plus covers of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock and Robert Hurst (another Detroit mentor).  Some hard bop, some blues, solid tunes and a self-assured vibe.  Recommended.


Blue Moods – Force & Grace(Posi-Tone Records, released 01/03/2025).  Diego Rivera – tenor saxophone / soprano saxophone, Art Hirahara – piano, Jon Davis – piano, Boris Kozlov – bass, Vinnie Sperrazza – drums.

Posi-Tone Records, a haven for straight ahead jazz, is now three releases into a series of discs featuring stars from their pantheon performing the work of major composers of the hard bop era. Starting with Mingus in 2022 (Myth and Wisdom), then Duke Pearson in ’24 (Swing and Soul), the new release is the music of Freddie Hubbard.  The ace band from the last release is back for this one and it’s a great one.  Diego Rivera (Offrenda, previewed 04/21/2024) leads the band from the tenor seat ably supported by Art Hirahara or Jon Davis on piano plus bassist Boris Kozlov and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza.  Highly Recommended.

Reviews: Making A Scene, Marlbank


Towner Gallagher Organ Group – Brothers (Rhythm Royale Records, released 01/03/2025).  Craig Handy – tenor saxophone, Jimmy Sanders – Hammond B3 organ / Fender Rhodes / clavinet, Marvin Horne – guitar, Randy Monroe – bass, Towner Galaher – drums / congas.

Drummer Towner Gallaher (Towner Gallaher Organ Trio – Live, previewed 04/10/2023) puts the funk on the front burner in this quintet (tenor – B3 – guitar – bass – drums) set of originals from the leader and B3-ace Jimmy Sanders.  Tenor saxophone player Craig Handy (Brian Lynch, Conrad Herwig, The Headhunters) reprises the sound of his 1970’s playing with Herbie Hancock.

Reviews: Making A Scene, Jazz Music Archives, Paris Move


Don Paul and Rivers Answer Moons – Louisiana Stories Instrumental (Revolutionary Records, released 01/03/2025).  Kirk Joseph – sousaphone, Roger Lewis – baritone saxophone, Don Vappie –-banjo, Herman Lebeaux – drums, Alexey Marti – percussion, Don Paul – word, Erica Falls – vocals, Lynn Drury – vocals with Louis Michot, Andre Michot, Herlin Riley, Michael Torregano Jr., Mario Abney.

Poet Don Paul has assembled a novel sax – sousaphone – banjo – drums – percussion quintet as the core to which he has added a number of guests on a set that explores a variety of Louisiana sounds, dipping into Arcadiana, R’n’B, and vintage jazz.  The release has two discs, one instrumental and the second with Paul’s recitations over the band.

Review: Paris Move


Theoretical Planets – Zero (Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, released 12/24/2024). Noah Simpson – trumpet, Nicole McCabe – alto saxophone, Joe Manis – tenor saxophone / baritone saxophone, Wes Georgiev – piano, Max Reynolds – guitar, Logan Kane – acoustic bass / electric bass, George Colligan – drums / Fender Rhodes, Zyanna Melada – vocals.

Oregon pianist / composer George Colligan (You’ll Hear It, previewed 05/20/2024 & The Phyllis Wheatley Project, previewed 01/08/2024) is also an accomplished drummer as illustrated on his latest release.  The disc present two distinct miens: knotty horn-driven up-tempo romps with wordless vocals and contemplative vocal-dominant ballads.  Both present a very capable set of players, many with a long history with Colligan.  The interplay between alto saxophonist Nicole McCabe and tenor / baritone player Joe Manis is particularly strong.


Jenny Hill – Floating (Rat Beach Records, released 11/22/2024).  Allison Phillips – trumpet / flugelhorn, Jenny Hill – tenor saxophone / soprano saxophone / flute, Mann Koch – piano, Eduardo Belo – bass, Todd Isler – drums / percussion.

Saxophonist Jenny Hill has recorded with a quintet that pairs her soprano and flute with Allison Phillips’s flugelhorn and her tenor with Phillips’s trumpet.  There are all new players to me.


Michel Petrucciani Trio – Jazz Club Montmartre CPH 1988 (Storyville, released 11/15/2024). Michel Petrucciani – piano, Gary Peacock – bass, Ray Haynes – drums.

Gifted French pianist Michael Petrucciani recorded a September 1987 studio set with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Roy Haynes (Michel plays Petrucciani, 1988) and followed up with a tour the following spring.  Another date from this tour, four days later was released as One Night In Karlsruhe in 2019.  Petrucciani famously played with a rich diversity of musicians, often in a piano trio setting, and this is among the best of those groups.  Petrucciani’s recording career was brief, starting with his collaborations with Charles Loyd in 1982 and ending with his premature death in 1999, but he left a lot of great music behind and thankfully more keeps getting discovered. Recommended

Review: PostGenre


Dann Zinn – Two Roads (Ridgeway Records, released 10/04/2024) digital only.  Dann Zinn – tenor saxophone, Rachel Z – piano, Jeff Denson – bass, Omar Hakim – drums.

Tenor saxophone player Dann Zinn brings a searching spiritual outlook to a set of eight originals informed by the Norwegian folk sounds of his primary influence Jan Garbarek.  Bassist Jeff Denson (Michael Echaniz, Brian Blade) anchors a sweet quartet and steps in with wordless vocals on the title tune.  The occasional processed saxophone sound is not particularly appealing to me, but when Zinn plays a muscular acoustic tenor, its a wonderful thing.  Recommended.

Review: AllAboutJazz, Jazz Weekly, Making A Scene


I hope you find something here to satisfy your ears.

Russell Perry

Jazz at 100 Now!

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