New Jazz Releases – 04/20/2026
By Russell Perry
Jesse Davis
Something for everyone this week. Abate Berihun and the Addis Ken Project mix jazz and Ethiopian Jewish Liturgical music. Jared Hall channels great hard bop quintets and newcomer Eli Howell brings the same emphasis to a sextet date. Ben Markley Big Band is back with more great large ensemble charts. Barry Green pays tribute to modern jazz guitarists. Veteran altoist Jesse Davis keeps bebop alive and Chick Corea’s last concert gets a release.
Join us for the Rock Fundraising Marathon all this week.
Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project – Addis Ken (Origin Records, release 04/18/2026). Abate Berihun – vocals / tenor saxophone / soprano saxophone, Roy Mor – piano, David Michaeli – upright bass, Nitzan Birnbaum – drums / percussion with Rudi Bainesay – vocals.
What an interesting musical mix in this new release from Abate Berihun & The Addis Ken Project, a sax / vocals – piano – bass – drums quartet that pulls from Ethiopian Jewish liturgical traditions. The timeless North African vibe is pervasive and tightly bound into jazz compositions and performances of the highest order. Soaring vocals complement deep grooves and spiritual textures. Highly recommended.
Review: Paris Move
Faye Carol – Forever Dynamic (Getdown Records , release 04/17/2026). Joe Warner – piano, Tarus Mateen – upright bass, Dennis Chambers – drums, Faye Carol – vocals with Dante Roberson – drums.
60 years in to her singing career, Bay Area veteran Fay Carol and a piano trio brings us a set of standards from the 30s through the 70s.
Review: JW Vibe
Ryan Blotnick – The Woods (Fishkill Records, release 04/17/2026). Tyler G. Wood – piano / organ, Ryan Blotnick – guitar, Adam Chilenski – bass, Otto Hauser – drums.
Brooklyn-based guitarist is out with his first disc as a leader in a decade and this from an organ – guitar bass – drums quartet. But don’t be fooled that this is a soul jazz organ – guitar band. Its sound has more to do with mediating folk and rock influences in a jazz contest.
Review: Something Else Review
Jared Hall – Hometown (Origin Records, release 04/17/2026). Jared Hall – trumpet, Troy Roberts – tenor saxophone, Ben Markley – piano, Michael Glynn – bass, Kyle Swan – drums.
Trumpeter Jared Hall (Influences, previewed 06/17/2024) is back with a new ensemble, a quintet this time, with saxophonist Troy Roberts (Green Lights, previewed 05/06/2024) joining in the front line. Together they capture the excitement of classic hard bop quintets. Pianist Ben Markley (Tuesday Morning Feeling, see below) adds a restrained voice in support. Jared Hall continues to have a delicate touch with ballads. Recommended.
Review: Paris Move
Barry Greene – Giants (Origin Records, release 04/17/2026). Barry Greene – guitar, David Kikoski – piano, Steve Nelson – vibraphone, Pat Bianchi – B3 organ, Marco Panascia – bass, Ulysses Owens Jr. – drums.
Anchored by Pat Bianchi (Confluence, previewed 02/16/2026) on B3 and Ulysses Owens (Around The World With U, previewed 03/30/2026) on drums, University of North Florida guitarist Barry Greene pays tribute to modern jazz guitarists who have influenced him – Pat Martino, Grant Green, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny and Russell Malone. Half the tracks feature a lineup expanded with David Kikoski (Weekend At Smalls, previewed 10/06/2025) on piano and Steve Nelson (Louis Hays, Nasheet Waits, Live Edge Trio) on vibes. Classic. Recommended.
Review: Paris Move
Tomas Janzon – Jazz Diary (Changes Music, release 04/17/2026). Tomas Janzon – guitars, Nerda Wheeler – bass, Tony Austin – drums, Chuck McPherson – drums.
Sweden-born, New York-based guitarist Tomas Janzon has recorded a set of original compositions for guitar – bass – drums trio. These are intimate recordings of simple melodies, simply presented for the most part – half the tunes hover around three minutes.
Review: Scope Magazine
Ben Markley Big Band – Tuesday Morning Feeling (OA2, release 04/17/2026). Bijon Watson – trumpet, Dawn Kramer – trumpet, Terell Stafford – trumpet, Gabriel Mervine – trumpet, Darren Kramer – trombone, Steve Davis – trombone, Stafford Hunter – trombone, Jon Gauer – trombone, Wil Swindler – alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, Remy Le Boeuf – alto saxophone / flute, Peter Sommer – tenor saxophone, Jared Cathey – tenor saxophone, Sam Williams – baritone saxophone, Ben Markley – piano, Steve Nelson – vibes, Steve Kovalcheck – guitar, David Wong – bass, Kyle Swan – drums.
University of Wyoming faculty member and pianist / composer Ben Markley (Tell the Truth, previewed 02/24/2025) makes his debut with a set of seven originals and four covers with Markley arrangements. Markley’s two previous Big Band recordings featured the music of Cedar Walton and Ari Honig and this is his first to spotlight his own compositions. The regional band is supplemented by Terell Stafford on trumpet, Remy Le Boeuf on alto and flute, Steve Davis on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibes and David Wong on bass. The Big Band charts owe more to post war large ensembles (Basie, Mulligan) than the earlier Swing Era bands. Splendid charts. Recommended
Review: Jazz Weekly, Paris Move
Eli Howell – Steps Taken (D Clef Records, release 04/10/2026). Brian Lynch – trumpet, Sharel Cassity- saxophone, Xavier Davis – piano, Rodney Whitaker – bass, Ulysses Owens Jr – drums with Wycliffe Gordon – trombone.
For his debut, trombonist Eli Howell follows the robust path forged by other ‘bone alumni of Michael Dease’s program at MSU (Altin Sencalar, Nanami Haruta). Under Dease’s production, Howell helms a powerhouse sextet – front line of trumpeter Brian Lynch, Howell, and UVa altoist Sharel Cassity with a driving rhythm section of MSU faculty Xavier Davis on piano and Rodney Whitaker on bass plus Ulysses Owens on drums. Whew! A lot of players these days are finding inspiration in the Jazz Messengers. This is one of the more successful journeys down that road. Highly recommended.
Review: Jazz Weekly
Russ Spiegel – Timepieces (Ruzztone Music, release 04/06/2026). Tal Cohen – piano, Russ Spiegel – electric guitar / acoustic guitar, Vince Dupont – bass, Brandon Lee Lewis – drums with Hendrik Meurkens – chromatic harmonica, Jean Caze – trumpet / flugelhorn, Tim Armacost – tenor sax, Javier Nero – trombone.
A couple of years back, guitarist Russ Spiegel brought us a guitar – organ – drums trio with a number of guests (Caribbean Blue, previewed 12/11/2023). On the new release, the trio is now a quartet with different players but the same guests have returned – trumpeter Brian Lynch (7 X 7 X 7, previewed 11/24/2024), trombonists Javier Nero (Alkebulan, previewed 03/23/2026), saxophonist Tim Armacost (Naoya Ogura Big Band, John Yao and his 17-Piece Instrument) and harmonicat Hendrik Meurkens (Samba Tonto, previewed 03/30/2026). The sextet pieces with Lynch, Nero and Armacost are worth the price of admission.
Jesse Davis Quartet – Reflections (Cellar Music, release 04/03/2026). Jesse Davis – alto saxophone, Spike Wilner – piano, John Webber – bass, Lewis Nash – drums.
Twenty years ago, New Orleans-native alto saxophonist Jesse Davis (Live at Smalls Jazz Club, previewed 02/13/2023) relocated to Italy and it seems like we haven’t heard as much from him. Our loss. He still brings us Bird via NOLA, a potent heritage. Davis possesses a crisp and fluid attack in which you can also hear Cannonball Adderley. This great player is teamed with a sympathetic quartet that plays it straight down the middle. No gimmicks, just powerful mainstream jazz. Highly recommended.
Review: Jazz Weekly, Paris Move, Papadamus Redux
Antonio Carlos & Jocafi – Antonio Carlos & Jocafi JID 026 (Jazz Is Dead, release 04/03/2026). Adrian Younge – electric bass guitar / Fender Rhodes piano / percussion / sopranino / alto saxophone / flutes, piccolo / pedal harp / Fender Rhodes / Hammond B3 organ / baritone saxophone, Marcel Carmago – electric guitar, Jocafi – nylon guitar / vocals, Ali Shaheed Muhammad – electric bass guitar, Leo Costa – drums, Marcelo “Bucater” Checchia – drums, Gibi Dos Santos – percussion, Krishna Booker – percussion, Antonio Carlos – vocals, Loren Oden – vocals.
Once again the Jazz Is Dead team bring us a global music recording with little known players, this time from Antonio Carlos and Jocvafi from Bahia in Brazil.
Todd Caldwell – Show Pony (Black Wing Music, release 03/27/2026). Todd Caldwell – Hammond B3 organ, Chris Parker – guitar, Josh Dion – drums.
Hammond B3 player Todd Caldwell has had a long career backing up pop acts (e.g. Crosby, Stills & Nash). Caldwell has eschewed the more typical B3 – guitar – drums soul jazz trio sound for something less driving and more cinematic.
Harriet Tubman – Electrical Field Of Love (Pi Recordings, release 03/27/2026). Brandon Ross – electric guitar / banjo / soprano guitar, Melvin Gibbs – electric bass, JT Lewis – drums, Georgia Anne Muldrow – vocals / keyboards.
Long-time guitar – bass – drums trio Harriet Tubman joins forces with avant-jazz vocalist George Ann Muldrow for a set of collective compositions, some seemingly spontaneous. Expect bits and shards of jazz, funk, dub, soul and rock combined into a spiritually resonant statement. I keep getting reminded of Mavis Staples when I listen to Georgia Ann Muldrow (!).
Review: Post Genre
The Soco Quintet – A Beer And A Mop (Self Produced, release 01/15/2026). Gil Cohen – trumpet, Tait Solberg – saxophone, Daniel Moran – piano, Jason Crowe – bass, Teag Solberg – drums.
The players that make up this straight-ahead trumpet – sax quintet are all new to me. Their program consists of eleven tracks by either the trumpeter Gil Cohen or the saxophonist Tait Solberg. In each case, the tunes are contrafacts of well-known standards (e.g. Just Freud is based on the chords of Just Friends.)
Chick Corea – Forever Yours: The Farewell Performance (Candid Records, release 10/17/2025). Chick Corea – piano.
Soon after this solo piano concert was preformed (and recorded) Chick Corea’s health began to deteriorate and he passed away four months later in February 2021, leaving this as a record of his last concert. His program included pieces from pianists that he adored – Bud, Monk, Duke, Bill Evans, a couple of standards and a number of Corea’s own, including six of his lovely Children’s Songs. There was nothing diminished about his playing. He finished strongly. Recommended.
I hope you are taking the time to explore our offerings during the Rock Fundraising Marathon – some terrific programs in store.
Russell Perry
Jazz at 100 Now!
If your music isn’t changing your life, you’ve simply picked the wrong songs. – Ted Gioia
