New Jazz Releases – 07/21/2025
By Russell Perry
Terri Lyne Carrington
My favorite records this week are all women-led. Trumpeter Sarah Wilson leads a septet with an all-woman front line, pianist / vocalist Dawn Clement leads a trio, and vocalist Emma Smith recorded a nostalgic set with a piano trio. Terri Lyne Carrington and Christie Dashiell have brought a host of players to pay tribute to the seminal 1960 Max Roach / Abbey Lincoln masterwork – We Insist. Enjoy.
Sarah Wilson – Incandescence (Brass Tonic Records, release 07/18/2025). Sarah Wilson – trumpet, Mara Fox – trombone, Kasey Knudsen – alto saxophone, John Schott – guitar, Lisa Mezzacappa – bass, Jon Arkin – drums, Tim Bulkley – drums.
Bay Area trumpeter Sarah Wilson has a recorded a brass band-inspired set with a septet featuring an all-female front line of Wilson plus trombonist Mara Fox and altoist Kasey Knudsen (Andrea Claburn, Counterweight). Anchoring the ensemble is UVa alumna bassist Lisa Mezzacappa. The program of ten originals is relentlessly joyful. Recommended.
Review: Jazz Views
Ryan Keberle’s Collective Do Brasil – Chor Das Aguas (Alternate Side, release 07/18/2025). Ryan Keberle – trombone, Felipe Silveira – piano, Felipe Brisola – bass, Paulinho Vicente – drums.
A regular in the big bands of Maria Schneider and Darcy James Argue, trombonist Ryan Keberle (Ryan Keberle & Catharsis – Music Is Connection, previewed 10/28/2024) is out with his third disc with the Collective Do Brasil, this time focussing on the music of Ivan Lins. While Keberle is a New Yorker, the balance of the band hails from Sao Paolo. Don’t come to this disc with your ears expecting sambas or bossa novas as Lins is coming from a different place. Do expect lovely melodies and lush harmonies from the post-bossa nova popular music known as música popular brasileira (MPB). Keberle continues to show why he is so well respected as a trombone player – he has a lovely tone and a fluid approach to improvisation.
Dawn Clement – Delight (Origin Records, release 07/18/2025). Dawn Clement – piano / voice, Buster Williams – bass, Matt Wilson – drums.
Veteran Denver-based pianist / vocalist Dawn Clement (Matt Wilson, Jane Ira Bloom, Esthesis Quartet) brings a very sympathetic trio to a challenging playlist that includes Monk, McCoy Tyner and Julian Priester adjacent to Elvis Costello and three originals. Three of the tunes feature Clement’s pitch-perfect singing. At 83, bassist Buster Williams (Noah Haidu, Steve Turre, Jeremy Pelt) gives a master class in collaborative listening and playing – what a treasure. Highly recommended.
Review: Paris Move, Jazz Weekly, AllAboutJazz
Erik Deutsch – This Was Then (Self produced, release 07/18/2025). Brian Drye – trombone, Mike McGinnis – reeds, Erik Deutsch – keyboards, Avi Bortnick – guitars, Jeff Hill – bass, Tony Mason – drums with Mauro Refosco – percussion, Victoria Reed – vocals.
Erik Deutsch, keyboard player with the Black Crowes, has an alternative career in jazz, not only with this jazz sextet, but as a sideman with the likes of Todd Sickafoose and Charlie Hunter. A dreamy set of seven originals plus one by vocalist Victoria Reed.
Peter Lin AAPI Jazz Collective – Identity (OA2 Records, release 07/18/2025). Peter Lin – trombone, Erena Terakubo – alto saxophone / flute, Mike Bond – piano, Daseul Kim – bass, Wen-Ting Wu – drums with Mỹ Tâm Huynh – vocals, Brandon Choi – trumpet.
Taiwanese-American trombonist Peter Lin has released a disc with the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Jazz Collective, a collection of players with roots throughout Asia. The program is jazz interpretations of classic and traditional Asian musical themes plus several new compositions. While the program is discussed as an expansion of the hard-bop canon, my ears are not identifying the Asian themes as much as I expected to. On the other hand, whatever the provenance, the set is played beautifully.
Review: Jazz Weekly, Paris Move
Emma Smith – Bitter Orange (La.Reserve, release 07/18/2025). Jamie Safir – piano, Conor Chaplin – double bass, Luke Tomlinson – drums, Emma Smith – vocals.
For her solo debut, English singer Emma Smith and her quartet hew a distinctively nostalgic path through a set of standards with some surprises. We don’t often hear Nat King Cole’s Frim Fram Sauce and this is the first time I’ve encountered Noel Coward’s London Pride (composed during the blitz). With a classic Julie London sound, the single new composition (What Took You So Long) follow a similar lyrical trajectory to the well-worn Guess Who I Saw Today (Amber Weeks, Samara Joy). I got a comfortable feeling of familiarity from this set. Comfort food for your ears. Recommended.
Review: Paris Move, Presto Music
Leroi Conroy – A Tiger’s Tale (Colemine Records, release 07/11/2025). Billy Aukstik – trumpet, Eric Lechliter – trumpet, Morgan Price – saxophone, Josh Kline – saxophone, Michael Sarason – flute, Leroi Conway – organ / piano / harpsichord, Kelly Finnigan – electric piano / piano, Alec Torrence – vibraphone / glockenspiel, Carlton Reece – guitar, Jimmy James – guitar, Alerce “Al” Cornet – lap steel guitar, Terry Cole (Leroi Conway) – bass, Rob Houk – drums, Laura Bock- vocals.
In his debut recording, Terry Cole AKA Leroi Conway, founder of Colemine Records (Okonski, Parlor Greens, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio), has created a piece that could have been an Isaac Hays film soundtrack from the 70s.
Karla Harris – Merge(Self Produced, release 0707/2025). Justin Powell – trumpet, Mace Hibbard – saxophone, Sam Skelton – saxophone / alto flute, Tyrone Jackson – piano / organ / Fender Rhodes, Patrick Arthur – guitar, Chris Blackwell – guitar, Doc Powell – guitar, Trey Wright – guitar, Kelly McCarty – bass, Billy Thornton – bass, Robert Boone Jr – drums / percussion, Chris Burroughs – drums / percussion, Frankie Quiñones – percussion, Karla Harris – vocals / piano / percussion.
Soulful vocals from Atlanta-based singer Karla Harris in the company of two different rhythm sections with a tenor – trumpet front line on four of the tracks and saxophone / alto flute quintets on three more. Harris capably wrote three of the songs with the balance coming both from jazz standards (What Is This Thing Called Love, Never Will I Marry) or soul hits (I’m Still In Love With You, Stand By Me). Harris has a sound and range that brings Nnenna Freelon to my ears.
Review: AllAboutJazz
NolasiA – NolasiA (H Flat, release 06/30/2025). DJ Smith – bansuri, Idak Smith – guitar.
NolasiA is a bansuri – guitar duo from New Orleans-based twin brothers DJ and Adak Smith who have lived in Asia. The bansuri is a side-blown bamboo flute. With a spare but full sound, they cover eight classic tunes (e.g. Summertime, All Blues) plus one original with a very unique sound.
Tim Jago – Time Shift (Self Published, release 06/27/2025). Mark Small – saxophone, Martin Bejerano – keyboards, Tim Jago – guitar, Dion Kerr – electric bass / upright bass, David Chiverton – drums.
Australian-born, New York-based guitarist Tim Jago has a clean tone and a swinging band, tackling six originals and covers of Bernie’s Tune and Body and Soul. Jazz guitar fans will find much to like.
Review: AllAboutJazz, Paris Move, Jazz Weekly, Making A Scene
Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell – We Insist 2025 (Candid Records, release 06/13/2025). Milena Casado – trumpet / electronics, Julian Priester – trombone, Simon Moullier – vibraphone, Matthew Stevens – guitar, Morgan Guerin – bass / woodwinds / saxophone, Devon Gates – bass / vocals; Terri Lyne Carrington – drums, Weedie Braima – percussion / congas, Lizz Wright – tambourine, Ayodele Casel – tap dance, Christie Dashiell – vocals, April May Webb – vocals, Christiana Hunte – spoken word / vocals / dance, Tamia Elliott – spoken word / vocals, Ian Michael – spoken word / vocals, Zacchaeus Paul – spoken word / vocals.
Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington has reconceived Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln’s epic 1960 recording We Insist! with vocalist Christie Dashiell (Brandon Sanders, Javier Nero, Jack Kilby.) Much more than a repertory retelling of the classic, Carrington and Dashiell bring their own anguish and urgency to the set, without some of the palpable anger that characterized the original. This is perhaps most evident in the vocals from Dashiell which are more reserved than the raging of Abbey Lincoln. It’s a story worth retelling 65 years later. Note that 89-year-old trombonist Julian Priester, the only living musician from the original players, joins the ensemble for a stirring version of Tears for Johannesberg. Highly recommended.
Review:” Marlbank, LA Times, Downbeat
Ark Ovrutski – Bass Delight (Ark Ovrutski Music Corporation, release 10/11/2024). Brandon McCune – piano, Ark Ovrutski – bass, Corey Rawls – drums.
Finding inspiration in classics of modern jazz (Dameron, Pettiford, Strayhorn), veteran Russian-born, New York-based bassist Ark Ovrutski has recorded solid trio set.
I hope that you find something here.
Russell Perry
Jazz at 100 Now!
If your music isn’t changing your life, you’ve simply picked the wrong songs. – Ted Gioia
