If you’re looking for some great new music to discover this weekend, look no further than our weekly New Release Cheat Sheet.
New Songs and Videos
Sweet Megg and Ricky Alexander, “I’m In Love Again” [Video Premiere]
New York City-based jazz artists, vocalist Sweet Megg and clarinetist/saxophonist Ricky Alexander, have teamed up to release their debut collaborative album, I’m in Love Again, out now on Turtle Bay Records on all digital platforms. The record is an amalgam of Sweet Megg’s love of country, blues and Western swing and Alexander’s lifelong love of jazz. It also includes Mike Davis on trumpet, Dalton Ridenhour on piano, Rob Adkins on bass, Rob Edwards on trombone and Kevin Dorn on drums. We’re delighted to premiere the video for the album’s title track, which you can watch via the player below.
Miki Yamanaka, “Tea for Two”
Critically acclaimed pianist/composer/arranger Miki Yamanaka has released her new arrangement of the iconic jazz standard, “Tea for Two,” originally composed by Vincent Youmans in 1924. Yamanaka’s version is one of the tracks from her upcoming drumless piano trio record, Stairway to the Stars, due out October 1 on Outside in Music. The LP was recorded at home alongside consummate bassist Orlando le Fleming and saxophonist Mark Turner. Pre-order it here.
Cécile McLorin Salvant, “Easy Come, Easy Go Blues”
Cécile McLorin Salvant has shared her take on “Easy Come, Easy Go Blues,” the classic composition popularised by such legendary vocalists as the iconic Bessie Smith. This is the latest single from the forthcoming all-star compilation of previously unreleased music, Relief: A Benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund, out in support of musicians affected by the pandemic. McLorin Salvan’s single follows previously-shared tracks by Joshua Redman and Jon Batiste. Relief is out on November 12 and you can pre-order it HERE.
New Albums
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble, …dreaming in lions… (Blue Note)
On his full-length Blue Note debut, pianist/composer Arturo O’Farrill presents two original suites he composed in collaboration with Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, performed by his 10-piece Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble. One suite, “Despedida,” is a meditation on farewells. The other, “Dreaming in Lions,” is inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea. Order …dreaming in lions… here.
Chick Corea Akoustic Band, Chick Corea Akoustic Band LIVE (Concord Jazz)
Chick Corea Akoustic Band LIVE is the piano great’s first posthumous release and the final project he prepared before his passing. The album documents a concert by his Akoustic Band with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl from January 13, 2018, at SPC Music Hall in St. Petersburg, Florida, and serves as a reminder of Corea’s singular genius, with more than two hours of inspired music playing and spirited camaraderie. Order it here.
Joey DeFrancesco, More Music (Mack Avenue)
Multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Joey DeFrancesco offers the remedy for a challenging year via ten new compositions and by debuting a new trio with organist/guitarist Lucas Brown and drummer Michael Ode. More Music also finds him supplementing his organ virtuosity with trumpet, piano, keyboard, vocals and – for the first time – tenor saxophone. Order it here.
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