The editors of JAZZIZ have the good fortune of being able to listen to new music before it’s officially released in stores and streaming platforms. And because we’re always listening to new tunes, we always know just what to recommend. That’s why we’ll bring you a roundup of ten songs each week, featuring music from our favorite new albums, singles and other tunes that may have flown under your radar.
This week’s playlist opens with “Water from an Ancient Well,” a track from Abdullah Ibrahim’s new album, 3, recorded live in London both with and without an audience, and included in our list of ten albums released in January 2024 that you need to know about. “Dream of Home” is the first single from the forthcoming album, Eagle’s Point, described via a press release as “an electrifying testament to modern jazz” by Chris Potter with Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones have shared “Third Space,” a new single from their forthcoming third album New Monuments that was written in response to the Atlanta spa mass shooting in 2021, where a white man targeted and killed Asian women. Guitarist Rotem Sivan shares an uplifting message of family, love and humanity on Dream Louder, featuring an acoustic guitar rendering of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.”
Kandace Springs pays tribute to her late father, track star and musician Kenneth “Scat” Springs, with her latest single, “Run Your Race,” the title track from her forthcoming album that will be released on April 5. Charles Lloyd recently announced the March 15 release of his new album of brand new sudio recordings, The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow, by sharing the double album’s lead single, “Defiant, Tender Warrior.” Chicago-based percussionist and bandleader Kahil El’Zabar and the Ethnic Heritage Ensemble have shared a new single, “Return of the Lost Tribe,” from their new album, Open Me, A Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit, which will be released on March 8 in conjunction with the group’s 50th anniversary.
Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Owen Broder continues his streak of tributes to the great alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges with “I’m Beginning To See the Light.” “Squatch Watch,” inspired by Bigfoot, is one of the tracks from the new album by Andrew Binder’s Conspiracy Deliracy, featuring original modern jazz compositions steeped with distorted references as a tongue-in-cheek commentary on today’s era of misinformation. DJ Harrison‘s forthcoming covers album, Shades of Yesterday, includes our playlist’s closing song, a rendition of “L’Anthropofemme,” a track originally by the French group Syntaxe, a song recommended to him by Tyler, The Creator during a studio session in Los Angeles.
Listen to this week’s JAZZIZ Editors’ Choice Playlist via the player below.
Featured photo by D. Darr.
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