JAZZIZ Editors’ Choice: Vince Mendoza, The Bad Plus, Walter Smith III & More


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 Monday, featuring music from our favorite new albums, singles and other tunes that may have flown under your radar. And, for good measure, we’ll be throwing in some “golden oldies” as well…

Saxophonist Walter Smith III’s cover of Kate Bush’s “Mother Stands for Comfort” opens this week’s playlist. “The Healer” is a new single from bassist/composer Avishai Cohen and New York Latin jazz icon Abraham Rodriguez Jr.’s collaborative album, Iroko. “The Bloodline” offers a preview of vocalist Shayna Steele’s upcoming genre-spanning collection of originals and covers on Gold Dust, due out on April 21. Violinist Ludovica Burtone teams up with saxophonist Melissa Aldana on “Awakening” from her debut recording, Sparks.

ALFA MIST, the genre-defying musician with jazz roots, has released “Aged Eyes,” a collaboration with Kaya Thomas-Dyke. Jeff Goldblum takes on the classic “Moon River,” newly arranged by The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra and included on the new EP, Plays Well With Others. The Bad Plus have released “Electric Face,” a previously-unreleased track that was recorded during the eponymous album they released last year, which marked the group’s reinvention as a dynamic quartet.

“Friday Film Special” is a track off UK experimental trio GoGo Penguin‘s new full-length and is inspired by DJ Shadow’s seminal record, Endtroducing… Ingrid Laubrock constantly shifts moods and palettes on “Anticipation” from The Last Quiet Place, included in our list of ten albums you need to know about that were released in March 2023. Closing the playlist is Vince Mendoza’s revisitation of “Partido Alto,” giving the composition a fresh and grooving treatment complete with a “samba school” brass anthem on his new album with the Metropole Orkest.

Listen to this week’s JAZZIZ Editors’ Choice Playlist via the player below.

Featured photo by Pamela Fong.

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