The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz world. It’s a one-stop destination for the music news you need to know. Let’s take it from the top.
Noteworthy
New Norah Jones Album Announcement: Norah Jones will release her ninth solo studio album, Visions, on March 8 via Blue Note Records. Visions is a collaboration between Jones and producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michaels that is described via a press release as “a vibrant and joyous 12-song set that finds Jones singing about feeling free, wanting to dance, making it right, and acceptance of what life brings.” The album announcement comes with the release of its lead single, “Running,” and its accompanying video, which you can watch via the player below.
Craft Recordings’ Original Jazz Classics Series Returns with Three New Reissues: Craft Recordings has announced the latest batch of vinyl reissues for its acclaimed Original Jazz Classics series. Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans’ Know What I Mean (1960) and Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ Caravan (1963) will be released on March 1, while Ron Carter’s Where?, originally recorded in 1963, will be released on March 29. These new reissues feature lacquers cut from the original tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, 180-gram vinyl pressed at RTI and tip-on jackets, replicating the original artwork.
New Kandace Springs Album Announcement: Kandace Springs has released the lead single and title track from her forthcoming album, Run Your Race, which will be released on April 5 via SRP Records. Listen to “Run Your Race” via the player below. The album and song pay tribute to her late father, track star and musician Kenneth “Scat” Springs. “He was one of my biggest influences growing up, teaching me everything from how to sing, piano, sports and more,” recalls Kandace via a press release.
New Albums
Nick Maclean Quartet feat. Brownman Ali, Convergence (Browntasauras): The Nick Maclean Quartet feat. Brownman Ali’s second release, Convergence, builds on the modern reinterpretation of Herbie Hancock’s ‘60s quartet spirit, expanding ideas from their acclaimed 2017 debut “Rites of Ascension.” Marked by Nick Maclean’s sophisticated writing and deeper exploration of Hancock’s classic catalog, Convergence showcases a fearless crew advancing the modern jazz ethos, embracing risks for collective narrative exploration and personal expression.
Geri Allen and Kurt Rosenwinkel, A Lovesome Thing (Motéma/Heartcore): A Lovesome Thing captures the synergy between the much-missed pianist Geri Allen and guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. This previously unreleased recording documents their 2012 duo performance at the Philharmonie de Paris, playing reimaginations of compositions by Billy Strayhorn, the Gershwins and Thelonious Monk, as well as two originals.
Bill Cunliffe, Rainforests (BCM+D): Pianist/composer/arranger Bill Cunliffe celebrates the tropical mangroves on a new three-movement composition titled Rainforests, performed by the Temple University Studio Orchestra with Stafford, Dick Oatts, Tim Warfield, Bruce Barth, Mike Boone and Justin Faulkner, and conducted by José Luis Domínguez. This is the first of three commissioned works to be released digitally by BCM+D. Click here to listen to our JAZZIZ Podcast conversation with Bill Cunliffe.
Ellas Kapell, For All We Know (Naxos Prophone): Stockholm-based quartet Ellas Kapell continue in their quest to breathe new life into the standard jazz repertoire of the 20th century on their new album. For All We Know finds the band achieving a balance between capturing the timeless sound of the music they fell in love with and their fresh, contemporary energy.
Live Music and Festival News
Samara Joy Returns to NJPAC, June 23, 2024: Vocalist Samara Joy will return to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) for a one-night-only concert on June 23, 2024. Tickets here. This will mark the first time she performs on the NJPAC stage as a headliner since her career-changing win in NJPAC’s 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. Click here to listen to our JAZZIZ Podcast conversation with the artist.
Ute Lemper at New York City’s Carnegie Hall: Actress and chanteuse Ute Lemper will explore the music of Weimar Berlin and the many artists exiled from it as part of New York’s Carnegie Hall’s citywide festival, Fall of the Weimar Republic: Dancing on the Precipice. Tickets here. For this concert in Zankel Hall Center Stage, she will be joined by pianist Vana Gierig, bassist Matthew Parrish, and drummer Todd Turkisher. Listen to our recent JAZZIZ Podcast conversation with Lemper via the player below.
Montreux Jazz Festival Miami Bolsters Lineup Ahead of Debut Event: The Montreux Jazz Festival has announced additional performers to the inaugural Montreux Jazz Festival Miami, which will premiere on March 1-3 at The Hangar in Coconut Grove, Florida. The slate of artists newly confirmed to appear at the multi-genre music festival include Brazilian pop/samba star Seu Jorge, jazz chanteuse Cécile McLorin Salvant, pianist Justin Kauglin and Afro-Cuban funk innovator Cimafunk, among others. Click here for the full lineup.
Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra at NYC’s Joe’s Pub, January 25-26: Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra, the creators of the acclaimed absurdist musicals No Place To Go and The Outer Space, will release their fifth album, Did You Do the Thing We Talked About, on February 16. The band recently shared a music video for the album track “Mess That Summer,” starring Alex Borstein from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which you can watch via the player below. Ethan Lipton & His Orchestra are scheduled to perform a special album pre-release show at Joe’s Pub in New York City on January 25 and 26. Tickets here.
Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis at The 92nd Street Y, New York: The 92nd Street Y, New York will present Mary Halvorson’s Amaryllis, the New York release concert for her Nonesuch album Cloudward, the follow-up to her dual release Amaryllis and Belladonna. Halvorson’s concert with her Amaryllis sextet will take place in person on February 10 and will also be available for streaming for 72 hours following the performance. Tickets here.
Featured photo by Joelle Grace Taylor.
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