From Pete Rodriguez's "Obstacles" (8/6/21) on Sunnyside Records.

Life is a journey filled with ups and downs. The trials and tribulations the traveler encounters shape his or her personality and relationships, determining the kind of person he or she is. It is healthy to measure both the positives and the negatives, as even bad things can eventually work for the good. 

Trumpeter/composer Pete Rodriguez has had an eventful life. Born in New York and raised in the Bronx and Puerto Rico, Rodriguez, son of the famed salsero Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez, has been ensconced in music since birth. His love for music set him on a path to make it his life’s work, whether through performing or teaching. Rodriguez’s new recording, Obstacles, was recorded as a way to confront his obstacles and working through them in a healthy way, by channeling his emotions and feelings into art. 

Before college, Rodriguez spent four years in the army and then moved to New Jersey, where he attended Rutgers University in the 1990s to broaden his musical base into the realm of jazz music. Instructors like bassist Larry Ridley, pianist Kenny Barron, guitarist Ted Dunbar, trumpeter William Fielder, and saxophonist Ralph Bowen were instrumental in building both his love for jazz and his chops. At the same time, Rodriguez began to perform professionally in the vibrant salsa scene, which he had already become well immersed in because of his father and his Godfather, Johnny Pacheco. 

While living in New York, Rodriguez familiarized himself with many of the local jazz players, but it wasn’t until he was on his first tour with Eddie Palmieri that he met pianist Luis Perdomo. It would be a couple years until he and Perdomo became fully acquainted in the City. It was Freddie Hubbard who had told Rodriguez that the most important thing in picking a band would be to have a good rhythm section. Having already found a great pianist, he asked Perdomo who else he would suggest. 

Perdomo suggested drummer Rudy Royston, a true monster behind the kit, and they also brought in bassist Ricky Rodriguez, who the trumpeter already knew could handle any music put in front of him. Already familiar with the rest of the group, saxophonist John Ellis fit in perfectly as a counter voice to the leader’s trumpet. From there, Pete Rodriguez never needed to look to other musicians for his ensemble and made a number of recordings featuring derivations of this group. 

Growing up in the City presented many challenges for a Latino; Rodriguez was regularly profiled by police. In 2000, his father passed away, which led Rodriguez to stop playing trumpet for three years. His work as a physical therapist assistant led him to meeting high level runners and bicyclists, activities that he would adopt and that would bring him out of his depression. The birth of Rodriguez’s daughter led to fluctuations in his family’s life and his practice routine, something that was difficult to adapt to. Rodriguez and his family moved to Austin, Texas ten years ago. He took a teaching job at a local State University, where he faced a number of hurdles and individuals who got in the way of his success and eventually led to his dismissal. 

All of these events could have taken a real toll on Rodriguez, but he decided to use them as inspiration. He began to compose pieces that conveyed his feelings about situations and individuals who stood in his path. The resulting pieces were composed and presented to knock down another stigma he faced as a Latin American jazz player, frankly, that he could only play Latin jazz. Obstacles is a straight-ahead jazz album that swings with the best of them.

Obstacles

Pete Rodriguez - 50

From Matt Slocum's "With Love and Sadness" (3/18/22) on Sunnyside Records

With Love and Sadness, available on Sunnyside Records on March 18, 2022, was designed, recorded, mixed, and mastered as an all-analog experience (although it is also available on CD and as a high-resolution digital download for listeners who prefer those formats). The music was composed as a single work rather than as individual “tunes,” and the narrative arc is structured as a continuous whole with subplots shaped around and within the two sides of the LP. The result is as remarkable and rare as a fogbow, or a lenticular cloud; it is in accordance with Slocum’s overall aesthetic and his penchant for conveying beauty to the world, and a culmination of an immense talent (as a drummer and composer) and massive erudition. As Thomas Conrad wrote in JazzTimes Magazine (on Slocum’s Black Elk’s Dream), “A meticulous, deeply realized work, remarkable not only for its coherence as a single arc but also for its evolving, authentic poignancy...This dreamlike, lyrical, fervent, floating music is capable of erupting in joy or pain.”

With Love And Sadness

American Revisited

Matt Slocum - America Revisited

From Megumi Yonezawa's "Resonance" (5/27/22) on Sunnyside Records.

One of the powers that music holds is the ability to sway emotions and atmospheres. Hearing music can make a listener remember a special moment, feel a certain way, or have a sensory experience beyond the aural. For pianist Megumi Yonezawa, the atmosphere in a room changes as soon as a musical note has been struck. 

Yonezawa wants to utilize her command of the musical language to provide listeners with the sense of immersion in the best moments of a day. Her new recording, Resonance, is a collection of original compositions and creatively arranged standards that will transport those who indulge into pleasant mindsets.

Originally from Japan, Yonezawa relocated to the United States to study at Berklee School of Music in Boston. Upon moving to New York City, she took the piano chair in Greg Osby’s band on the recommendation of Jason Moran. In 2016, Yonezawa released her debut album, A Result of the Colors, on Fresh Sound New Talent and recently released a collaborative recording with Ken Kobayashi and Masa Kamaguchi called Boundary on ESP-Disk.

The pianist met the members of her long running trio on a recording session for Norwegian guitarist Jostein Gulbrandsen in 2016. Bassist Mike McGuirk and drummer Mark Ferber were perfect foils for her, as they were responsive and flexible to her music’s demands and have been members of her trio ever since.

Yonezawa’s compositional style relies heavily on the blending of jazz and contemporary classical music elements. For her, the freedom of expression within the music provides some of the most important and pleasing moments. Yonezawa’s music finds a balance of form in freedom and freedom within form that allows for a special expressiveness.

Resonance

Before The Wind

Megumi Yonezawa - Before The Wind

From Chucho Valdés & Paquito D'Rivera's "I Missed You Too!" (7/22/22) on Paquito Records / Sunnyside Records.

In 1962, two of the most influential and talented instrumentalists that Cuba ever produced were brought together. Saxophonist/clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera was invited to hear pianist Chucho Valdés at a local club in his Marianao neighborhood of South Havana. The two soon became a musical partnership that helped shape jazz in Cuba. Their paths would separate in 1980 when D’Rivera left Cuba. 

Sixty years after their initial meeting, the pair has finally reunited to create a monumental new recording. Their I Missed You Too! marks D’Rivera and Valdés’s first recording since they were both members of Cuba’s most influential jazz/fusion ensemble, Irakere. 

Both D’Rivera and Valdés are sons of accomplished musicians. They grew up enmeshed in the musical culture and as child prodigies. When they met, their rapport was immediate. Their background in conservatory and popular music scenes allowed them and their music to go far afield, from jazz and son to classical and mambo. 

Their first musical explorations would be as members of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, an eclectic and experimental large ensemble used for stage and screen. Soon thereafter, they formed Quinteto de la Orquesta Cubana, a small group that focused on jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythmic influence. Their longest collaboration was with jazz fusion group Irakere, which began its syncopated journey in 1973. 

D'Rivera left Irakere and Cuba in 1980. He eventually settled in New York City where he continued his ascendance in the jazz world, where he remains one of the top woodwind players across any idiom. Valdés remained in Cuba and was the leader of Irakere until 2005. Since then, the pianist has continued as an ensemble leader and solo performer throughout the world. 

The past few years have found the old friends reunited for a handful of performances. It was only natural that they take the reunion to the next step and record an album. To do so, the pair recruited the best musicians specializing in the blending of jazz and Afro-Cuban music in their Reunion Sextet. The Sextet features trumpeter/valve trombonist Diego Urcola, drummer Dafnis Prieto, bassist José A. Gola, and percussionist Roberto Junior Vizcaino. 

The Cuban legends and their stalwart collaborators met in early January 2022 at Frost School of Music Recording Studio in Miami, Florida to capture the grand event. The program they recorded included originals by both leaders along with pieces by composers of two far flung generations and Latin styles, Hilario Durán and Carlos Gardel.

I Missed You Too!

Mambo Influenciado

Chucho Valdés & Paquito D'Rivera Reunion Sextet - Mambo Influenciado

From Marc Mommaas's "The Impressionist" (8/19/22) on Sunnyside Records.

The eerie stillness of New York City during the Covid-19 pandemic led many residents to a state of contemplation and inner exploration. Saxophonist/composer Marc Mommaas found himself drawn to sounds that he grew up with but had eschewed for his own musical path in jazz, namely classical music. The self-described expressionist was surprised to find himself immersed in the sounds of the Impressionists.

Mommaas dove into the music of the Impressionists but found himself particularly drawn to one of the instigators of the movement, Gabriel Fauré, who eventually taught Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger. It was with Fauré’s esthetic in mind that Mommaas began to write music for his new recording, The Impressionist.

Coming from four generations of classical musicians, Mommaas still hears the sound of his mother’s piano playing Chopin when he was a child. As a saxophonist, Mommaas was entirely jazz oriented, inspired by the deep passion his father had for Jazz (a prolific Dutch painter and artist with a capital A). However, as the City slowed down during the pandemic Mommaas found himself drawn to the impressionistic sounds of Fauré, instigated by his famous Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 

Mommaas found himself with time and space, in the New York Jazz Workshop studios, to sit down and compose. Always being in the moment, Mommaas jumped directly into working on this new music, trying to connect these older influences with his contemporary style and his complex feelings about New York at that moment. The composing process went by quickly, as if the music just sprang out. Mommaas also had a drummer-less ensemble in mind to perform the music, namely pianist Gary Versace, guitarist Nate Radley, and bassist Jay Anderson, making the writing process even more streamlined. 

The pieces that Mommaas composed do not quote directly from the music of Fauré. There was an attempted piece that utilized an arrangement by Fauré but Mommaas felt it was stilted compared to the other material, which was much more intuitive and free. Just as the music suddenly demanded to be made, the inspiration ran its course, and Mommaas felt that the eighth and final track, “Moving On,” was the conclusion of the project.

The Impressionist

Marc Mommaas - The Impressionist

From Chico Pinheiro & Romero Lubambo's "Two Brothers" (4/14/23) on Sunnyside Records.


The art of Brazilian guitar playing has almost become a musical genre unto itself. The gorgeous music written by composers like Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto echoes differently on six strings. Guitarists Romero Lubambo and Chico Pinheiro have spent their lives absorbing and refracting Brazilian music through the lens of the guitar. On their new recording, Two Brothers, the pair meets for a groundbreaking duo album of their favorite pieces, showing their true mastery of both the Brazilian and Jazz guitar styles.

Besides being close friends, Romero and Chico are two of the foremost exponents of the Brazilian guitar today.

Lubambo moved to the United States in 1985. His associations with Astrud Gilberto and Herbie Mann rapidly increased his exposure and solidified his place amongst legends like Luiz Bonfa and Baden Powell. Twelve years ago, in Sao Paulo, Lubambo was introduced to a guitarist leading the next generation of guitarists in Brazil, Chico Pinheiro. 

Pinheiro studied classical guitar as a kid and started playing professionally at age twelve, quickly establishing himself as one of the brightest guitarists of the new generation in Brazil. He’s collaborated with luminaries such as Rosas Passos, Placido Domingo, Mehldau, and Ron Carter. 
 
The pair hit it off instantly as friends and collaborators. Pinheiro moved to New York City five years ago, allowing their partnership to grow. Pinheiro began to drop by Lubambo’s house for sessions as their musical bond strengthened. 

Naturally, these two talented musicians found little time to dedicate to their new project, as they were involved in touring with their own groups. Though, they always intended to find a way to record their unique duo project. Producer Matt Pierson was another link between the two guitarists. He regularly enlisted Lubambo and Pinheiro on projects where he felt their stylistic choices would fit best. The pair mentioned that they hoped to one day record an album together, to which Pierson said, “Let’s do it!” 

The producer helped to cull pieces of music that would best highlight the duo’s musical rapport and breadth of command. Lubambo and Pinheiro already had a small repertoire and decided to keep a few pieces that they already had command over. The rest of the pieces were developed for the recording, with the two guitarists studying and reassembling the pieces to suit their melody and improvisations best. The pieces selected were composed by well-known figures that the musicians loved, with the hope that their interpretations would highlight the musicality of the compositions. 

The majority of Two Brothers was recorded at Sear Sound Studios in New York City with Pierson and engineer Christopher Allen at the helm in August of 2021.

Two Brothers

Morro Dois Irmãos

Chico Pinheiro & Romero Lubambo - Morro Dois Irmãos

From Magos Herrera's "Aire" (5/6/23) on Sunnyside Records.

The work of an artist often suggests that of an alchemist. In her new album, Aire, Mexican singer and composer Magos Herrera transformed the grief, fears, and loneliness of a deadly plague into a luminous collection of songs representing "a celebration of our humanity and the healing power of music."

"We have been dealing with something we didn't see coming and was beyond anything we could've imagined,” she says. “But in the process, we found ourselves facing our vulnerability — and, in that, rediscovering our humanity. That's why this album it's unique for me. As we come out of the pandemic, we are not only reconnecting with each other but discovering a new world, too, and we need to find a new way to live in it.”

Aire features twelve songs and includes her new compositions, commissioned by Chamber Music Americas New Jazz Works, and gems from the Great Latin American Songbook, such as "Alfonsina y el Mar" and "Gracias a la Vida." Those two classics suggest bookends of the experience in Aire, "Alfonsina ..." as an acknowledgment of impermanence and death; "Gracias a la Vida" as a prayer of gratitude for the many gifts of life.

But for two exceptions — the voice and guitar duo of "Passarinhadeira" and the octet reading of the Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell's classic "Samba em Preludio" —Magos sings over a musical canvas provided by her jazz trio augmented by an orchestra under the artistic direction of Eric and Colin Jacobsen, of Brooklyn Rider fame.

The arrangements in Aire are by three Magos' long-time collaborators. While coming from different places, they share an extraordinary fluency in various musical languages and traditions. Venezuelan multi-instrumentalist Gonzalo Grau arranged "The Calling," "Aire," and "Healer;" Brazilian cellist, arranger, and conductor Jaques Morelenbaum elegantly framed "Samba em Preludio," and Argentine pianist and composer Diego Schissi contributed "Choro de Lua," "Papalote," "Remanso," "Alfonsina y el Mar," "Obra Filhia," and "Gracias a la Vida."

"Choro de Lua" and the delightful "Papalote" (Kite), two highlights of the album, are songs by Magos written for her niece and nephew, respectively, and featuring wordless vocals.

"'Choro de Lua' is about this feeling of hope, purity, and innocence," she says." And 'Papalote' is my snapshot of this kid, discovering small things about life in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of something truly tragic. In such hard times, they reminded me of these spaces of humanity and beauty that connect us with something essential. That’s why rather than adding lyrics, I preferred to let melodies and harmonies tell the story."

In Aire, Magos sings in Spanish, Portuguese, and English and embraces her condition as a musician immigrant in New York by opening her work to various musical traditions. Ingrid Jensen, one of the most distinctive, gifted players in contemporary jazz, adds her elegiac tone on trumpet and flugelhorn to "Remanso" and "Gracias a la Vida." Brazilian singer and composer Dori Caymmi contributes his rich voice and uncanny storytelling sense to "Samba em Preludio." "It’s fantastic to have Dori in this project. He is part of the great lineage of Brazilian song," says Magos.

And then, there is the anchoring presence of Magos' Mexican roots, even as she addresses universal themes. In "Healer," one of the centerpieces of the album, she not only pays tribute to Maria Sabina, a legendary Mexican chamana (shaman), but celebrates "music as a healer, music as a place where we can come together, find our deepest selves and heal."

Aire

Magos Herrara - Aire

The past few decades have seen legendary pianist and composer Denny Zeitlin focus on a few vehicles for his adventurous journeys in music making. Playing solo, with his trio, or in the acoustic-electronic duo with George Marsh have provided ample avenues for exploration, which Zeitlin hopes to provide a wide scope of on his new, varied collection, Panoply. 

Zeitlin discovered jazz as an adolescent growing up in Chicago and began his recording career in the 1960s on the East Coast while a medical student at Johns Hopkins. This series of ground-breaking trio albums for Columbia Records brought him into prominence as a pianist/composer of high regard.  During this time, Zeitlin moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he continued to evolve musically, pioneering in a multi-genre integration of acoustic and electronic music.

Six decades of music making has displayed Zeitlin’s imagination and creative resources. He continues to make highly engaging and singular musical statements utilizing all the influences and materials he has picked up along the way. 

For nearly 15 years, Zeitlin has released new recordings yearly on Sunnyside Records. These documents highlight the different methods he has centered upon as a leader. Zeitlin’s trio that features bassist Buster Williams and drummer Matt Wilson is a seasoned and adventurous ensemble that continues to generate fire in performance. Zeitlin’s nearly six-decade long collaboration with drummer/percussionist George Marsh continues to yield extraordinary results, especially as they have continually broadened their color and textural palettes with electronic sounds. Finally, Zeitlin continues to perform solo piano recitals, maintaining his status as one of the foremost solo improvisers and musical interpreters. 

For Panoply, Zeitlin has collected unreleased performances from the past decade that highlight his and his musical partners’ fantastic command in improvisation regardless of genre or medium. Zeitlin carefully curated this program to provide a sequence that blends acoustic and electronic music which transitions well and lets the music unfold. 

The solo piano pieces come from a recording made on December 1, 2012 at the Piedmont Piano Company in Oakland, while the trio recordings were captured live at Mezzrow Jazz Club in New York City from May 3 to 4, 2019. The duo pieces with Marsh were collected over a decade of home recordings at Zeitlin’s Double Helix Studio from 2013 to 2023.

Panoply

I Should Care

From Ben Monder's "Planetarium" (9-27-24) on Sunnyside Records. 

Though the musical universe of guitarist Ben Monder is vast, the paths to his aural galaxies are rather solitary and arduous. It takes considerable time for Monder to create his unique, mind-bending recordings, as the practice, sculpting, and arranging can take years. His latest recording, Planetarium, is a prodigious piece of art that showcases the widest breadth of his vision as a composer and craftsman. 

Monder is well known for his tremendous guitar contributions to a wide range of artists, including David Bowie, Maria Schneider, Guillermo Klein, and, most recently, as a member of The Bad Plus. Though he may be most celebrated for these contributions, his own projects deserve equal attention, as they are personal, large-scale works utilizing a select coterie of trusted associates. 

Planetarium’s inception began in 2014 when Monder was awarded a grant from The Shifting Foundation to write and record an album. While that project ultimately took a different direction, work on this one would continue for the next ten years. The effort was thrust into high gear when the pandemic hit, as there were few distractions to composing and practicing. During this time, Monder also received a commission to compose what would become the ambitious piece, “Ataraxia.”

A most helpful association for Monder has been with engineer and producer Joseph Branciforte, whose Greyfade Studio in Mount Vernon, New York became a sort of second home for him during the recording process. Beginning in December of 2020, the two began to meet frequently at the studio, setting down ideas and inviting collaborators to add their unique contributions. These integral guests included drummers Ted Poor and Satoshi Takeishi, bassist Chris Tordini, and vocalists Theo Bleckmann, Charlotte Mundy, and Emily Hurst. 

After three years of recording, Monder produced his grandest statement yet as a composer and conceptualist. This three-disc set features vast, highly wrought sound poems as well as spontaneous moments of improvisational brilliance.

Planetarium

Noctivagant

Ben Monder - Noctivagant

From Jason Anick & Jason Yeager's "Sanctuary" (10-11-24) on Sunnyside Records

Sanctuary

Futures Past

Jason Anick & Jason Yeager - Futures Past

From Jesse Harris's "Music For Chameleons" (Sunnyside Records, Mar. 10, 2017).

Music For Chameleons

Jesse Harris - I'm Not On Your Mind

From Romero Lubambo's "Sampa" (May 5, 2017, Sunnyside).

Sampa

Gostoso Demais

Romero Lubambo - Gostoso Demais

From Duduka Da Fonseca Trio's "Plays Dom Salvador" (4/13/18) on Sunnyside Records.

The merging of Brazilian music and American jazz changed the trajectory of modern music. The inceptions of bossa nova, samba jazz, and other fusions enable Brazil to make its mark on jazz and beyond, via some incredible musicians and composers, including the legendary Dom Salvador. The remarkable pianist and his classic trios, which blended samba and jazz, made an impression on many during the mid-1960s, including a young Duduka Da Fonseca.   Fonseca’s initial exposure to Salvador’s music came as a teenager in Rio de Janeiro. The budding drummer could hear Salvador’s original trio rehearsing, featuring bassist Sergio Barrozo and drummer Edison Machado, while walking to school. When the group released their seminal recording, Rio 65 Trio, Fonseca was completely spellbound by the music and practiced along to the record religiously, forever engraining Salvador’s music into his psyche.   Though he had met Salvador briefly in Rio, Fonseca didn’t have a chance to play regularly with his idol until 1980. Having been in New York City for five years, Fonseca had played with a who’s who of modern jazz legends, so when Salvador’s drummer wasn’t available, the pianist called Fonseca to fill in. Fonseca surprised Salvador by knowing Salvador’s repertoire backwards and forwards, thus cementing a bond that led to years of playing and touring together.   Salvador and Fonseca played regularly during the 1980s in a quartet that also featured saxophonist Dick Oatts and bassist Dennis Irwin. Their collaborations have continued to this day. In 2015, Fonseca’s relationship with Salvador came full circle when he was asked to play Machado’s parts on the 50th anniversary celebration of the Rio 65 Trio recording at Carnegie Hall.   Duduka Da Fonseca Trio Plays Dom Salvador was born from the leader’s love of Salvador and his music and Fonseca’s effort to make a proper tribute to his friend and mentor. The featured trio was born of a 2000 meeting with pianist David Feldman, who was studying then at the New School in New York, and with whom Fonseca recorded with later in 2009 in Brazil, where he also met the trio’s bassist, Guto Wirtti.   In the efforts to make the best recording and present Salvador’s music in the best light, Fonseca reached out to Salvador for lead sheets for his compositions. Feldman also took time to consult Salvador and learn the repertoire from its source, removing any doubts about structural and interpretive nuances. Many of Salvador’s songs seem simple but have difficult elements, most notably in the rhythmic combinations.

Plays Dom Salvador

Gafieira

Duduka Da Fonseca Trio - Gafieira

From Chano Dominguez & Javier Colina's "Chano & Colina" (6/1/18) on Sunnyside Records.

There are bonds that cannot be broken. Brotherhood and musical understanding are two such bonds. Pianist Chano Dominguez and bassist Javier Colina grew up together exploring musical genres that moved them like no other, namely jazz and flamenco (a music that is inherently tied to their Spanish identities and heritage). Their new recording, Chano & Colina, reunites the two  after 15 years of pursuing differing musical courses.

It was in 1986 that the Cádiz born Dominguez met the Pamplona native Colina at Spain’s National Jazz Young Talents Contest, where the pianist won first prize. The two had much in common as they were both self taught and they were both fascinated by the possibilities of combining flamenco and jazz. Flamenco was engrained in their consciousness from early on. Dominguez hailed from the capitol of flamenco music and Colina’s northern Pamplona was the home of one of the masters of the form, the incredible guitarist Sabicas.

The two were able to develop their own, very unique language blending jazz and flamenco, thus developing a simpatico relationship in a short time. Soon thereafter, they formed the NeoBop ensemble in Madrid, which performed standards and original jazz material. Dominguez and Colina continued to play together regularly through the next decade. Their popular trio made its first recording, entitled Chano in 1992. 

In 2002, Dominguez moved to Barcelona and the distance made collaboration between the two more difficult;i  they stopped playing together. Both musicians went on to accomplish some incredible things. Dominguez has led ensembles of all sizes, effectively establishing the flamenco jazz genre and even releasing two recordings on the illustrious Blue Note jazz record label. Colina has worked with some of the most highly regarded musicians in jazz and flamenco, including Bebo Valdés, Tete Montoliu, Al Foster, Chucho Valdés, Agustín Carbonell, Silvia Pérez Cruz and Diego El Cigala, among many others. 

The two had not played together in 15 years when they decided to meet up and perform with a trio at the Clamores Jazz Club in Madrid in November 2015. The intimate connection that they had fused years before was undiminished. Plans to play together more regularly were quickly made.

The recording Chano & Colina was culled from the duo’s live performance at Sala de Camara del Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid on January 19, 2017. The performance captured the musicians’ incredible musical breadth and skill, not to mention their fascinating rapport as musicians and friends.

Chano & Colina

Canción De Amor

Chano Dominguez & Javier Colina - Canción De Amor

From Jennifer Wharton's "Bonegasm" (2/1/19) on Sunnyside Records.

The trombone is an instrument that seems to attract a certain type of practitioner. Musicians who choose this particular horn as their passion tend to be open-minded, playful and, more often than not, extroverted. It shouldn’t be a surprise that bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton fits this description to a tee. Naturally, she takes her enthusiasm for the horn seriously and hopes to spread her joy to the public with her infectiously fun recording, Bonegasm. 

Though she originally studied and performed in the classical field, the past number of years has found Wharton in many more diverse musical situations, especially in the world of jazz. She is a regular in the Broadway pit orchestras of New York City and also a regular in two of the best large ensembles in jazz, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and the Alan Ferber Big Band. Playing in these ensembles among many others over the years, Wharton discovered how brilliantly her favorite composers could write for bass trombone, allowing the bass trombone to separate from the trombone section in intriguing ways.

These developments led to her decision to create a band that would commission composers to write and arrange music for the often overlooked trombone and it “had” to be named Bonegasm. According to Wharton, a bonegasm is the overpowering joy that can only be accomplished through the experience of listening to trombonists. Bonegasm would be the first ensemble that Wharton had ever led, so she recruited some expert musicians to assist in her transition to leader, including trombonists John Fedchock, Nate Mayland and Alan Ferber, along with pianist Michael Eckroth, bassist Evan Gregor and drummer Don Peretz.

The pieces on Bonegasm are from arrangements done specifically for the release and works commissioned by Wharton for the ensemble, all by friends or husband Fedchock . The resultant compositions are ingenious in their approach to interplay between the trombones; Wharton is given space to really let her talent shine through on her bass trombone, which customarily gets treated in a supportive role to the bass.

Bonegasm

Stellar

Jennifer Wharton & Bonegasm - Stellar

From Nature Work's self-titled debut (6/21/19) on Sunnyside Records.

Nature Work was born out of the desire of two talented musicians to work together more closely. Jason Stein and Greg Ward boldly added the incomparable talents of Eric Revis and Jim Black to give their ensemble an unpredictable and intriguing blend of strength, intelligence and adventure, which can be heard on the new recording, Nature Work. 

There is a place in improvisation where it is in the service of the music to shut off the conscious mind and let the subconscious takeover. Bass clarinetist, composer, and improviser Jason Stein thinks of the work of the subconscious as a natural expression and, thus, considers the act of playing and composing as “nature work.” There might not be a better example of this process than with Stein and saxophonist/composer Greg Ward’s collaborative ensemble, Nature Work.

The Chicago based Stein and Ward are well known in the more expressive corners of the jazz world. Focusing on the bass clarinet, Stein has gained notoriety for his breadth and skill on his horn, not to mention his activity in numerous ensembles. Ward has also made a name for himself as an exceptional player and composer. Stein and Ward are inheritors and explorers of the boundaries between composition and free improvisation stemming from the legendary work of Chicago’s own Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, as well as the Ken Vandermark-born, DIY school of eclecticism in music, with a focus on improvisation. 

The two woodwind players have known each other and have played in a multitude of musical settings over the past decade. Stein and Ward really began to gel as they toured with Mike Reed’s Flesh and Bone ensemble from 2016 to 2018, which led them to look for the right opportunity for putting their own group together. 

Long having been a fan of bassist Eric Revis  (Branford Marsalis Quartet and Tarbaby), Stein invited him along with the dynamo drummer Jim Black (Human Feel, Alax No Axis and Tim Berne’s Bloodcount) and Ward to play a couple of gigs in Chicago. Four individuals from various places (Chicago, Los Angeles & Brooklyn/Berlin) came together to perform high-energy, creative music and Nature Work was born. 

The concept around the ensemble seems simple: gather talented musicians who are comfortable at the crossroads of composition and improvisation and create inspired music. The true test is finding musicians who have a natural connection, though they may not have ever played together before (as was the case with Revis and Black). The dynamic of the two horn players matched with the steadfast solidity of Revis and the rhythmic fluidity of Black allow the ensemble to create music that is at times intricate and at times unhinged, but all in the service of creativity.

Nature Work

The Shiver

Nature Work - The Shiver

From Michael Leonhart Orchestra's "Suite Extracts Vol. 1" (8/30/19) on Sunnyside Records.

Hailed as "a blazing hot mess of awesome" by The New York City Jazz Record, the Michael Leonhart Orchestra (MLO) traverses a huge swath of musical terrain, guided by the highly developed ears, ceaselessly omnivorous tastes and playful yet meticulous artistry of its leader, Michael Leonhart. Following their 2018 debut album The Painted Lady Suite, MLO will release their second full length album, Suite Extracts Vol. I on August 30, via Sunnyside Records.

The first single from the new album is “Shimmy Shimmy Ya/Glaciers of Ice,” an orchestral instrumental medley of songs by Ol’ Dirty Bastard and Raekwon from “The Wu-Tang Suite."

This surprising collection documents an aspect of the MLO’s mission: playing covers, but in the Leonhart way — with widely disparate material ranging from Fela Kuti to Spinal Tap to Howlin’ Wolf to Ornette Coleman curated into suites, forming anarchic yet coherent thoughts on many of Leonhart’s chief musical passions. The album features notable guests Chris Potter, Nels Cline, Donny McCaslin, John Ellis, Erik Friedlander and many others in the context of a vibrant and unclassifiable 20-piece ensemble.

Leonhart says, “there’s a certain abandon and freedom in all the material. A lot of it has a backbeat, which the first album really didn’t. This album is more muscular in many ways. It reflects what we’re doing live: less of the pastoral, transcendent mood pieces, the sonic baths, and more of the groove interaction.” 

Leonhart’s approach to the MLO cannot but be informed by his many other activities and wide-ranging credits: he’s a top-level jazz trumpeter and longtime member of Steely Dan; a gifted and distinctive pianist; a singer, songwriter and film composer; a session player with credits including the Bruno Mars/Mark Ronson megahit "Uptown Funk"; an accomplished orchestrator (Nels Cline’s Lovers) and producer (Donald Fagen’s Sunken Condos, Sachal Vasandani’s Slow Motion Miracles). The polyglot musical worldview Leonhart has developed as a result stamps the MLO’s work at every moment.

Suite Extracts Vol. 1

Shimmy Shimmy Ya / Glaciers of Ice

Michael Leonhart Orchestra - Shimmy Shimmy Ya / Glaciers of Ice

From Abraham Burton & Lucian Ban's "Blacksalt" (4/9/21) on Sunnyside Records.

Meaningful musical partnerships can emerge from musicians of any persuasion and background. The language of jazz has tended to be the most pliable, as composers and improvisers have been able to bend to meet the demands of differing situations, making moving music that resonates in the moment. 

Saxophonist Abraham Burton and pianist Lucian Ban come from two distinct backgrounds but founded a long-lasting relationship based on friendship, trust, and their collective passions, most notably their focus on melodicism and jazz feel. Their new recording, Blacksalt, encapsulates the sympathetic nature of their pairing in a freely played collection of pieces, composed and improvised, and pristinely recorded live on tour in Ban’s native Transylvania in 2018.

Sunnyside Records

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