Receiver2000 4,732 Posted February 5 Posted February 5 Parts of that sure sounds like the early Crusaders. 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted February 22 Posted February 22 Melissa Aldana, Filin was released on February 13, 2026. Many of the great jazz tenor saxophonists have a ballads album that highlights their catalog. That’s true from Coleman Hawkins through John Coltrane, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, and even the late Michael Brecker, among several others. Now, on her third Blue Note release, Filin, Chilean-born tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana joins this legacy. Yet her approach is very different from the aforementioned in that she does not gravitate to The Great American Songbook, but instead to a still-unheralded tradition of Cuban romantic song that thrived between the late ‘40s and early ‘60s. You can read the rest of the review here... 1 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 James Fernando, Philly 3 was released on February 6, 2026. "At a moment when the jazz piano trio is often pulled between reverence and reinvention, James Fernando charts a compelling middle course. Were it not for the sheer brilliance of this trio, the album might almost pass for a classical work. That impression is no accident. Fernando openly draws inspiration from one of jazz’s great figures, Erroll Garner, himself a musician whose ambitions were deeply shaped by classical music." You can read the rest of the review here... 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 4 Posted March 4 Vance Thompson, Lost and Found was released on January 16, 2026. "For several years, Vance Thompson's career as a musician hung in the balance. Owing to a neurological disorder known as Focal Dystonia, the Grammy-nominated trumpeter and founder of the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra was literally unable to blow his own horn. But unlike other people who may have thrown in the towel or called it a day, Thompson instead looked for an alternative, set his mind and body to work and learned to play a second instrument, namely the vibraphone. The fruits of Thompson's transformation are evident on the suitably named Lost and Found, recorded in August 2024 with four of his longtime friends and colleagues: guitarist Steve Kovalcheck, pianist Taber Gable, bassist Tommy Sauter and drummer Marcus Finnie. Together they glide easily through a half-dozen of Thompson's tantalizing original compositions and others by Chick Corea ("Bud Powell") and Donald Brown ("My Three Suns") before closing with a lovely reading of Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg's classic "Over the Rainbow."" You can read the rest of the review here... 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 4 Posted March 4 Pat Metheny, Side Eye III+ was released on February 27, 2026. "The greatest musicians have a distinct, instantly recognizable sound. That’s hardly news, but it’s an important notion to keep in mind when discussing Pat Metheny. As the guitarist cruises through his sixth decade as a professional music maker, his vibe remains essentially the same as it did in the first. The music he writes always uses sixties jazz guitar (think Jim Hall and Joe Pass) as its foundation, but adds structures derived from folk music, Brazilian music, seventies singer/songwriter pop, and non-bombastic progressive rock, decorating them all with other sounds he comes across and digs. His electric guitar tone is one of the most easily discernable in music: clean, warm, expertly picked, able to run up and down the fretboard at high speed, but more likely to choose the right note at the right time. His production style cuts through the processed haze that engulfs so many other albums, while still taking advantage of studio magic when it makes sense. This is a musician you clock within seconds of hearing a few notes." You can read the rest of the review here... 2
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 15 Posted March 15 Greg Rahn, Side Hustle was released on January 15, 2026. "Playing a plethora of keyboards and such, Greg Rahn delivers a jazzy album that sounds like what Steely Dan might have sounded like if they abandoned to rock route." You can read the rest of the review here... 2 1
Charlie 19,472 Posted March 16 Posted March 16 Bossa Nova Coffee Shop Jazz - Various Artists (12h long) 3
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 16 Posted March 16 Bob Reynolds, Eddie Told Me So was released on February 13, 2026. "So when I saw the premise for this album from Reynolds, I knew it would hit the sweet spot, and it does on all levels. Each tune is emotive and showcases the perfect tone and feel that Reynolds always has when playing. It’s a great listen, for jazz aficionados, end-to-end." You can read the rest of the review here... 3 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 16 Posted March 16 Jeremy Pelt, Our Community Will Not Be Erased was released on February 27, 2026. "Trumpeter and composer Jeremy Pelt successfully delivers one of the most purposeful statements of his career so far on his latest release “Our Community Will Not Be Erased”. This is an album that balances cultural affirmation with musical sophistication, its nine original compositions holding the listener’s attention throughout. " You can read the rest of the review here... 2 2
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 19 Posted March 19 Pat Bianchi, Confluence was released on February 20, 2026. "This record feels destined to be timeless. Though unmistakably modern, it possesses the enduring quality of great acoustic albums, music built to travel across decades, earning the respect of listeners who will inevitably draw inspiration from its craftsmanship. It is beautiful, elegant, majestic, inventive, and quite literally exhilarating. More than that, it stands as a quiet manifesto for the future of the jazz organ trio: a reminder that innovation does not require abandoning tradition, but rather reimagining it with courage and intelligence. This is an album to be savored slowly, ideally among friends, and one that will continue to resonate long after the final notes fade." You can read the rest of the review here... 2
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 21 Posted March 21 Benjie Porecki, Faster Than We know was released on February 27, 2026. "A refined blend of smooth jazz, soul, and funk, Benjie Porecki’s Faster Than We Know showcases a distinctive voice, elegant trio interplay, and a modern homage to classic African American musical traditions." You can read the rest of the review here... 2
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 28 Posted March 28 Lou Gramm, Released was released on March 27, 2026. "On Friday (March 27), Gramm releases what he says will be a third and final solo album; Released is a self-produced collection of 10 songs from his vaults, which were in various stages of completion before they were worked on for this set. He’ll be doing dates with his own band to support it as well as some special guest appearances with Foreigner. And then, he says, he’ll be a juke box hero no more." You can read the rest of the review/article/interview here... 2 2
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted March 30 Posted March 30 Leo Larrett, Casa Roxa was released on July 25, 2025. "Guitarist Leo Larratt hits the ground running on this debut album with Emmet Cohen/p, Russell Hall/b and Aaron Kimmel/dr. He’s got a great touch, showing a head nod to the tradition of the likes of Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery and Grant Green, but letting all of these gents from the past help guide him to form his own signature sound." You can read the rest of the review here... 3
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted April 3 Posted April 3 Robben Ford, Two Shades of Blue was released on March 27, 2026. "The initial plan for guitarist Robben Ford’s first solo studio album in about five years was supposed to be a tribute to Jeff Beck. But a move to the UK changed direction for what became ‘Two Shades of Blue,’ released March 27. The title references not just the locations (London and Indiana) and different musicians used to support jazz, blues, soulful singer/songwriting guitarist Ford (ex-Tom Scott’s LA Express, Yellowjackets and others), but how his approach to the blues genre is wider and more inclusive than most." You can read the rest of the review here... 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Peter Erskine, Peregrine was released on April 10, 2026. "Piano trio records are everywhere, and plenty of them blur together after the first few songs. Peregrine is a different story. Peter Erskine had been wanting to record some of these songs for years — “God Only Knows,” “Wichita Lineman” — and when the right moment came, he brought in pianist Alan Pasqua, a longtime collaborator, and bassist Scott Colley, who was new to the partnership and brought a fresh energy. You can hear it in the playing — a looseness and joy that makes the whole record feel like these three couldn’t wait to get in the room together. Nearly every track is a first take. When the bass and piano are this locked in, when the drums are this perfectly placed, why would you do it again?" You can read the rest of the review here... 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted April 13 Posted April 13 April Varner, Ella was released on March 20, 2026. "It would seem that, when vocal chops were distributed, April Varner received more than her fair share. And although she only started singing jazz in 2016, seven years later in 2023, she succeeded in capturing the International Ella Fitzgerald Vocal Competition’s top prize. Now, as a seasoned artist with a brace of albums under her belt, ‘Ella’ finds her paying hommage to her inspiration, the incomparable Ms Fitzgerald, whose sumptuous voice was ever an instrument of joy and magnificence." You can read the rest of the review here... 1
Sk1Bum 13,097 Posted April 13 Posted April 13 Chris Parker Septet, Reunion was released on March 6, 2026. "It is evident from the first tantalizing notes of "Emmy's Shuffle" that Parker chose his songs and his companions with care. The septet performs seamlessly as a unit and boasts a number of strong and resourceful soloists, from saxophonist Alejandro Aviles and trombonist Doug Beavers, to baritone Dave Riekenberg, violinist Rob Thomas and Parker himself, who plays the sort of chameleon-like piano that nestles comfortably in any groove—which is a good thing, as the scope of his music ranges from blues and bop to funk, Latin, mainstream jazz and beyond." You can read the rest of the review here... 1
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