Odean Pope has honed his tenor sax chops with Max Roach since the late '60s. Surprisingly, however, his solo output is relatively small. His latest, "EBIOTO" (Everybody Is on Their Own), is a monster. Pope's plush, full blowing is egged on by a band that the runs with the throttle full open. This is one not to be missed.
"Standard Time, Vol. 6: Mr. Jelly Lord"
Wynton Marsalis
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With his festive Freddie Keppard/King Oliver-like trumpeting and his Preservation Hall-like ensemble--complete with banjo and tuba--Wynton Marsalis gives props to his New Orleans homeboy Jelly Roll Morton (1885-1941), the hustler and braggart whose innovative pianisms and arranging and composing skills made him jazz's "initial intellectual." The CD is a jumping jambalaya of march tunes, funeral dirges, and Afro-Caribbean-accented numbers made from Morton's rhythmic and revolutionary recipe. The result is a haunting and hip aural representation of Marsalis's love of jazz tradition and Jelly Roll Morton's Crescent City-based musical conceptions that gave birth to America's classical music.
"Live at the Circle Room"
Nat "King" Cole
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Here's a newly unearthed, radio-broadcast gig from 1944 that features Nat "King" Cole in a finger-snappin' (but oh-so-romantic) mood. Joined by a lean trio composed of guitarist Oscar Moore and bassist Johnny Miller, Nat makes it all--piano and vocals--sound effortless. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.
"The Art of the Trio, Vol. 4: Back at the Vanguard"
Brad Mehldau
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The most adaptable and evocative jazz pianist of his generation, Brad Mehldau is equally at home interpreting Thelonious Monk, the Beatles, or Radiohead. Mehldau may have a wide range of influences but he has a sound all his own. His recent solo album, "Elegiac Cycles," was gorgeously moody and introspective, while this new trio recording shows off his finger-popping virtuosity. Backed by a blazing band, Mehldau is at the top of his game.
"Retrospective"
Horace Silver
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If you're interested in musical lineage, you might dig this new, sprawling four-CD retrospective of Horace Silver. It contains the nucleus and many outgrowths of the soulful, funky hard bop of the 1950s and '60s. If you're interested in top-shelf trumpets riffing snappingly with blues-soaked saxophones and gargantuan piano chops, then "Retrospective" is just right for you.
Shavers/Sullivan "Complete Charlie Shavers With" more here
Howard Mcghee "Dusty Blue" more here
Richard Elliot "Chill Factor" more here
Rabih Abou-Khalil : Yara, Jul 20 more here
Airmen Of Note : Airmen Of Note, Jul 20 more here
Roy Ayers : Lots Of Love, Jul 09 more here
Banjo Kings : Vol. 1-Banjo Kings, Jul 13 more here
Sidney Bechet : Up A Lazy River, Jul 13 more here
Royce Campbell : With Strings, Jul 13 more here
Frankie Carle : V-Disc Recordings, Jul 20 more here
Paul Cosentino & Boilermaker J : Linger Awhile, Jul 13 more here
Dorsey/Nichols/Dorsey : Vol. 2-New York Jazz In The Ro, Jul 13 more here
Dorsey/Nichols/Dorsey : Vol. 3-New York Jazz In The Ro, Jul 13 more here
Tommy Dorsey : V-Disc Recordings, Jul 20 more here
Duke Ellington : Live In Hamilton Ontario Canad, Jul 20 more here
Duke Ellington : Complete Standard Transcriptio, Jul 20 more here
Richard Elliot : Chill Factor, Jul 13 more here
Herb Ellis : Burnin', Jul 13 more here
Gomer Edwin Evans : Sensual Moods, Jul 13 more here
Ella Fitzgerald : 1947-48, Jul 13 more here
Fourth World : Last Journey, Jul 13 more here
Jan Garber : Vol. 2-1994 Swing Band, Jul 13 more here
Benny Goodman : Clarinet Classics-Mozart/Barto, Jul 20 more here
Bobby Hackett & Orchestra : 1943-47, Jul 13 more here
Daniel Ho : Paradise, Jul 20 more here
Abdullah Ibrahim : African Suite, Jul 20 more here
Ernie Krivda & Fat Tuesday Big : Band That Swings, Jul 20 more here
Kay Kyser : V-Disc Recordings, Jul 20 more here
Lisa Lauren : What Comes Around, Jul 13 more here
Michel Legrand : Le Meilleur De..., Jul 13 more here
Danny Lerman : You Take My Breath Away, Jul 20 more here
Milcho Leviev : Bulgarian Piano Blues, Jul 20 more here
Milcho Leviev : Man From Plovdiv, Jul 20 more here
Bobby Lewis : Just Havin' Some Fun, Jul 13 more here
George Lewis : Doctor Jazz, Jul 13 more here
Chuck Loeb : Listen, Jul 20 more here
Steve Marcus : Count's Rock/Lords, Jul 13 more here
Charlie Mariano : Savannah Samurai, Jul 13 more here
Wynton Marsalis : Big Train, Jul 13 more here
Pat Martino : Comin' & Goin-Exit & The Retur, Jul 13 more here
Bobby Matos : Live At M.O.C.A., Jul 20 more here
Howard Mcghee : Dusty Blue, Jul 20 more here
Mckinney's Cotton Pickers : Vol. 1-1928-29 Put It There, Jul 13 more here
Mckinney's Cotton Pickers : Vol. 2-1930 Cotton Picker's Sc, Jul 13 more here
Airto Moreira : Killer Bees, Jul 13 more here
Nueva Manteca : Varadero Blues, Jul 13 more here
Sonny Phillips : My Black Flower, Jul 13 more here
Teddy Powell : Medleys For Touch Dancing, Jul 13 more here
Pucho & Latin Soul Brothers : El Nino, Jul 20 more here
Django Reinhardt : Vol. 2-1947, Jul 13 more here
Richman/Johnson : Apache, Jul 13 more here
Tito Rodriguez : Palladium Memories, Jul 13 more here
Shorty Rogers : Martians Come Back/Way Up Ther, Jul 13 more here
Ricardo Scales : Yes I'm Ready, Jul 13 more here
Ricardo Scales : Obsession, Jul 13 more here
Shavers/Sullivan : Complete Charlie Shavers With, Jul 20 more here
Artie Shaw : V-Disc Recordings, Jul 20 more here
Artie Shaw & His Orchestra : Vol. 2-1939, Jul 13 more here
Ben Sidran : Too Hot To Touch, Jul 13 more here
Zoot Sims : Only A Rose, Jul 20 more here
Jabbo Smith : Vol. 1-Jabbo Smith-Hot Jazz In, Jul 13 more here
Jabbo Smith : Vol. 2-Jabbo Smith-Hot Jazz In, Jul 13 more here
Maxine Sullivan : Maxine, Jul 13 more here
Lew Tabackin : Pyramid, Jul 20 more here
Jack Teagarden : Live At Frank Dailey's Meadowb, Jul 13 more here
Jack Teagarden : Live At The Trianon Ballroom, Jul 13 more here
Jack Teagarden & His Orchestra : Meet Me Where They Play The Bl, Jul 13 more here
VA-This Is Jazz : Vol. 4-Historical Broadcasts, Jul 09 more here
Vibes : With Drawn, Jul 20 more here
Harvey Wainapel : Hang, Jul 13 more here
Ian Whitcomb : Comedy Songs, Jul 13 more here