Greetings! Every Friday I’ll be bringing you some highlights of new music we are featuring here on Jazz88. This is all connected to This Just In, our weekly show that celebrates new jazz releases. You can catch This Just In, hosted by moi, on Fridays at Noon on 88.5 or catch it on your own schedule from our show page.
I’d also like to mention that we are currently in our Spring Drive. We believe in spreading the news about great new releases and we know you do too. Please take the time to support this mission with a donation to Jazz88.
If you have input about the music we’re playing, or ideas about what else we should be playing, let me know please! I can be reached at sean@jazz88.fm.
Jake Baldwin with Ted Godbout – “Gloria” from his single album Gloria Listen Here
A beautiful thing about a jazz song is that no one gets to tell you how long or short it needs to be. Sometimes it takes 14 minutes to tell the story, sometimes just a minute and a half. But if you tell the story, it will connect with a listener. In this case Minnesota based trumpet player Jake Baldwin penned a tribute to his late grandmother Gloria Olson. In a matter of measures Baldwin managed to catch the joyous and somber moods that accompany the end of a long life led well. Rest in peace to Gloria and thank you Jake for this beautiful piece.
Melissa Aldana– “A Purpose” from her new album Echoes of the Inner Prophet Listen Here
I like Melissa Aldana in every situation. She sounds great in big band splendor cooking at a high setting and she also sounds great in something more introspective. On her new record, Echoes of the Inner Prophet, I’m drawn to the tracks where things get more intimate. With the help of her guitarist and co-producer Lage Lund Aldana delivered us a new original titled “A Purpose”. The group provides the textural, impressionistic sounds that can often be missing from a saxophone heavy record. In addition her solo came off very unexpected. On a song where I expected long, contemplative notes Aldana elected to jut in and out, pushing at the chord progression and challenging the groove. Well done.
Jim Snidero– “Willow Weep for Me” from his new album For All We Know Listen Here
When you’ve been doing it as long as Jim Snidero has, you can cover a lot of ground on a tune all on your lonesome. Snidero sounds up to the task on his new album For All We Know. The alto player seemed to take a page out of Sonny Rollins’ playbook and opted for accompaniment from only bass and drums. On his relaxed rendition of “Willow Weep For Me” the combination is perfectly. As Peter Washington teases more out of the progression on his bass and Joe Farnsworth ably holds down the rhythm, Snidero floats above it with a patient and dexterous solo that makes this a noteworthy version of a standard I thought I had heard one too many times. But in Snidero’s hands and horn, he breathed new life into the material.
Thanks for checking out This Just In, and be sure to shoot an email over to sean@jazz88.fm if you have any input about our music programming!
-Sean McPherson
