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.
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.
Angela DeNiro with the Ron Aprea Big Band – “You’d Be So Easy To Love” from their new album Swingin’ with Legends 2 Listen Here
I can say with experience that it is easy to look over the work of modern big bands. The reason I can say that is that for most of my tenure as the Music Director at Jazz88 I’ve been doing that to some extent. There is great work going on in every corner of the jazz world, but I often usher myself into the idea that Big Band music is a thing of the past. Sometimes it takes world class ensembles like the WDR band, the LCJO or others to remind me of the importance of these groups. My colleague and our morning show host Peter Solomon asked me to make sure to keep the work of the modern big bands in our playlist and this is my most recent effort to do so. They way Ken Peplowski opens up the tune on solo clarinet for what feels like a beautiful eternity before ushering in the larger than life sounds of the full ensemble with DeNiro’s vocals on top. . .it’s marvelous. Enjoy and stay swingin’!
Charles Lloyd – “The Water is Rising” from his new album The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow Listen Here
Every moment we get to share with Charles Lloyd is a gift. Deep into his eighties Lloyd is continuing to write, record and perform his stunningly inspired brand of music. His new double disc is likely to make another high-water mark in his career. This double disc features Jason Moran (p), Larry Grenadier (b) and Brian Blade (ds). The quartet intuitively searches together on “The Water is Rising” while the chords move with a slow inspiration towards the groove the group settles on. Through it all, Lloyd leads not from his saxophone, but from his spirit, making his presence felt whether the horn is in his mouth or not.
Kandace Springs– “Broken Keys” from her new album Run Your Race Listen Here
Kandace Springs new album Run Your Race is full of moments of release, of beauty, of groove and of tender pain. The through line is Spring’s remarkable voice: and breathy and intimate instrument with a powerful oomph in every register. On the ballad “Broken Keys” we can hear Springs reflecting on trials and struggles in her life while still imbuing an optimism in the journey to get somewhere stronger. And by all accounts, it looks like Springs’ strengths on the stage are tenfold what she delivers in the studio.
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
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