Brilliant ‘Mistakes’ from Chris Jonas

Chris Jonas

The latest release from saxophonist Chris Jonasbackwardsupwardsky (from his Music from the Deserts series), offers two CDs, two trios, one quartet, and 14 tracks of compellingly quirky Jonas compositions performed with stunning concision, inspired improvisation, and apparently effortless virtuosity.

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Avishai Cohen’s Quartet Addresses Dark Times on ‘Ashes to Gold’ and at the Outpost on March 21

Avishai Cohen. Photo by Daniella Feijoo.

The latest release from Avishai Cohen’s quartet, Ashes to Gold, eloquently expresses the breadth and depth of raw emotions provoked by the atrocities of October 7, 2023, and the tragedies of the ensuing war. Its heart-piercing five-part title suite gives voice to anger, horror, grief, tenderness, and a glimmer of determined hope, driven home by virtuosic performances. On March 21, Albuquerque will have the opportunity to hear the quartet—with Cohen (trumpet, flugelhorn, flute), Yonathan Avishai (piano), Barak Mori (bass), and Ziv Ravitz (drums)—live at the Outpost, part of the quartet’s first U.S. tour in five years.

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Frank Leto’s Carnaval Spectacular Celebrates 20 Years at the NHCC and Honors Pilar Leto

Frank Leto and PANdemonium

On March 1 at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC), Frank Leto will present “Carnaval 2025: Veinte Años,” his 20th almost-annual celebration of Carnaval at the NHCC. This year’s performance, which, as usual, features Frank’s vibrant original music and the Odara Dance Ensemble’s energized choreography and lavish costumes, is dedicated to his late wife, the inimitable dancer and life force Pilar Leto, who unexpectedly passed away February 11, 2024.

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Altered States: the Music of Yosef Gutman & Peter Broderick, and of Scanner & Neil Leonard

Music, like love, has the capacity for altering your consciousness, your brain chemistry. These two releases—River of Eden, from Yosef Gutman and Peter Broderick, and The Berklee Sessions, from Scanner and Neil Leonard, each of which got past me in 2024, have the capacity to do just that, and they do it in completely different fashions, acoustically and electronically, respectively.

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The Ear-Opening Sound from The Fury

The Fury at Ornithology (l2r): Mark Turner, Matt Brewer (rear), Lage Lund, Tyshawn Sorey.

My long winter’s nap was blessedly interrupted by the new release from The Fury, Live in Brooklyn. This quartet, comprising heavyweights Mark Turner (tenor sax), Lage Lund (guitar), Matt Brewer (bass), and Tyshawn Sorey (drums), offers up next-level jazz that produces continual astonishment.

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