Grammy-winning Dafnis Prieto is universally acknowledged to be a drummer of prodigious skill. His sextet’s superb new recording, Transparency, makes it abundantly clear that his skills as a composer and arranger are on the same plane as his drumming.
Saxophonist Alex Murzyn and drummer Cal Haines met one another playing in the Friday afternoon jams at trumpeter Bobby Shew’s studio in Corrales, NM, and Haines was introduced to bassist Terry Burns on a local gig behind trumpeter Christine Fawson. Haines thought the three of them might work well together. He was correct, and the proof is their new album, Llano.
Markus Gottschlich’s keen mind, lively imagination, and positive energy helped rejuvenate the New Mexico Jazz Workshop during his all too brief residence as its executive director in 2019. Those same qualities inform his compositional skills, and his dazzling pianism gives full rein to his expressive spirit, as heard on his latest recording, Found Sounds (available November 27). With 25 Years, Edward Simon treats us to a self-curated tour through some of the high points of his two and a half decades of recorded work, reminding us that he deserves to be ranked among the foremost practitioners of his art.
Jon Armstrong’s music is full of life and humanity, and like life and humanity, it is complex, sometimes messy, sometimes dark, sometimes light, always interesting, and unavoidably engaging. It is also indefatigably optimistic. His latest release, Reabsorb, is all those things.
Drawing from a wide palette—from blues to ragtime, stride to funk, go-go to gospel—and the experience gained from two decades of performing with saxophonist David Murray, pianist Lafayette Gilchrist delivers an arresting new trio recording that, as its title suggests, is about Now.
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