Close Your Eyes
Artist: Kurt Elling

For his debut recording, Chicago vocalist Elling pushes the envelope, challenging listeners and his musicians with beat poetry, ranting, and his Mark Murphy-ish singing. There's quite a bit of dramatist/actor in Elling, although the romantic in him is also pretty prevalent. Acting much like a tenor saxophonist, Elling can wail and shout, expound... Read More

Northwest Passage
Artist: Oregon

Oregon's first recording in a while features the three surviving original members (Ralph Towner on guitar and keyboards, bassist Glen Moore, and Paul McCandless, who switches between soprano, English horn, sopranino, oboe and bass clarinet) with either Arto Tuncboyaciyan or Mark Walker on percussion. They perform 14 originals that usually avoid... Read More

Snow Leopard
Artist: Richie Beirach

This outing by pianist Richie Beirach has much more variety than his usual sessions. In addition to some introspective pieces, there are also some cookers and quite a few surprises. Beriach is joined by bassist George Mraz, drummer Billy Hart and (on three of the ten selections) violinist Gregor Huebner. He turns "In The Wee Small Hours Of The... Read More

Beyond Words
Artist: Oregon

With its combination of simple beauty and elegant intricacy, Beyond Words truly is. This time out, the three surviving original members of Oregon perform as a drummerless trio, handling a variety of compositions old and new, primarily from the pen of Ralph Towner. Towner's multi-instrumental versatility highlights and undergirds the proceedings,... Read More

Pastels
Artist: Vic Juris

A good quartet release, featuring Juris on guitar, Phil Markowitz on piano, Jay Anderson on bass, and Matt Wilson on drums. Juris' originals range from the angular free bop of "Mergatroid" to the breezy jazz waltz of "Sim 95," to the dark balladry of "Berlin" and the intriguing 7/4 syncopation of "Bravo Rio" (the latter two performed beautifully... Read More

Collage
Artist: Karrin Allyson
Community Score: 5.00

Vocalist Karrin Allyson stretches herself during this diverse set. A superior jazz singer, Allyson scats quite well during "It Could Happen to You/Fried Bananas" and "Cherokee," sings lyrics in English, French ("Autumn Leaves") and Italian, interprets some fairly current pop tunes, is touching on Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" and is quite... Read More

Medianoche
Artist: Don Grolnick

Medianoche finds Don Grolnick in the company of a hybrid Latin and post-bop supergroup of sorts, with Michael Brecker on tenor, Mike Mainieri on vibes, Dave Valentin on flute, Andy Gonzales on bass, and Don Alias, Steve Berrios, and Milton Cardona on percussion. The idea is simple: authentic Latin arrangements of very hip jazz material like... Read More

New York Breed
Artist: Conrad Herwig
The Heart Speaks
Artist: Terence Blanchard

Although trumpeter Terence Blanchard gets first billing on this recording, it is very much a joint effort with singer-composer Ivan Lins. Not only are all 13 songs by Lins but he sings on all but the three instrumentals although sometimes just wordlessly in the background. Blanchard often harmonizes with Lins' voice, creating a melancholy and... Read More

Introducing Brad Mehldau
Artist: Brad Mehldau
Community Score: 6.00

Pianist Brad Mehldau's debut as a leader features his straight-ahead style in trios with either Larry Grenadier or Christian McBride on bass and Jorge Rossy or Brian Blade on drums. The well-rounded set is highlighted by tasteful and swinging versions of five standards (including John Coltrane's "Countdown," "It Might As Well Be Spring," and... Read More

Perdido
Artist: Ernie Krivda

Ernie Krivda has achieved a reputation as a strikingly original and adventurous tenor saxophonist whose phrasing is often staccato-ish and whose solos are full of extroverted emotions. While he has recorded some standards during the past 20 years, he tends to make them sound quite fresh and new. This CD, therefore, is a major surprise. Krivda is... Read More