New Releases Spotlight: Week of October 20, 2014

This week in the Music Lounge, three of the albums you’ll be hearing this week on WDCB!

Before I start, though, I wanted to personally thank everyone that contributed during our Fall Pledge Drive. We can’t bring all of this jazz to Chicago without your help, and it is much appreciated!

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - Cheek to Cheek
Up first, the new album from Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Cheek to Cheek.  Obviously, this seemed to have come out of left field, but the disc mostly works.  Tony and Gaga have a monster of a band backing them up, and the guest soloists include Joe Lovano in a few memorable spots.  Tony Bennett is as great as always, and Gaga is surprisingly spot on as a jazz vocalist.

 

Jack Cooper - Mists
Jack Cooper’s Mists gets my pick for big band album of the year.  Adapting the work of Charles Ives to jazz orchestra, these songs are simply breathtaking.  Between Cooper’s arranging and Ives’ source material, there is a lot to like here.  "Mists," "Watchman" and "The Last Reader" are personal favorites, but we’ll be playing most of this exciting album over the next few weeks.  This is definitely one to watch out for.

 

The Cookers - Time and Time Again
And finally, Time and Time Again, the latest from the all-star group The Cookers might simmer more than flat out cook, but it’s a gorgeous album, and the playing is exactly as great as you’d expect it to be with a group that includes Billy Harper, Donald Harrison, Eddie Henderson and Billy Hart.  The gorgeous tribute to Mulgrew Miller, "Farewell Mulgrew" is a highlight, as is the very grooving "Dance of the Invisible Nymph."

 

These are just a few of the fantastic new albums you’ll be hearing this week on ‘DCB Jazz.  Stay tuned in, Mondays through Fridays, midnight ‘til 7pm, Saturdays from 7 to 10am and Sundays from 8:30am-11 and 8pm-10.  We’ll be back with more new releases next week here in the Music Lounge.

…’til next time, Keep Your Ears Open!