New Releases Spotlight: Week of August 31, 2015

This week in The Music Lounge, music director Paul Abella reviews three new discs released just in time for the Chicago Jazz Festival, featuring artists that are performing this weekend in Millennium Park.

First off, Dee Dee Bridgewater has teamed up with Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra for her latest, Dee Dee’s Feathers.  The New Orleans flavor runs deep, as you might expect, with several N’awlins classics in the song list, including "Whoopin’ Blues," "St. James Infirmary," "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans" and, interestingly enough, the theme song to the HBO series, Treme.  Dr. John joins in on "Big Chief," which is clearly the standout song here.  Don’t miss Dee Dee and Irvin headlining the Jazz Fest - Saturday night on the Pritzker Pavilion.

Chicago saxophonist Rajiv Halim has been one of the “kids” to watch on the Chicago Jazz scene for quite some time, and his debut CD, Foundation, was definitely worth the wait.  Rajiv’s an excellent player, and he’s surrounded himself with some top notch talent – Victor Garcia, Junius Paul, Scott Hesse, Kevin Kozol, Ari Brown, and Marquis Hill, among others.  Add to that some very smartly written tunes that draw from a host of influences beyond the jazz realm, and he’s put together a great disc.  "The Hard Worker" is a beautiful jam, "Foundation" brings some funk to the table, and the most interesting song here, "Slim," references the influence of Fela Kuti.  Rajiv’s band opens up the festivities on Friday afternoon in the Von Freeman Pavilion, so make sure you’re there early to check out Rajiv’s set!

The Spin Quartet just released the live album Starting From Zero.  Chad McCullough’s piano-less quartet with Geof Bradfield, Clark Sommers and Kobie Watkins makes some very interesting music.  It’s cool like the Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker Quartet sides, and fierce like the early Ornette Coleman albums of the late 50’s and early 60’s.  And much like Coleman, McCullough writes great melodies that stick in your head.  "Crocodile Memoir" and "Baiao Atemporal" are the two tunes to watch out for, but really this is a nice document of what was clearly a great gig, with a lot of great writing and playing throughout.  The Spin Quartet will be the first band up on Friday in the Jazz and Heritage Pavilion. 

Next week in The Music Lounge, I’ll review the new discs from former Chicagoan Eric Alexander, also Joe Magnarelli and possibly more.  ‘Til then… keep your ears open!