New Releases Spotlight: Week of May 30, 2016

This week in the Music Lounge, our music director Paul Abella reviews three new releases!

Hey everybody!  Let’s check out the new releases from vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Antonio Adolfo and some great young players out of Detroit…

Vibraphonist Warren Wolf has a new disc out called Convergence.  With a core band consisting of Warren (mostly on vibes), bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, this disc grooves hard.  Guest artists include pianist Brad Mehldau and guitarist John Scofield, who both make cameos on a few tunes.  The program here spans the gamut from Bobby Hutcherson ("Montara") to Stevie Wonder ("Knocks Me Off My Feet") to Chopin ("The Minute Waltz," as part of a medley with "Stardust").  Add to that some very grooving originals like the hard swingin’ "Cell Phone" and the subtly funky "Soul Sister," and you’ve got a winner that you’re going to be hearing a lot in these next few weeks.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Pianist Antonio Adolfo’s latest, Tropical Infinito, is an interesting album. Playing with a sextet, he crafts a middle ground between jazz and bossa nova that is genuinely cool.  Sometimes, like on "Killer Joe" or "Cascavel," the Brazilian influence is overt and undeniable.  On others, like "Whisper Not" or "All The Things You Are," that middle ground takes on a unique and almost funky sound that draws in this listener.  We look forward to playing this one for you on DCB Jazz!
 

Two young cats out of Detroit have put out a nice album that landed on my desk a while back.  The new disc from saxophonist James Hughes and trumpeter Jimmy Smith titled Ever Up and Onward is burning!  These guys definitely love themselves some Jazz Messengers, and some Woody Shaw too.  The band is consistently hard swinging, and especially so on tunes like "Audio Culture," "Dots" and "Keepin’ It Real."  When the tempo comes down a bit on the old spiritual "There Is Balm In Gilead," it’s gorgeous.  I think you’re going to like it when you hear it on DCB Jazz!

I’ll be back next week with more reviews of new releases, here in the Music Lounge.  ‘Til then… keep your ears open!