What's New on WDCB... with Paul Abella

Hey everyone! So, this week, I wanted to take a moment to check out some of the albums that are available during our Fall Pledge Drive. If one of these piques your interest, please consider making a contribution to WDCB this week, and help us to continue being Chicago’s home for Jazz every day of the week.  Thanks!

Bobby Broom – Keyed Up (Steele Records)

Bobby Broom is not just one of Chicago’s great guitarists, he’s also one of Jazz’s great modern guitarists, and so, when a new Bobby Broom album comes out, it’s a big deal. On his latest, Keyed Up, we get a program filled with songs written by pianists. And, to ensure its success, Broom has surrounded himself with a phenomenal band: Justin Dillard on keyboards, Dennis Carroll on bass, and Kobie Watkins is playing drums. From Bud Powell’s “Hallucinations” to Chick Corea’s “Humpty Dumpty,” to James Williams “Soulful Bill,” this is a collection of fantastic songs given wholly new life by Broom and Company.

Brandee Younger – Somewhere Different (Impulse!)

One of the more interesting new albums from 2021 has got to be the new release from harpist Brandee Younger, Somewhere Different. An album chock full of great players young and old (including a guest spot by the legendary bassist Ron Carter), Somewhere Different blends Younger’s harp with Jazz and some subtle hip-hop elements, with great results. A few of us have already been playing Tickled Pink, Reclamation and Olivia Benson, with more to come. You’ll want to make sure you check this one out.

Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Brian Blade – Long Gone (Nonesuch)

All four members of this quartet are as big as it gets in jazz on their respective instruments in 2022. Unlike the 2021 release Round Again in which compositions came from each of the quartet’s members, Redman wrote everything here and every track on this mostly new studio date finds his blend of complexity and accessibility intact. Among the standouts is a older track pulled from the vaults - a 12-minute live recording from 2007 of the Moodswing album’s Rejoice in which the quartet’s energy never flags, building to a peak with a sparkling piano solo from Mehldau.

Tim Fitzgerald’s Full House (Cellar Live)

Tim Fitzgerald is a busy guitarist in Chicago, playing with musicians all over town. And, with Tim Fitzgerald’s Full House, he’s finally stepped out on his own. Tim Fitzgerald’s Full House is a love letter to the legendary Wes Montgomery, with a local all-star cast featuring Victor Garcia on trumpet, Greg Ward and Chris Madsen on saxophones and the rhythm section of Tom Vaitsas, Christian Dillingham and George Fludas.  The arrangers on the session, Victor Garcia, Chris Madsen and Tim Fitzgerald, were smart to come at these classic songs from all new angles, and the result is a fantastic and fresh listen.

Chucho Valdes & Paquito D’Rivera Reunion Sextet – I Missed You Too! (Sunnyside)

Chucho Valdes & Paquito D’Rivera were the pianist and woodwind players in the Cuban juggernaut known as Irakere. Monstrous jazz, pop, folkloric and classical musicians, they played it all in that band (along with Arturo Sandoval and so many more heavy hitters). Over 40 years ago, amidst D’Rivera’s defection to the US, Valdes and Paquito stopped talking. They’re talking again. And the results are here for the world to see on I Missed You Too! Sadly, they only wrote one song together for the album (“El Maja de Vento”), and the album is dominated by Valdes’ compositions; but that’s ok, Valdes can claim some of the greatest Afro-Cuban jams ever written, including “Mambo Influenciado” and “Claudia” which both get updates on this collection. This is a monster of a record.