New Releases Spotlight: Week of June 23, 2014

This week in the new releases section of The Music Lounge, we’re going to be taking a look at some new CDs that are making their way onto WDCB’s airwaves.

Bobby Hutcherson - Enjoy the View: Hutcherson’s first disc in a while features him with a really nice cast of characters – Joey DeFrancesco on organ and a little bit of trumpet, David Sanborn on sax, and the incredible Billy Hart on the drums.  There are a few Hutcherson penned classics here, "Montara," most notably, but everyone contributes some nice music here.  My favorite, by far is Hutcherson’s "Hey Harold," but really, any fan of Bobby Hutcherson or Joey DeFrancesco is going to find a lot to love here.

Jimmy Cobb - The Original Mob: This is another crack band (Brad Mehldau, Peter Bernstein and John Webber) running through a few originals from Cobb, Bernstein and Mehldau and a few lesser known gems (check out George Coleman’s "Amsterdam After Dark," which grooves really nicely).  Interestingly, this is the latest Smoke Sessions release, and they usually record these live.  However, Cobb and company chose to record in an empty club.  The end result is really a fantastic disc worth checking out.

Mike LeDonne - I Love Music: Organist Mike LeDonne has come up with quite the winning formula over the course of his last few records – a soul tune or two (or three on here – two from Stevie Wonder and one from L.A. latin funk powerhouse WAR), a couple of standards and some original music, performed by a ripping band (Eric Alexander, Joe Farnsworth, and once again, Peter Bernstein) and by the time you’re done listening to the disc, the listener is smiling from ear to ear.  Everyone around here seems to agree that “Do I Do” is a monumental jam.  I think you’ll agree.