Taylor Eigsti Let It Come to You (Concord) Pianist Taylor Eigsti was first hyped as a superstar-in-training at age 8 when he opened a show for mentor David Benoit. The buzz intensified when the precocious Californian performed at 13 with Dave Brubeck, who praised the teen as “the most amazing [...]

Norma Winstone Trio Distances (ECM) Vocalist Winstone’s new ECM release is a lean and beautiful album that includes pianist Glauco Venier and reed player Klaus Gensing. Winstone has a fairly narrow range, but she’s perfectly at home in it – her effortless and reedy delivery, utterly without vibrato, is marvelously [...]

Kurt Rosenwinkel Group The Remedy: Live at the Village Vanguard (ArtistShare) One of the most in-demand guitarists around, Kurt Rosenwinkel is known for his distinct style: melodic, a bit mysterious, and with more than a little edge. That’s not to say he sticks with a single motif, as Rosenwinkel is [...]

The Sax Pack The Sax Pack (Shanachie) The Sax Pack – the all-star gathering of smooth jazz vets Jeff Kashiwa, Steve Cole, and Kim Waters – is one of the hottest live tickets in the genre. Audiences enjoy their onstage Frank, Dino and Sammy-inspired between-song banter at least as much [...]

Saxophone Summit Seraphic Light (Telarc) Repertory and tribute bands abound, but few sound as heartfelt as Saxophone Summit, a three-saxophone sextet adopting the autumnal music of John Coltrane as its touchstone. Dave Liebman leads this all-star entourage with fellow saxophonists Joe Lovano and Ravi Coltrane, John’s duly talented son. But [...]

Mary Lou Williams A Grand Night for Swinging (HighNote) Pianist Mary Lou Williams is one of those geniuses who gets overlooked because she’s simply too hard to classify. A hard swinging composer-arranger in Kansas City big bands, she was a strong influence on bebop, and late in life, when this [...]