Unity Band (Nonesuch) Unity Band marks the first time guitarist Pat Metheny has recorded with a group that features a tenor saxophonist since his classic 1980 album 80/81, a release that found him successfully melding his folk-fusion sensibility to a traditional acoustic-jazz format. After 30 years of exploring different configurations, [...]

301 (ACT) The Esbjörn Svensson Trio, or E.S.T., has retained its popularity even in the wake of Svensson’s death in a scuba accident in 2008. This CD is the second disc of material recorded in Studio 301 in Sydney, Australia in 2007. (The first disc, Leucocyte, was released in 2008.) [...]

Clean on the Corner (482 Music) Chicago-based drummer Mike Reed has so many irons in the fire — indie-rock festival promoter, all-around local impresario — that it’s easy to forget what an accomplished musician and bandleader he is. The latest disc from his group People, Places and Things is both [...]

The Matador and the Bull (Savant) Tenor saxophonist JD Allen has maintained a working relationship with bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston through four CDs now — three on Sunnyside and this, their debut for Savant — all of which are unique but determinedly of a piece. Their most [...]

The Keeper (Calmit) Hailey Niswanger was still a student at Boston’s Berklee College of Music when her 2009 debut, Confeddie, was released. The 22-year-old saxophonist has since graduated, but her follow-up shows plenty of evidence that Niswanger is still doing her homework. This time out she’s tipped the balance in [...]

Me, Myself & I (Justin Time) The majority of compositions on Me, Myself & I are so wired into the typical jazzbo’s memory bank that few of us expect cover versions to deliver much beyond minor variations on familiar changes — a fact that only adds to the pleasures delivered [...]