If you’re looking for some great new music to discover this weekend, look no further than our weekly New Release Cheat Sheet.
New Songs and Videos
Curtis Stigers, "I Wonder Why" [Song Premiere]
Singer/songwriter/saxophonist Curtis Stigers revisits some of his earlier hits and puts a distinct jazz spin on them on his new album, This Life. Among them, his international hit, "I Wonder Why," co-written by Glen Ballard and premiering below. The song was originally released as the first single from his chart-topping 1991 eponymous full-length debut. This Life will be out on February 25 and you can pre-order it HERE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPoWf8yeUrc
Anna Laura Quinn, "Open the Door" [Video Premiere]
Vocalist/arranger Anna Laura Quinn's new LP, Open the Door, presents nine deeply emotive, introspective and textured arrangements that stand as tributes to how music has profoundly shaped her. In an official statement, Quinn explains that her take on the Betty Carter-penned title composition evokes "the sense of opening that I have felt in my evolution as a vocalist. Along my musical path I have found my way to greater self-understanding and empowerment; to deep personal connections within my community; and ultimately, to the cultivation of tremendous joy in my life." Open the Door is due out February 18 via Outside in Music. Pre-order it here.
https://youtu.be/OHp-HoNzOhY
Gerald Clayton, "Water's Edge"
Pianist Gerald Clayton's new LP, Bells on Sand, explores the impact of abstraction of time over eleven tracks, performed with mentor Charles Lloyd on saxophone, father John Clayton on bass, Justin Brown on drums, and MARO on vocals. The album, due out April 1, opens in pensive resonance with "Water's Edge," a slow-peeling original composition. “By the water, I experienced subtle environmental shifts,” says Clayton. “Songs I would sing, play or write were but an expression of a particular shape in the sand at that moment. Any meaning behind what I created came from viewing that creation over a temporal landscape. A song felt a certain way on a certain day, and the next day would feel and function completely differently.” Pre-order Bells on Sand here.
https://youtu.be/t8f9O2jTlfo
New Albums
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Cold As Weiss (Colemine)
Seattle-based soul-jazz groove machine Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio returns with its latest virtuosic showcase of feelgood, magnetic music. On Cold As Weiss, organist Delvon Lamarr and guitarist Jimmy James are joined for the first time on record by drummer Dan Weiss, also known for his work with soul-funk collective The Sextones. Order it here.
https://open.spotify.com/album/39wAzMaFzTVEN0yqJXYyzK?si=jlSV1R7xRCKnx09Ki_j1FQ
Ethan Iverson, Every Note Is True (Blue Note)
Pianist/composer Ethan Iverson expands on his own musical history by revisiting the pop-rock-inflected jazz style of his influential trio, The Bad Plus, by leading a session with two of the most in-demand jazz players around: bassist Larry Grenadier and legendary drummer Jack DeJohnette. Every Note Is True is Iverson’s debut for Blue Note Records. Order it here.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2GQxpirhxORpfbuijjqamj?si=92sfttHPS_q4qWdy9B-SIg
Kit Downes, Vermillion (ECM)
On his sophomore chamber music-oriented album as a leader for the ECM label, pianist Kit Downes offers an assorted piano trio program with collaborators bassist Petter Eldh and drummer James Maddren. Vermillion treads gentle lyricism and bold creative outbursts in equal measures and with a strong penchant for melody. Order it here.
https://open.spotify.com/album/7qcLJ9IRZrSb2pOtM5Vrpn?si=lwk9V-mhRI2PhOmKYwfqMA
Featured photo by Ben Wolf.
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