The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz world. It’s a one-stop destination for the music news you need to know. Let’s take it from the top. Noteworthy
Previously Unreleased Esbjörn Svensson Solo Piano Album Out Soon: A never-before-heard Esbjörn Svensson solo album, recorded only a few weeks before his sudden death in 2008, has been rediscovered and will be released worldwide on November 18 via ACT Music. Ahead of its release, the music from HOME.S will be played in its entirety during a series of audio-visual concerts at Sven-Harry's Art Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, from September 15-18. Blue Note Announces Two Tone Poet Vinyl Editions of Blue Train: Blue Note will release two special Tone Poet vinyl editions of John Coltrane's Blue Train on September 16. Coltrane's masterpiece will be released as a single-LP mono pressing of the original album and a 2-LP stereo collection, The Complete Masters, which includes seven tracks released on vinyl for the first time, plus a booklet featuring never-before-seen photos by Francis Wolff and an essay by Ashley Kahn. https://youtu.be/BUdHdFIWGEw
Compilation Celebrating Skippy White and Boston Soul Legacy Out Soon: On October 29, Yep Roc Records will release a 15-track compilation of Boston soul music discovered, captured on tape and released by legendary record store owner turned label owner Skippy White in the 1960s. The Skippy White Story: Boston Soul 1961-1967 will be released on digital, CD and vinyl. The set was curated and produced by singer/songwriter Eli Paperboy Reed and comes with liner notes from Peter Guralnick, Peter Wolf, and Noah Schaffer providing context for the music, the time and White's legacy. Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf on JAZZIZ Travel: International music superstars Angélique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf recently released their collaborative album, Queen of Sheba, inspired by and reinventing the myth of the African queen who challenged the wisdom of King Solomon. The album is entirely scored by Maalouf and features lyrics by Kidjo, sung in Yoruba. Both artists joined us on the latest episode of JAZZIZ Travel to talk about their new album. You can listen to the podcast conversation via the player below. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Mowzel1AsNkVhHP8F4Ami?si=4b7c6131b4d44937
Far Out to Release 12" Edition of Freeez Gem: Far Out will issue the first ever 12" release of Freeez's early '80s Brit-jazz-funk classic, "Mariposa" from the band's 1980 album, Southern Freeez. The song represents the pinnacle of the sound John Rocca and Peter Mazz began developing in an East London basement in the early 1980s. The single will be released on September 16 and will include a 12" mix of the band's "Alone." New and Upcoming Albums
Miró Henry Sobrer, Two of Swords (Patois): Trombonist/composer Miró Henry Sobrer showcases his compositional prowess and utilizes an expansive palette of African diaspora rhythms to celebrate Catalonia and his late father on his impressive debut album as a leader. Two of Swords was co-produced by Sobrer's mentor, trombonist Wayne Wallace, and was released on July 15 via Patois. https://open.spotify.com/album/4FoKzuSTfMaEvOlWcdJpFX?si=INwOA_Q7TTecRt5rlExo_A
DaShawn Hickman, Drums, Roots & Steel (Little Village Foundation): Revered Sacred Steel player DaShawn Hickman channels the blues-gospel traditions of the Pentecostal-Holiness churches of the 1930s on his debut album, Drums, Roots & Steel, released by Little Village Foundation on June 2. The record was produced by Charlie Hunter, who also plays bass on it, and features two West African percussionists, Atiba Rorie and Brevan Hampden, and singer Wendy Hickman. https://open.spotify.com/album/1f5Jndmh9byliPc6ujHpCo?si=Jk73jdG8TDma_dNJykpzbg
Various Artists, Blue Note Re:Imagined II (Blue Note): Blue Note Records will release Blue Note Re:imagined II on September 30, as part of its celebrated album series featuring reworked and newly-recorded Blue Note classics from an array of rising UK stars. The 16-track collection features such artists as Nubiyan Twist, Theon Cross, Yazz Ahmed, Binker Golding, Swindle and more, reimagining works by such artists as Wayne Shorter, Norah Jones, Thelonious Monk and Donald Byrd, among others. https://youtu.be/LDbp4zT3Pj0
Lucian Ban, Ways of Disappearing (Sunnyside):Ways of Disappearingis a mesmerizing new collection of solo piano improvisations and the first solo piano recording by Lucian Ban. Recorded in his native Transylvania in May 2021, the album, released on May 13, presents 14 pieces, two of which are chilling takes on compositions by Annette Peacock and Carla Bley. https://open.spotify.com/album/2ql0c4iDYR7P7cIoAByC2U?si=l8p2ifJgQDyGCrZ4_7hMqg
Live Music and Festival News
New Paquito D'Rivera Concerto: The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and the National Symphony Orchestra have commissioned a new work by famed Latin jazz composer/multi-instrumentalist Paquito D'Rivera. The new work is titled The Journey, and it is a concerto for cello, clarinet, erhu and orchestra. Its world premiere will take place on September 8 and Wolf Trap's Filene Center in Vienna, Virginia. In addition to D'Rivera, the performance will feature Yo-Yo Ma, Cathy Yang and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by José Luis Gomez. Tickets here. Snarky Puppy Announce European and U.S. Tour Dates: Snarky Puppy have announced European tour dates throughout Fall 2022 and U.S. tour dates for Spring 2023, in celebration of the release of their new album. Find out about all their upcoming tour dates here. Snarky Puppy will be releasing Empire Central, which pays tribute to the band's hometown of Dallas, Texas, on September 30. Meanwhile, they have released a new single from the album, "Bet," that you can hear via the player below. https://youtu.be/fnWoFuh7ZuA
NYO Jazz Detroit Concert Broadcast Worldwide: NYO Jazz's concert performance at Detroit's Orchestra Hall will be broadcast and webcast for free to audiences worldwide on medici.tv and carnegiehall.org on August 6. The acclaimed Carnegie Hall national youth ensemble will be led by trumpeter/artistic director Sean Jones and joined by special guest vocalist Jazzmeia Horn. Jon Batiste Carnegie Hall Performance Rescheduled: Jon Batiste's performance at New York's Carnegie Hall, originally planned for May 2022, has now been rescheduled for September 22. The performance will feature the world premiere of his brand new opus, American Symphony, which concludes his Perspective series and features artists of all genres, reflecting the melting pot that is American life and democracy. Tickets here.
Featured photo courtesy of ACT Music.
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