Throughout a recording career spanning nearly two decades, guitarist Ronny Smith has cultivated a singular expansive voice that artfully incorporates the sophisticated improvisational language of straight-ahead jazz and the irresistible buoyant grooves of contemporary urban jazz. On his 13th full length release Velvet Vibe, he brings those parallel passions into perhaps their most fully realized balance yet, creating a multi-faceted album whose title perfectly captures the es

Three years after exploring the more intimate side of his artistry on his Solo Piano release, veteran pianist, composer and arranger Steve Rawlins returns to a dynamic full-band format for the first time in four decades with “It’s Cool,” the irresistible, infectiously grooving lead single from his forthcoming ensemble album Word on the Street. If this buoyant opener is any indication, the project promises to be a joyful celebration of melodic jazz, first-rate musicianship and

The most compelling interpreters of contemporary classical music don’t simply conquer formidable scores - they illuminate the architecture beneath the notes, revealing the ideas, tensions and human truths that give technically demanding works their lasting resonance. That gift is abundantly evident throughout Impulses, an ambitious and thoroughly engaging recital by pianist Walton Lott, who intriguingly pairs Frederic Rzewski’s Four Pieces for Piano (1977) with John Harbison’

For many musicians, a debut solo recording serves as a calling card, an opportunity to demonstrate technical mastery or introduce a distinctive evocative artistic voice. With the release of his debut album Turning, however, acclaimed violinist James Lyon fulfills a far more personal and deeply expressive purpose. Arriving after more than three decades as Professor of Violin at Penn State University, the collection is less a career retrospective than an intimate musical memoir

"If this is a dream, don’t wake me up.” Blair Aaronson’s opening words at Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood carried the excitement one might expect from a composer hearing his music performed live by an all-star ensemble. Yet as the Los Angeles-based songwriter, pianist and six-time Telly Award-winning composer stood before a packed room on the evening of his birthday, it quickly became clear that this was about something far more profound and revelatory than a concert. It wa

The title of Luis Alas’ six-song EP High Life suggests celebration, optimism and an ongoing flow of joyous positive energy, and that’s exactly what the Atlanta-based alto saxophonist delivers. Known as “The Sax of the South,” Alas packs these 22 minutes with infectious contemporary smooth jazz grooves, Latin-funk rhythms and memorable melodies, vibrantly showcasing himself as an artist equally comfortable igniting a danceable urban groove or settling into a soulful late-night

Few contemporary large ensemble recordings achieve the kind of seamless dialogue between composer, soloist and orchestra that unfolds throughout Coalescencia. Featuring original music by acclaimed Mexican pianist and composer Alex Mercado and brought vividly to life by conductor, arranger and producer Rosino Serrano and his outstanding Orquesta Moderna, this ambitious digital-only release is an exhilarating meeting point of contemporary jazz, classical architecture and advent

For most composers, releasing a new album is the culmination of months or even years of creative effort. For Nashville-based pianist, composer and educator James Michael Stevens, it’s simply part of a lifelong rhythm of persistence, faith and artistic devotion. In addition to serving as Dean of the School of Music at Welch College, Stevens has built one of the most astonishingly prolific catalogs in contemporary instrumental music, releasing dozens of albums over the past sev

Over the past few decades, Michael Landgarten has been quietly accumulating stories - not merely picture-perfect song length narratives, but deeply immersive experiences distilled into tales of restless highways, complicated romances, family memories, spiritual questioning and the elusive search for meaning that often arrives only after life has humbled us a few times. On The Long Highway, his first full-length release with The Converts, those stories find their most vibrant

One of the enduring joys of jazz is its ability to take familiar songs and reveal truths hidden beneath decades of habit and expectation. On her dazzling, wildly imaginative and buoyantly arranged debut album Just a Girl, I’m a Woman, veteran Tucson vocalist Liz Cracchiolo does exactly that, re-imagining everything from No Doubt, Guns N’ Roses, The Killers, Peggy Lee and Soft Cell to jazz standards and blues classics with equal parts imagination, sophistication and fearless,

For an artist whose musical identity has long been shaped by the intersection of jazz, bossa nova, folk-rock and Latin American traditions, Tom Ricci’s soulfully charming, emotionally intuitive Happening in Buenos Aires – Live at Borges 1975, recorded in Buenos Aires in June 2023, feels less like a concert album than a homecoming. Recorded with no previous band rehearsal in his native Argentina with pianist Pablo Sanguinetti, bassist Bruno Migotto and drummer Oscar Giunta, th

For listeners who have followed Ellen Johnson’s multifaceted career as a jazz vocalist, educator, author, journalist and advocate for the transformative power of music, Elemental Essence: A Neurosonic Journey may initially seem like a dramatic left turn. Yet the deeper one immerses in this ambitious five-part exploration of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether, the more apparent it becomes that Ellen has not departed from her life’s work and musical/spiritual mission at all. Rat