Bassist Jakob Dryer searched for a new sound for his third album as a leader. He has, for his previous two releases, expressed his art via the standard quartet — sax, bass, drums and piano. For Roots and things, the piano is replaced by Sasha Berliner’s vibraphone, joining the leader’s other new- to-the-fold sidemen, saxophonist Tivon Pennicott and drummer Kenneth Salters.
A vibraphone in the group is an inspired choice. The instrument is seeing a 2024/2025 resurgence. Blue Note Records, in particular, brings the instrument into the mix on albums by like Gerald Clayton’s Ones& Twos (2025), Johnathan Blake’s, Homeward Bounds (2024) and Joel Ross’ Nublues (2024). The luminous sustain of the instrument’s sound lends a sheen of…
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Kenny Barron’s offering Songbook is a deeply personal milestone in the pianist’s career. Long regarded as one of the most lyrical voices in modern jazz, Barron fulfills a long-held dream by revisiting thirteen of his original compositions, now reimagined with words by lyricist Janice Jarrett and performed by a talented cast of vocalists spanning different generations.
For his 25th studio album, Window, cornetist 
Finnish composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer 
Omar Sosa’s Sendas — “paths,” as it translates — pursues courses of catharsis. A solo piano session recorded live at Fazioli Concert Hall in northern Italy during a period of global uncertainty just a few short years ago, it offers a series of improvisations that speak to reflective resolve.
Drummer and Nea Jazz Master Billy Hart releases first live album, 
Is 
The 10-piece 
Sidney-based saxophonist 
Six-piece 
Collecting performances from jazz pianist 
On November 6, 2018, trumpeter 
To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 is the first full-length release by a British artist to appear on International Anthem, but even a single listen makes it clear why the Chicago-based label was drawn to it: however much these eleven pieces by Manchester-born, London-based tenor saxophonist 
At some point, one might ask which veteran jazz musicians did not play in the “university of jazz” called Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. Familiar names abound through this review, but so many more go unmentioned. Here we present a short-lived version of a group deep into Blakey’s fourth decade. We associate Blakey’s great records mostly with the ‘50s and ‘60s, but 
Across a 40-minute drum-based suite, drummer and composer