There’s some significance to the release of Winter Songs – it’s the first album featuring Steve Swallow as a leader since 2013, and the first one since the passing of Carla Bley, his multi-decade partner in life and music. Considering the folks he’s most associated with – free jazz pioneer Jimmy Giuffre, vibraphone maverick Gary Burton, genre-agnostic guitarist John Scofield, quirky keyboardist Jamie Saft, his artistically unique spouse – fans might be surprised at the vibe on Winter Songs. Joined by saxophonist Chris Cheek, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, pianist Gil Goldstein, guitarist Steve Cardenas, and drummer Adam Nussbaum, Swallow takes us back in time, when jazz was transitioning from bebop to hard bop in small clubs around New York. Though known for his…