Heads of State, featuring four of the most
respected and admired jazz artists of our time, releases its first recording, “Search
For Peace.” A band over fifty years in the making, Gary Bartz, Larry Willis,
Buster Williams and Al Foster had performed together countless times in
different combinations and contexts over their storied careers, but it wasn’t
until September 2014 that they appeared as a quartet. The occasion that night
was a tribute to McCoy Tyner, and the results were so inspired and the response
so overwhelming that they knew right away they had something worth keeping.
For half a
century, the eminent pianist/composer Antonio
Adolfo has dedicated himself to the profound exploration of jazz in the
context of the great Brazilian music tradition. He has often recently focused
upon Brazil’s classic composers as well as the rich musical history and culture
that have provided the landscape for one of the world’s most beguiling musical
legacies. With his new disc, “Tema,” Antonio looks back upon an important part
of that legacy—his own marvelous contributions, dating back to the 1960s. More
than 200 of his compositions have been recorded by his own groups and others
major artists—including Sergio Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Earl Klugh, Herb Alpert
and others—and he has also written extensively for film and television in the
past 50 years. But it’s been a while since he has chosen to focus an entire
album on his own music. He decided that it was time to do so.
Also this
week, trombonist Nick Finzer, whose
resume includes work with Frank Wess, Lew Tabackin and Terell Stafford, unveils
his second recording as a leader, “The Chase”; vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant offers up the second record in her young and
amazing career, “For One to Love”; and bassist Lee Smith, the father of Christian McBride, is joined by Joe Magnarelli,
Tim Warfield and others on “My Kind of Blues.”
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